BEST BLACKOUT CURTAINS FOR NURSERY

A story, a lullaby, a little snack – it can take so much to get your baby to sleep – and that precious sleep needs to be guarded at all costs! One way to sustain that restful slumber without interruption is to install blackout curtains at your nursery windows. They are an easy and effective way to eliminate light, noise and distractions, so your little one can sleep throughout the night peacefully and also enjoy the little catnaps during the day. With that goal, we invite you to explore our best blackout curtains for nursery below, as well as some top tips for styling them to perfection.

Order custom blackout curtains from Spiffy Spools online in any size to decorate your nursery. Pick from a wide variety of 3000+ fabrics and patterns!

Why Blackout Curtains for Nursery? 

While light brings alertness that makes it harder to fall asleep, a dark room serves as a cozy place to curl up in. At dawn, the daylight speeding into your baby’s nursery together with the noises of an up-and-about world can wake up the little one sooner than welcome. And, that can keep them clingy and cranky the whole day besides affecting their health. Since infants spend almost 70% of their time sleeping, a sleep-friendly atmosphere is the primary need of a nursery. That’s why you need blackout curtains in the nursery.

While curtains made of any fabric provide enhanced privacy and light control to some extent, blackout curtains show how these functions can’t be done better. They block out all incoming light and don’t let even a shadow of you be visible from the other side. But their benefits are certainly not limited to that. There are three ways in which they contribute to making your baby’s nursery a truly sleep-friendly space:

• DARKEN THE ROOM: Blackout fabrics do not let incoming light penetrate through, leaving the nursery darkened and cozy for the little one to curl up and get ready to sleep. 
• REPEL EXTERNAL NOISE: Blackout fabrics are made of multiple interwoven layers that make them highly sound-absorbent. Thus they substantially cut external noise and muffle internal sounds too, taking all auditory distractions away from the baby’s crib.
• REGULATE ROOM TEMPERATURE: The chemical coatings at the back of the fabric together with the thick weave help regulate the temperature in the room. They resist loss of thermal energy through the windows, helping to keep the summers cooler and the winters warmer.

Two Ways to Go Blackout

Blackout drapery can be created in two ways – by selecting a blackout drapery fabric or by giving a blackout lining behind a standard non-blackout drapery fabric. Either way, the purpose is achieved in full. 

Depending on a blackout lining instead of a blackout face fabric opens up the design potential to infinity. While blackout fabrics have no dearth of choices, the spectrum of choices available in the non-blackout category is certainly wider. If you have freezing cold winters, we highly recommend going for a blackout drapery fabric backed by a blackout lining to double the insulation of the windows further. 

However, while it is true that with a blackout lining, any drapery becomes blackout drapery, it is worth noting that its performance will be somewhat affected by the face fabric. 

You can make the most of the blackout lining when your face fabric has a close-knit weave and dark palette. So, for example, the blackout lining placed behind a semi-sheer fabric will be less effective as compared to when placed behind a heavy velvet drapery. Similarly, blackout lining will block out more light when placed behind a black drapery fabric than a white one. 

READ MORE: SPIFFY SPOOLS LINING OPTIONS FOR CURTAINS & ROMAN SHADES

Dimout Curtains

Also referred to as room-darkening curtains, dimout curtains block 70-90% of incoming light as opposed to blackout curtains that are credited with 95-100%. So, if you wish to darken the nursery but not make it pitch-dark, dimout curtains are the answer. You can see a dim glow on the curtains which will vary from soft to bright depending on the color of the fabric. However, you can improve their room-darkening performance by adding a blackout lining. 

Owing to the difference in the manufacturing process and the performance capacities, dimout curtains are often less expensive than blackout curtains. So, if you are constrained by a budget or are not looking for total darkness in the nursery, stick to dimout curtains.

READ MORE: ROOM DARKENING VS BLACKOUT VS DIMOUT CURTAINS: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Designing Blackout Curtains for Nursery

Chasing High-Performance Goals

Blackout fabrics are high performing in themselves, but if the other design decisions don’t support the cause, you may end up with a set of under-performing blackout drapes. To avoid this, our drapery stylists have curated all their tips below to enhance the function of your blackout curtains and meet nursery-specific needs.

