Room Darkening Shades
Perfect Roller Shades - Room Darkening
The Perfect Roller Shade in room darkening fabric absorbs nearly 100 percent of all light and is one of our most popular blackout window shades throughout Maryland and Virginia. The design is clean and minimal, it comes with a cordless lift system for child and pet safety, and the shade offers a variety of fabrics, such as Greenguard and flame-resistant. Suitable for bedrooms, nurseries, media rooms or any window where maximum light control is necessary.
Solar Shades Phifer SheerWeave 7000 Blackout
Made specifically for the blackout market, this solar shade fabric from Phifer is 99.99% light blocking with the sleek, minimal profile of a standard roller shade. This product is especially effective in Maryland and Virginia homes with south and west facing windows where the highest peak of the day’s sun can cause significant glare and heat gain. SheerWeave 7000 blocks almost all light, unlike normal shades that filter and diffuse light.
2" Vanes Room Darkening Sheer Shades
Perfect for smaller and medium-sized windows, our 2-inch vane room darkening sheer shades come in a wide array of options. When they are open, the slimmer vanes result in a clean and elegant look with soft filtered light. The room darkening fabric creates a sense of privacy and less light when it is closed. The all-smoothness backing ensures a polished and elegant appearance all day long.
3" Vanes Room Darkening Sheer Shades
3-inch vane room darkening sheer shades are intended for the areas of large windows and abundance of space. The wider vanes offer a greater opening and a modern and bold look when opened. The room darkening fabric enhances privacy and comfort when the room is closed as it blocks incoming light. Sheer backing gently diffuses the light, allowing the shade to maintain its sophisticated layered effect. Perfect for high windows, large openings and modern rooms.
Roman Shades
Custom fabric Roman shades with a room darkening or blackout liner are crafted with elegance and functionality, creating a custom Roman shade that is both room darkening and room dividing. The soft fold drape of a Roman shade when raised and flat, clean face when lowered will create a sophisticated look to fit traditional, transitional and contemporary bedrooms and living rooms. Custom fabric Options available.
Bamboo Shades
Our woven bamboo shades come with a room darkening liner feature which cuts out a lot of light transmission while holding up the natural feel of woven bamboo, woven grass, woven reeds and woven rattan weaves. Perfect for bedrooms and living areas where there is a desire for the natural beauty of woven wood, while providing increased privacy and control of light and/or glare.
Premium Cellular Shades Blackout 3/4" Single Cell
Our Premium Cellular Shades in blackout fabric are the highest insulating window shades available that provide maximum light blocking. Air is trapped in every cell of the 3/4″ single cell honeycomb, giving a measurable thermal barrier to heat transfer through the glass – saving on cooling costs during the summer months in Maryland and heating costs during the winter months. Black-out fabric liner is highly effective in blocking light in bedrooms and nurseries. Cordless and motorized models are available.
Custom Room Darkening Shades & Blackout Shades – Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC
Darkness is required in some rooms. From night workers needing to sleep during the day to parents with a strict nap schedule to movie lovers running a media room in the bedroom to anyone who just can’t deal with the early morning light pouring through the windows, the right window treatment makes all the difference.
Buy Home Blinds provides custom room darkening shades and blackout shades for Maryland, Virginia, and DC, and installs them professionally. Blackout roller shades, blackout cellular shades, room darkening Roman shades, room darkening sheer shades, blackout solar shades and room darkening bamboo shades are all custom made to your window size using your desired fabric, opacity, operating system and colour.
If you need a solution for every room in your home, you can call 301-847-7000 or schedule a free in-home consultation.
Room-by-Room Guide – Which Rooms Need Room Darkening or Blackout Shades
Bedroom
Darkness is directly connected to sleep quality - the body releases melatonin in response to darkness, regulating the sleep-wake cycle. For shift workers, day sleepers, or anyone who experiences early morning light as a significant sleep disruption, blackout roller shades or blackout cellular shades are the recommended solution.
Children's Rooms
A dark room environment plays a critical role in consistent nap and sleep schedules for infants and young children. The traditional recommendation for nurseries is blackout shades, especially cordless shades for children's safety. Our cordless blackout roller shades and blackout cellular shades take the frustration out of dealing with both light and cord safety issues in one product.
Media Room
Blackout shades are the right shade for use in dedicated home theater rooms and media rooms across Maryland and Virginia. Ambient light causes washout and glare on the projection screen, and diminishes the contrast in large televisions. Blackout roller shades with outside mount installation provide the blackness needed for a proper viewing experience.
Living Room
Room darkening roller shades or room darkening cellular shades are a great way to diffuse afternoon sun, prevent screen glare when watching sports or movies and provide privacy from street level without blocking out all natural light. Blackout curtains are almost always not the right choice for living areas; it is better to choose room darkening curtains.
Inside Mount vs. Outside Mount – How Installation Affects Light Blocking
The installation method matters as much as the fabric specification when it comes to actual light blocking performance.
Inside mount involves having the shade installed in the recess of the window frame structure. This results in an unobtrusive and clean look, however even a perfectly fitting black out shade will reveal light gaps where the fabric contacts the frame on the sides and top. The inside mount is generally okay for room darkening applications. If complete blackout is your goal, it’s a compromise.
An outside mount hangs the shade outside of the window frame, and the fabric extends over the window frame on all sides. This eliminates the light leakage from the sides and top of window treatments, which makes blackout fabric less effective. Outside mount is generally the best option for nurseries, home theatres and any bedroom that requires complete darkness.
