Getting a good night’s sleep becomes as evasive and mystical as the unicorn when you’re a new parent. But total blackout blinds are literally the holy grail and go a long way in making things a little easier.
Sleep deprivation is most definitely a form of torture. And ‘sleeping through’ is a hot topic of conversation; discussed in every playgroup up and down the country. Those first few weeks of life with a newborn can be pretty exhausting.
And then once you’ve managed to get your angel into a good routine —
Bang
— teething starts.
And so, your good night’s sleep is disturbed once more.
And again when they’re having a growth spurt. Or ill. Or when the clocks change.
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Changing of the clocks (bye bye routine)
Aaah the clocks changing.
The clocks going forward has always been one of the highlights of my year. It’s a clear signal that winter is finally over and long light days are ahead.
But when the boys arrived, putting the clocks forward was something that threw us all out of kilter. Losing an hour was bad enough but trying to put them to bed in the daylight was awful.
Even a black-out blind — and curtains with black-out lining — couldn’t stop the light shining around the window frame on sunny mornings like a halo.
And as the sun greeted the world, so my little sons awoke also, and our day began.
Total Blackout Blinds — A Game Changer
I remember going to a friend’s house to stay and they had Velux windows in attic room we were sleeping in.
The blinds that they had pulled down within a frame and made the room so dark it was unnerving. I recall saying to Mr D how weird it was that all blinds weren’t made that way.
And even made a feeble attempt to look for some but failed and gave up looking.
So, last year, when I was asked if I’d like to work with a company called Order Blinds, I mentioned the Velux blind in a frame and asked them if there was an alternative for normal windows.
When they said ‘yes’ I literally couldn’t believe my ears.
Could I have finally found the holy grail? The answer to a good night’s sleep?
In a word, yes.
But the question is;
Why doesn’t everyone know about this? Especially parents of small children?!
This Product Has Changed Our Lives
This product has literally changed our lives? Sounds a little dramatic but it’s SO fabulous. I can’t understand why they’re not more widely used — why everyone doesn’t know about them.
They’re called Total Blackout Roller Blinds. They basically comprise of a metal frame, that fits to your existing window frame, with a blind that sits within it.
This ensures there are no gaps on either side. Or top and bottom — of the window, that you would normally have with a traditional blind.
The other bonus for children’s rooms is the safety factor.
The blinds are spring tensioned, which enables you to raise and lower them with a central tab, rather than cords or pulleys.
They are, quite simply, brilliant*.
The answer to a good night’s sleep
A Little Caveat
*Apart from, if you live in a wonky old house like ours.
Just one thing I would say. The claim ‘Installation doesn’t require drilling and can be fitted in minutes’ is not strictly true. If you have sloping, wonky walls — and window recesses that are not 90° — proceed with caution.
Fitted in ‘minutes’ ended up being months. The first blind that I had diligently measured the window — three times to ensure a perfect fit — for, ended up being scrapped.
We had secondary glazing in a frame on the window of the boys’ room, and I’d not taken this into account.
The glazing — and its frame — had to be removed and Mr D had to create another, wooden frame, suitable for the Perfect Fit blind. This caused much swearing and even more mess, as removing the original frame took half the wall with it.
Oops.
Are Total Blackout Blinds Worth All The Fuss and Mess?
I am fairly certain that if you live in a new build — or a house that has straight corners — you would not encounter this kind of problem.
But was it worth all the fuss and mess?
Yes. Absolutely. Because you can’t put a price on a good night’s sleep.
And because my words and pictures really don’t show just how effective the Perfect Fit blind is, at keeping the light out. I thought I’d make a little film clip to show you. It’s the shortest film I’ve ever made but perfectly demonstrates how well this blind keeps the light out of the boys’ room.
If you’re woken early — due to the light creeping into your bedroom in the wee small hours — and want a really good night’s sleep, then get one.
I really, really can’t recommend them highly enough.
Many thanks to the team at Order Blinds for bearing with us on this review and being so incredibly patient. Getting the blind to fit our wonky old windows was definitely easier said than done but now it’s up, I couldn’t be more delighted!
This is a collaborative post but all thoughts, words and photographs — as ever — are entirely my own.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
Wow I did not know you could get them for anything other than Velux too. Brilliant x
They’re SO awesome. They’re the same kind of blinds that we have in Dolly!!!! Just wish I’d known about them before!!