• SELECT THE RIGHT HEADING: In order to have total light control, it’s important to select the right heading style for your blackout curtains. Avoid heading styles such as tab tops and grommet tops because they feature loops, holes, and gaps that will allow in some light. Instead, we recommend rod pockets, back tab tops, pencil pleat styles or pinch pleat styles that are hung by hooks on the back of the fabric. This will better eliminate any potential light leaks, helping to ensure total darkness.
• STRATEGICALLY PLACE THE POLE/ TRACK: There are two elements to consider when mounting your pole or track. First, consider mounting the hardware at least 8 inches above the window frame, which will help prevent light from coming through the top of the curtains. Second, extend the rod 10 inches or more on both sides of the window frame. This way, you’ll also have total coverage on both sides of the windows.
• INSTALL RETURN RODS: These rods don’t use finials and are bent at the ends so they ‘return’ to the wall. The curtains curve around the window as a result, blocking all light leaks from the sides.
• TRY THE HOOK & EYE TRICK: If you’re using straight rods, try the simple “hook & eye” hack. All it requires is screwing an ‘eye’ into the wall underneath the rod, parallel to the final pleat hook. You can then place that final pleat hook into the eye, which will draw the curtain fabric as close to the wall as possible. You can feel confident that no light will get through this surefire-darkening hack!
• ADD FRINGE TRIMS TO THE CURTAINS: Although we discourage embellishments on nursery curtains for safety purposes, fringe trims are rather safe to add as they cannot be plucked out easily by a child. Additionally, they also partially block light from breaking in through the side gaps.
• USE MAGNETIC TAPES: Cut several small pieces of the magnetic strip and glue them at regular intervals, one side to the wall and the other to the lead edge of the curtains. The curtains will stick to the wall, leaving no gaps on the sides for light to crack in. If you have double-panel curtains, you can also use a piece to fasten the panels to each other so that light does not break through the gap in the middle when it’s windy. 

READ MORE: CURTAIN HEADINGS STYLE GUIDE FROM SPIFFY SPOOLS

Top Blackout Curtains from Spiffy Spools

Blackout curtains come in a variety of styles to match your unique design needs. To get you started on your shopping spree, we invite you to explore some of the top nursery blackout curtains from Spiffy Spools that will look stunning in your space:

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Spotlight On: Peeping Pearl

Our Peeping Pearl blackout curtains will provide your nursery with a soothing, serene feel. The pink curtain is covered in a lovely marbled print in a soft lavender hue, creating a dreamy effect that will encourage your children to rest.

Spotlight On: Sabz Gold

Add a little glamour to your nursery with our stunning Sabz Gold blackout curtains. The pale gold fabric features a bit of shimmer and shine for some extra flair. Not to worry, though—despite the light hue, these regal curtains work wonderfully to protect your nursery from incoming sunlight.

Spotlight On: Warm Snow

Despite their lovely off-white shade, you can darken your nursery with our Warm Snow white curtains. This light and airy choice is a fabulous addition that will brighten your space aesthetically but darken it functionally. The simplicity of the design of this cream-colored blackout curtain will bring a zen-like quality to your nursery and exude an air of elegance.

Spotlight On: Aquarius 

The perfect addition to a nursery that aspires to become a boy’s room or girl’s room in the future –  a gender-neutral, timeless pattern with the right balance of neutral tones and warm colors. If your nursery has a low-height ceiling, use the vertical stripes of Aquarius to fake a sense of height in the space. Design them in long curtains to make the most of their vertical motif. 

Spotlight On: Royan 

If you love a touch of nature or find floral prints to be the best expression of your design style, consider these lovely golden-green Royan dimout curtains. These delicate beauties of nature best mirror the innocence of childhood. They might also save you a trip to the garden when you need some lovely flowers to keep the little one occupied.

Order Custom Curtains from Spiffy Spools

We hope you’ve enjoyed exploring these nursery blackout curtain ideas and tips to make the most of them. If you’re ready to start shopping, browse our collection and order custom curtains from Spiffy Spools today. With over 3,000 fabrics, we make it easy to design curtains that fit the exact specifications and style of your nursery. And when you find the perfect pair of nursery curtains after you’ve spent all your creative juices designing them, we will share your sense of pride and joy in decorating your nursery exactly as you wanted it to be.

READ MORE: BEST WINDOW TREATMENTS FOR NURSERY