Are Curtains or Blinds best for kids’ bedrooms?

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Palmerston North

Choosing curtains and/or blinds for a child’s bedroom is much more complicated than you might think, with several factors to take into consideration when making the right choice. Let’s go over what you need to think about.

Blocking out light
Any parent will tell you kids need darkness to go to bed. They don’t necessarily need darkness to sleep, but to convince them it’s bedtime it needs to be dark. Post daylight savings, heading into spring and summer, this can be a challenge. Curtains and blinds can help.

First of all, opt for block-out lining. Block-out lined curtains reduce natural light and UV rays, providing an ideal solution for darkening a bedroom. They also offer thermal and sound insulation properties, which come in handy too and we’ll discuss more shortly.

The best solution to block out light is curtains made of medium to heavy fabric, hanging wide and high over the window and down to the floor. But don’t make a decision yet, there are things to consider that might make you shy away from this option.

Slatted blinds are the least ideal solution as they allow small amounts of light to peep through even when fully closed and lowered. An inside mounted roller blind also allows a small amount of light to enter. For extra light blockage consider a curtain over a blind.

Reducing noise
Blocking out noise completely using only curtains or blinds is not possible, but it can be reduced. The best options are:
• Curtains – reducing noise all comes down to absorbing the vibrations so opt for the thickest, heaviest fabric you can (e.g. velvet or wool). The more layers the better so ensure you get them lined and you could also opt for a blind underneath as well.
• Roman shades – as with curtains, the thicker the fabric and more layers the better.
• Honeycomb blinds - the unique cellular design is great for cutting out noise. Just as the cells trap air to reduce heat transfer, they can also help keep out noise.

How they look
Consider the age and gender your child is now but also consider how long you want the curtains to last and how old your child will be then. What is right for a child aged 2 will be totally wrong come age 6.

Kids tend to enjoy bright colours and bold patterns, or they might want a fabric featuring a favourite character from a book, TV show or movie. Be aware the latter option is likely to date quickly and the above point applies here too; while they may love superheroes right now, will they still be as cool in 12 months’ time?

If kids are sharing a room maybe consider something a bit more neutral that will appeal to both.
And as they get older, into their teens for example, they will become even more opinionated about their “style” and what they like will have evolved and expanded a lot since they were young kids.

Privacy
If your child’s room is exposed and can be seen by neighbours or from the street, consider hanging sheers to ensure their privacy is maintained.

Health & safety
Beware of blind cords ad these are a strangulation hazard. Either make sure they are tightly wound around a cleat and out of reach, choose electronically operated blinds or spring-loaded roller blinds, or get blinds with a tension cord and pulley so there is no loose cord dangling.
Blinds or lightweight curtains are better for kids who suffer allergies. Thicker fabrics are better at collecting dust, pollen, and dust mites.

Shorter curtains are recommended over floor length for younger children so they can’t grab hold and pull or wrap themselves up in them.

Don’t use tension rods. These are operated by spring-loaded tension and therefore not screwed into the wall. One good tug and the lot could come tumbling down.


Don’t forget – regular cleaning will keep your childs room healthy. We can help with that!


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