When you meet with us for a free consultation, our in-home experts measure your window size, window trim profile, and light control needs, and recommend the best mounting for each window. It is a detail that ordering online without professional measurement is always missing.
Key Benefits of Room Darkening and Blackout Shades
Better Sleep Quality
Darkness directly stimulates melatonin production and improves sleep depth and duration. The best window treatments for sleep health are room darkening and blackout shades.
Privacy Day and Night
Room darkening or black out fabric is translucent on both sides. No one can peek into your home when you have the shades rolled down, day or night.
UV Protection
Room Darkening Shades stop UV rays that can fade hardwood floors, upholstery, and furniture. Rooms facing south and west are especially vulnerable to U.V. damage.
Noise Reduction
In addition to absorbing sound, the cell honeycomb structure of blackout cellular shades also helps to block out street noise and ambient sounds from the window.
Cordless and Motorized Room Darkening Shades
Cordless Room Darkening Shades
All styles of room darkening shade and blackout shades can be operated wirelessly. No hanging cords means no danger of strangulation for children and pets - especially important for nursery and children's bedrooms. Cordless shades also create a streamlined and tidy look on the window.
Motorized Blackout Shades
Roller, cellular and Roman shades come in motorized options and can be paired with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and Samsung SmartThings. Set your blackout shades to close when your child naps, automatically lower during nightfall for privacy, or open on a schedule in the morning without lifting a finger, cord or anything. Bedroom windows, media rooms, and any installation where convenience and automation are essential are a good place to use motorization.
Serving Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC
Based in Beltsville, Maryland, BuyHomeBlinds offers complimentary in-home consultations, professional measurement and expert installation of room darkening shades and blackout shades in the DC metro area, which includes:
Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Howard County, Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Clarksville, Columbia, Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Laurel, Clarksburg, Potomac, Ashton, Lanham, Glen Burnie, Chevy Chase, and Washington DC.
We come to your home with fabric samples and determine which type of mount and specification of shade is needed for each window, then professionally installed. All measurements are performed by our own staff, not based on dimensions you enter online.
Call 301-847-7000 today or schedule your free in-home consultation online.
Frequently Asked Questions About Room Darkening & Blackout Shades
What is the difference between room darkening shades and blackout shades?
Room darkening shades block out about 95 to 99 percent of all incoming light, resulting in a significantly darker environment, which is ideal for most for sleeping purposes. Blackout shades are made with opaque or multi-layer fabric that blocks 99 to 100 percent of light transmitted by the fabric. Blackout shades will create near total darkness, even on a sunny day, when installed with an outside mount that overlaps the window frame. Most bedrooms, living rooms, and home offices should have room darkening. Blackout is ideal for nurseries, media rooms, shift workers and anyone who needs total darkness to sleep.
What percentage of light do room darkening shades block?
The shades in the room darkening category will normally have a shade factor between 95 and 99 percent. What is not so good is the fact that the rest of the light can pass through the periphery of the shade around the window frame, especially when the shade is mounted inside. Blackout shades are 99-100% effective because they block the light through the fabric. Shade type 1 and 2 both have minimal edge light for outside mounting using adequate frame overlap.
Are blackout shades good for nurseries?
Yes. Blackout shades are the typical room choice for nurseries and infant rooms. Nap and sleep schedules for young children are more easily maintained in a dark room environment, and blackout shades are the most effective window treatment for this. To remove cord hazards from nurseries, we recommend cordless blackout roller shades or cordless blackout cellular shades.
Do room darkening shades help with energy efficiency?
Yes. Solar heat gain is minimized through windows in summer by room darkening and black out shading, thereby reducing the air conditioning load. The extra fabric layer also helps to limit heat loss through the glass in the winter months. Black out cellular shades are the best light blocking and thermal insulation, hence, best recommended for energy efficiency in Maryland and Virginia homes, and they are provided by the honeycomb air-cell structure.
Can room darkening shades be installed on any window?
Standard rectangular, wide, tall, bay and most specialty window shapes have room darkening and blackout shades available. Outside mount installations require the correct type of mount, correct dimensions, and sufficient frame overlap and professional measurement and installation are highly recommended for maximum light blocking performance. During your very confidential in-home consultation, our team takes care of all these.
What is the best blackout shade for a bedroom in Maryland?
For most Maryland and Virginia bedrooms, blackout roller shades or blackout cellular shades installed with an ency alongside maximum light blocking. For a bespoke recommendation for your particular windows and room, please get in touch with our team.
Do you offer cordless and motorized blackout shades?
Yes. All cordless and motorized room darkening and blackout shade styles are available. Cordless is advised for nurseries and children’s areas for child safety. Motorized versions are remote-controlled and are compatible with Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit and Samsung SmartThings. Call 301-847-7000 for details.
Do you provide professional installation in Maryland, Virginia, and DC?
Yes. BuyHomeBlinds offers complimentary home consultations, professional measurements, and entire installation of room darkening shades and blackout shades throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington DC. Contact 301-847-7000 or schedule a complimentary consultation on the web.
Ready to Achieve the Darkness Your Rooms Deserve?
Buy Home Blinds offers and installs custom room darkening shades and blackout shades in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC including blackout roller shades, blackout cellular shades, room darkening Roman shades, room darkening sheer shades and blackout solar shades.
Make an appointment today for a free home visit by calling 301-847-7000 or scheduling online. All windows will be evaluated by our design experts, which will include determining the type of shade you need and the type of mount, and will then give you a no-cost, no-obligation quote.