I still remember the terror of disruption to THE ROUTINE – and how it would mess up the boys’ sleep! This blind looks like such a good idea. We had normal ‘black out’ blinds when they were little but they didn’t ever really work because the light just shone round the outside. These are certainly more effective! Do these still work ok if you have the window open when the weathers hot though?
Hahaha!! THE ROUTINE!! That’s just what I used to call it!! LOL!! I was obsessive about it; although, to be honest, my diligence in keeping the boys in ‘the routine’ has made for great sleepers and happy boys, I’m sure of it.
Re the windows opening, that’s a really good question!! :) If you have sash windows that open up — or windows that open out (like ours do) — then you can have the window wide open (or on the latch) and the blind down at the same time. The windows don’t get in the way at all.
If you had windows that open inward, then I think there would be a problem and you wouldn’t be able to have the window open whilst the blind was down. Does that make any sense?!
Oh my goodness I want one for our bedroom. I’m seven months pregnant and I’m up through the night running to the loo, black out blinds might be the answer for getting a little extra kip once the sun is up. I’m going to look into this, thank you :) #HomeEtc
Aaah I remember those nightly loo trips when I was pregnant with the twins. Bless you — it;s SO annoying isn’t it? The blinds are SO good Suzanne — I’m really so impressed with them. Would highly recommend :)
We need these in our little boys bedroom. His sleep is awful at the moment and he sleeps better in our room. However I think that’s because we have amazing black out curtains! #HomeEtc x
I cant recommend them enough Amy — they’re fabulous!!! :)
Haha oh the struggle is real! My mother in law says you never really sleep again because even when your kids are teenagers you’re still up at night worried about them ha!
Great review – appreciate your honesty. We had a similar issue with blackouts. Our windows are wonky so it was never quite blackout enough. Took blackout blinds and lined curtains to get it dark enough for our little girl to sleep!
#HomeEtc
My mum would agree with that!!! She always say she never goes to sleep when we’re out — and doesn’t drift off until she hears us come home!! These blinds are blooming amazing. Our initial blackout blinds let light all round the edges — these genuinely DO blog out the light. It’s freakishly dark in their room now though — they’ve been asking for a nighlight!! LOL!!!!
Oh they are good!! Fantastic! At the moment I am tucking Lottie’s blind into her window! Love it :) Great find xx
#HomeEtc
They are SO good. There was no trickery on that GIF I made; the room genuinely goes pitch black!!!
I could do with some of these myself! I love sleeping in pitch black darkness, I’m such a fussy sleeper!
They are AMAZING!!!! Planning on getting a couple for our room. We currently have shutters but my husband insists on putting things on the window ledges and it drives me bananas; having to move everything each time I want to open or close them!!
Wow, why do all parents not know about these, such a great idea. #homeetc x
Yes — that is EXACTLY what I’ve been saying!!!! Every parent should have these in their child’s room!! :)
I’m a fan of Order Blinds, I think they’re a great company and really helpful too – I was nervous about measuring our window wrong when I ordered a blind from them, especially as our window (not quite as wonky as yours) went right up to the ceiling. Blinds for kids rooms – and safe ones at that – should be the rules right? #homeetc
They’re a brilliant company — endlessly patient. SO worth it too. These blinds are brilliant :)
Oh wow they look brilliant, nothing more annoying than a tiny slither of light waking up a baby/toddler/child. We have some blackout curtains that are pretty rubbish!
Eilidh x
They’re SO good. I couldn’t believe it when they first went up — SO dark!! Just amazing :)
These sound great although my girls insist on having a night light on in their room. I would quite like them in my bedroom – I like darkness and quiet and I’m not getting either at the moment! #homeetc
The boys are the same now!!!! Since they’ve had the blind they need a nightlight as they say it’s too dark in there!! LOL!!! You can’t win!
Oh my god, I need these blinds! It is so freaky you wrote this post, we are literally looking for blackout blinds now, seeing as the long days are coming soon. I will definitely check these guys out, thanks for the tip! x
#HomeEtc
They are AMAZING!!! I wish I’d known about them years ago — they’re a game-changer :)
That’s pretty impressive Caro. That video really says it all. Perhaps one for me to investigate for the roof. Although I fear wonky house syndrome may apply here too! #HomeEtc
Yep — if your walls aren’t straight it definitely poses a problem!! LOL!! But SO worth the extra agro!! Best thing EVER!! :)