If you are looking for a blackout window dressing with a translucent option to reduce daytime glare, consider a day and night blind.
This design also has side channels to minimise light bleed from the edges.
This Luxaflex product comes with two smart cords; one to control the blackout blind and the other, the translucent blind. Smart cords are safe because they avoid looped strings. To raise the blinds, you simply pull straight down several times until you reach your degree of cover. To drop the blind, you simply pull the cord sideways.
You can stop the blind part way and adjust the left and right controls to choose your combination of blackout and translucent panels.
And you can open the blind fully too.
Velux Blinds
You can achieve the same day-night effect with a Velux blind. In the gallery below you can see how blackout and translucent panels have been incorporated into a single blind, each with its own finger pull.
Blackout Blinds and Light Bleed
For all practical purposes, I can say that no light passes through our own Velux blackout blinds. Indeed, our guests who are used to curtained rooms, are unaware of daybreak in our attic (apart from the sound of the dawn chorus).
Blackout is particularly important if you work shifts and need a good day’s sleep. If you are unfortunate to have a nuisance streetlight just outside your bedroom, a blackout blind might be essential.
The Velux system is so effective because the blind runs in side channels which cuts out 99% (or so!) of the light bleed around the edge. To all intents and purposes, you experience total darkness.
Day and night window blinds are just one option for dressing your windows. We have fitted many alternatives and you can see some of these on our window dressings page. Here we offer advice on the type of window dressing to suit particular applications and how to set about choosing designs and sizes.
