When we purchased this house, we were fortunate that all the windows had some sort of blinds – either the 1-1/2 faux wood style or mini blinds. The latter is far from my favorite, but at least we had immediate privacy and one less thing on our to do list during those early days.
I ordered new room darkening curtains for our son’s room before the move. Those were hung and the mini blinds removed before he arrived. I wanted to be sure he could nap easily at the time and, of course, wanted the mini blinds out for safety reasons. Other rooms we’ve slowly added curtains to as well. We’re far from finished, but we did finally tackle the master bedroom. Truthfully, this mostly came from the fact that we’ll have a new baby next month (getting close now!) and I wanted to be able to darken our room so I could take a nap in my own bed. In the past, I’ve done so in the guest room.
We have 3 pairs of windows in our room, but the main source of light anytime – this arch window overlooking the bed:
I added the white fan style shade within days of moving in to help diffuse the light a bit. This window faces southeast and there is a streetlight directly across the street so it literally has light coming in 24 hours a day.
I searched in stores and online for a couple months before settling and making a purchase. It took me that long to decide what I wanted (print vs solid) and find a room darkening option that fit the budget plus came in 120″ length for the arch window as well as 84″ for the two smaller windows. I purchased Rod Pocket Energy Saving Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains in navy from Amazon.
We ended up purchasing the rods from Target. I hung the lower two windows and had Trent assist me with the arch window. A tall ladder and pregnant me? Not a good mix.
I knew the difference would be great, but wow the impact these new curtains have made visually as well as blocking out the light and heat. They are thinner than you might expect and not lined, but work well. We’ve only been closing the one over the arch window overnight (the other windows have a different placement and don’t get as much light overnight). Our room is tremendously darker and we are both sleeping better. We’ve left it closed on some of the hotter days as well and noticed how much cooler our room is when we get home at the end of a long day. Another plus.
Visually, the room just looks more finished (although it’s far from it and really gets the last attention after the main rooms downstairs and the kids’ bedrooms). The pair at the arch window really draw your eye up and show how high the ceiling is in the room.
We’ve been in the house almost 2 years – a full update of our last 12 months is coming later this month.
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