Inside mount, no channels
The shade sits inside the window frame with a small gap on each side. A thin line of light shows along both edges.
Blackout Shades
Blackout shades for bedrooms that face a June sunrise.
Room-darkening fabric stops the light through the shade. Side channels and the right mount stop the light around it. Both matter in Seattle, where the sun is up before 5:30 a.m. for two months of the year. Honeycomb, roller, and Roman blackout options, installed by PAPABLINDS across the Greater Seattle Area.
Where the light gets around a shade.
The fabric is rarely the weak point. Light comes in at the edges, and how the shade is mounted decides how much.
Inside mount with side channels
Channels along the frame close the gaps. LightGuard 360™ on roller shades; optional side channels on honeycomb shades.
Outside mount
The shade overlaps the frame on the wall, so there is no gap to leak. Wider shade, darker room, and the cleanest look on windows without deep frames.
Blackout options by shade type.
Room darkening is a fabric choice on most Norman lines; the edge treatment is what makes it blackout.
| Shade | Room-darkening fabric | Edge treatment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellular (Portrait™) | Yes | Optional side channels | Also insulates; cordless or motorized |
| Roller (Soluna™) | Yes | LightGuard 360™ side channels | Dual shade adds a light-filtering layer for day |
| Roman (Centerpiece™) | Blackout lining | Outside mount | The softest look of the three |
| Sheer (PerfectSheer™) | Room-darkening vanes | Outside mount | Not fully dark; for living rooms and bedrooms that want a view |
| Vertical (SmartDrape™) | Room-darkening vanes | Stack overlap | For patio doors in bedrooms |
A blackout shutter with a built-in shade is on blackout shutters.
Rooms that need real dark.
Sunrise at 5:11
Around the solstice Seattle’s sun rises before 5:15 a.m. A room-darkening shade with channels holds the room dark until the alarm.
Naps in daylight
Cordless, certified Best for Kids, and dark enough for a 1 p.m. nap in July.
Screens without wash-out
A 1% solar screen for the afternoon and a blackout shade for movie night, or a dual shade that does both.
Sleep at noon
Outside mount, side channels, and a motorized schedule so the room is dark before you get home.
What we check for a blackout window.
Blackout is a system, not a fabric. Six things decide how dark the room gets.
- Frame depth: is there room for an inside mount with channels, or does the shade go outside the frame?
- Wall space around the window for an outside mount that overlaps the frame.
- Whether the room also needs daytime light: a dual shade or a Day and Night cellular.
- Door glass in the room: patio doors take SmartDrape™ or a vertical shade in room-darkening fabric.
- The color of the room side of the fabric, since blackout fabrics come in whites and lights too.
- Motorized schedule and charging access for shades that run every day.
Blackout shade questions.
Is room darkening the same as blackout?
Room darkening is the fabric: opaque, no light through it. Blackout is what you get when the edges are handled too, with side channels or an outside mount. We use the fabric on any room-darkening shade and add the edge treatment where the room needs to be fully dark.
Do blackout shades have to be dark colors?
No. Room-darkening fabrics come in whites, creams, and grays; the opacity is in the backing, not the color you see.
Can I have blackout and daylight on the same window?
Yes: a dual roller shade with a light-filtering and a room-darkening fabric, or a Day and Night cellular shade with two fabrics on one headrail.
What about a window in a patio door?
A vertical shade such as SmartDrape™ in a room-darkening fabric, or a blackout shutter on the door. Both are measured with the handle and the walk-through in mind.
Blackout shades for Seattle-area bedrooms and nurseries
From mid-May to mid-July the sun is up in Seattle before 5:30 a.m., and near the solstice the sky stays light past 9 p.m. A bedroom with a light-filtering shade is bright by 6. Blackout shades fix that in two steps: a room-darkening fabric that stops light through the shade, and an edge treatment that stops light around it. PAPABLINDS installs blackout cellular, roller, and Roman shades in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and nearby communities.
Side channels and outside mounts
An inside-mounted shade leaves a small gap on each side, and that gap is a bright line at dawn. LightGuard 360™ channels on Soluna™ roller shades and optional side channels on Portrait™ honeycomb shades close those gaps. On windows without deep frames, an outside mount that overlaps the trim does the same job and often looks cleaner.
Blackout shades or blackout shutters
A shade is the direct route: one fabric, one motion, and the least cost. A shutter with a DayNite™ shade behind the louvers gives the room an architectural window by day and darkness by night, at a higher price. If the room is a nursery or a guest room, a shade; if it is a master bedroom you will look at for twenty years, either. We bring both to the visit.
Motorized blackout shades
For shift workers and for bedrooms with more than two windows, a motorized schedule lowers the shades before you get home and raises them at the alarm. Power and charging access are confirmed at the visit.
Request a free in-home visit and we hold a room-darkening sample in the window with the door closed, so you see the edges, not only the fabric.