In response to my sleep article, I recently received an email from a client that wanted to share her tips for making a room darker!
Thanks and credit go to Jessica!
Jessica writes:
My mother, boyfriend, and I have all worked 3rd shift jobs at some point. So it was very important to block out as much light as possible to get sleep during the daytime. After much research, we found these curtains at Walmart. They’re called Eclipse curtains ($9.87). They’re made with a special fabric that blocks out 99% of light. It also blocks out heat/cold air. We’ve been using them for years and they’re amazing.
Here’s a pic of Eclipse Curtains vs regular curtains.
The website says they also sell them at Kohl’s, Target, Amazon, Sears, etc. We have the beige and dark brown in our living rooms. It blocks out the cold from the windows and makes for a good movie theater in the daytime. We bought the blue ones from the Eclipse Kids collection. And I bought the maroon curtains for my mom. She still works 3rd shifts. So they help her sleep a lot. The only drawback is they have to be air dried. We threw ours in the dryer and the fabric stuck together.
To tackle the light that comes off the sides, we use the Walmart brand/Mainstays 3″ curtain rods. I couldn’t find them on the website. So I linked something similar. But in the store they’re like $1.97. They’ve got a longer curve at the ends. So you can literally curve the curtain around the window. It works perfectly! We also use the Mainstays blackout curtain rod ($14.99) for the living room window. It’s long enough to fit and has that same curve.
Lastly, a good amount of years ago I had an idea for a glow in the dark bedroom. I love space and astronomy (and glow in the dark stuff). So I painted the entire room black (walls, ceiling, and floor). The small amount of furniture I had was black. Then we stuck glow in the dark stars and planets everywhere. On the floor, ceiling, walls, and furniture. We even had a light-up moon on the wall. It was really neat.
Anyways, I found these shades at Walmart. They’re Redi Shade 36″ x 72″ Black Out Shades ($5.97). At first glance, it looked like a construction paper accordion with an adhesive at the top. But it blocked any and all light from coming in the room. They’re definitely not fancy shades. But it gets the job done for $6. I still use them to this day. The only drawback is if you remove and re-stick it too many times, it loses its stickiness. But mine held up for years until we started moving it around. Also, because it’s a paper-like material, the side facing the sun will fade (like construction paper). But the side facing the inside of your house stays the same.
So those are my curtain tips. I’ve worked really hard over the years to minimize as much light as possible. I hope this helps out a little. If not, it was definitely fun to write!
Thanks again Jessica! Please let me know if these help you make your own room(s) darker. I plan to buy these soon when I paint my bedroom a darker color!