Blinds/curtains/shutters options - shift workers

[Mod-Degrassi]

We have recently bought our first home (yay!) and we're going to update the blinds in the near future to something more stylish. The home currently has verticals.

My preference is for plantation shutters. DH is a shift worker though and would like the room he sleeps in to have zero light coming through the window. As far as I'm aware, I think plantations when fully closed still let a little bit of light through - am I right?

He is leaning towards one of those exterior roller type shutters, but I don't know whether that's a bit overboard (?) Whatever we choose, this window is at the side of the house and not visible from the road, so I'm not bothered if it's not super appealing to the eye.

I guess another option would be to get the plantation, but then have a blockout curtain that can be drawn across as needed.

The current vertical blind lets light in at the bottom of the window sill.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

[JR03]

We have blockout roller shutters on the outside of our kids windows and their rooms are pitch black with the door shut. They also block heat / cold out which is very much appreciated in our uninsulated house. Make sure you get the electric shutters so he / you don’t have to go outside to manually pull them down or have to hand wind them.

[SSecret Squirrel]

I've never owned roller shutters but have recently been considering getting them fitted on bedrooms in my house that cop the western sun in the afternoon.

I think they would be brilliant for a shiftworker because not only do they block light but they keep the room cooler and should also reduce noise. Cons are aesthetics plus I would want to be able to get out quickly incase of fire. They are also expensive.

I have blockout curtains in my bedroom with sheers on top. They are okay but do let in light if they aren't closed properly in the middle.

If it was just light you need to block, you could get a roller blind in a blockout fabric and then put curtains over the top to avoid the issue of light creeping in the middle.

I love the look of plantation shutters. I've never owned them but suspect they would let a lot of light in.

ETA you could always put roller shutters on the outside and plantation shutters inside and enjoy the plantation shutters when the roller shutters are open. Would be very expensive though.

[babybeeno1]

I have the electric roller shutters on 4/5 bedrooms and my kitchen window. Love em complete block out. I have blockout curtains on the inside and regular blinds which I’m slowly replacing atm. I like the look of the plantation shutters but having to clean them would annoy me

[Mum-I-Am]

Just took a photo of our bedroom ones. This is not direct light.

IMG_5696.jpg

[GirlsRock]

We have outdoor roller shutters on the kids bedrooms. Best purchase ever. The rooms are pitch black even during the day and they definitely help keep the heat out and also the cold air. One room used to have condensation running down the inside of the window through winter, but that stopped once we got the roller shutters on. Ours are operated from via a remote so no need to go out to put them up or down.

I love the look of plantation shutters but I don’t think they’ll block out much light and I wonder if they require a lot of maintenance to keep them dust free.

[Stretched]

I agree to go the external shutter for pitch black. That way you can do whatever you love the look of inside regardless of if it blocks light or not. Otherwise, the best blockout you will get is a heavy fabric curtain with 3 pass lining and a fitted pelmet- definitely not a look that is everyone's cup of tea!

[AdornedWithCats]

Both?

Plantation look really nice. Our neighbours have roller shutters that look quite nice from outside. Same colour as their house so they blend right in.

[BigRedV]

I have plantation shutters at the front of my house and they do let in some light.

We also have shutters on the rest of our windows but they are for fire, not darkness. Front of house didn’t need them.

At our last house we had roller shutters upstairs for darkness for the kids’ rooms and they were amazing!

[BigRedV]

We have blockout roller shutters on the outside of our kids windows and their rooms are pitch black with the door shut. They also block heat / cold out which is very much appreciated in our uninsulated house. Make sure you get the electric shutters so he / you don’t have to go outside to manually pull them down or have to hand wind them.

We didn’t have electric ones but these ones on a wire cable that you wind from the inside. If there’s a black out the electric ones don’t work.