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The best roller blinds for bedrooms
A bedroom blind has one job that matters and three that help. The one that matters is darkness, and getting a room genuinely dark is decided by how the blind is fitted, not by which blackout fabric you pick.
early morning, room dark, light at window edges
approx. 760×620
The short answer. A blackout roller blind, fitted outside the recess so it overlaps the window. Inside-recess fitting looks neater but leaves a bright outline of light at 5am in June. If the room must be properly dark, a nursery, or a shift worker, add side channels.
Why fitting matters more than fabric
Every blackout fabric worth the name blocks all the light passing through it. Hold one up to a window in daylight and you will see nothing: no glow, no weave. There is very little to choose between brands on that.
What differs is what happens at the edges. A roller blind is cut a little narrower than its opening so it can turn without catching, which leaves roughly 10 to 15mm at each side. Fitted inside a recess, that gap is open to daylight. In a dark room at dawn it reads as two bright vertical lines and a strip along the top.
So the decision that actually determines how dark your bedroom gets is where the blind is fitted:
| Fitting | Result | Right for |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the recess | Dark, with a visible outline of light at the edges. | Adults who sleep through summer sunrises. The neatest option. |
| Outside the recess | Much darker. The blind overlaps the opening on all sides. | Most bedrooms where early light is a genuine nuisance. |
| With side channels | The darkest available. Fabric edges run inside a track. | Nurseries, shift workers, anyone who wakes at first light. |
Blackout, dim-out, or something else
Blackout: the default
Full darkness and complete privacy at any hour. The right answer for most bedrooms.
Dim-out: the underrated option
Blocks most light but lets a soft glow through, so the room goes dusky rather than pitch dark. Full privacy day and night.
Worth considering for a child frightened of the dark, for anyone who dislikes waking in a completely black room, or for a bedroom that doubles as a study where full blackout feels oppressive during the day.
Thermal-backed blackout: for cold bedrooms
Several fabrics combine a blackout face with a reflective backing, giving darkness and insulation from one blind. For a north-facing bedroom, or a room with old or single glazing, this is usually the right specification. See thermal roller blinds.
What not to fit in a bedroom
- Sunscreen. It does not darken a room and gives no privacy once your light is on after dark. Read blackout vs sunscreen if you are weighing these up.
- Day and night. Excellent in a living room, not dark enough for sleeping. Closed, the room is private and dim rather than dark.
Bedrooms are not all the same
Nurseries and babies' rooms
The hardest brief, because a baby who wakes at first light is a problem for the whole household. Blackout fitted outside the recess as a minimum, and side channels if the window faces east.
Equally important: no chain. A cot next to a window with a corded blind is the exact situation the child safety regulations exist for, and furniture gives a toddler the height to reach a cord that would otherwise be out of range. We fit cordless or motorised in nurseries as standard rather than as an upgrade.
Children's bedrooms
Same safety reasoning. On darkness, ask the child: plenty dislike total blackness, and dim-out with a night light works better than blackout plus a distressed four-year-old.
Shift workers
Sleeping through daylight is the most demanding case on this page, and the one where side channels genuinely earn their cost. Tell us at the measure if you work nights; we would rather specify properly than sell you the cheaper option and have you unhappy.
Guest rooms
Blackout inside the recess is usually plenty. Guests sleep a few nights a year and the neater fit matters more than the last few percent of darkness.
Loft bedrooms
Roof windows face the sky, so they catch light earliest of all. The good news is that a roof blind runs in channels by design, so there is no side gap: it is the darkest blind in the house without any extras.
Bedrooms with bay windows
Harder than a flat window. At each corner of a bay the two blinds meet at an angle and the gap forms a wedge, which is bright at sunrise. Fitting outside the recess across the bay, or channelling each blind, is what fixes it.
The things people forget
Radiators under the window
Almost every bedroom has one. A blind fitted outside the recess will hang in front of it if the drop is wrong, which blocks the heat and scorches the fabric over time. We set the drop to finish at the sill, or take the blind past the radiator only where there is clearance.
Condensation in winter
A blackout blind pulled down against a cold window all night traps moist air against cold glass. Over a winter that shows as mould spotting along the bottom of the blind and on the frame. Raise it during the day and air the room briefly each morning: that is the whole fix.
Light from the landing
Worth mentioning because people blame the blind. If the room still is not dark after a proper blackout installation, check the door gap and any glazed panel before assuming the window is at fault.
The chain side
Put it on the side away from the bed. Obvious once said, regularly got wrong, and irritating every single night.
Blind alone, or blind and curtains?
A well-fitted blackout blind does not need curtains to work. People add them for warmth, for softness, or to cover a window that is an awkward shape.
If you are having both, the blind does the darkening and the curtains are decorative, which means you can choose the curtain fabric on looks alone. If you are having curtains only, be aware they leak light round the sides far more than a channelled blind does.
Our usual bedroom specification
What we fit most often
Blackout fabric, fitted outside the recess, drop set to clear the radiator, chain on the far side from the bed, safety device fitted and secured. Cordless in any room a small child uses.
For a north-facing room, a thermal-backed blackout instead. For a nursery or an east-facing window, add side channels.
showing the overlap onto the wall
approx. 560×420
Read next
Related guides
Blackout roller blinds
The three fitting methods in detail, and what each costs.
Read moreChild-safe & cordless
What the regulations require, and why we go further in a nursery.
Read moreBlackout vs sunscreen
Why sunscreen is the wrong fabric for a bedroom.
Read the guideThermal blinds
For north-facing bedrooms and old glazing.
Read more
Common questions
Bedroom blinds, answered
A blackout roller blind fitted outside the recess, so it overlaps the window and light cannot get round the edges. That combination suits most bedrooms.
For a nursery, an east-facing window or a shift worker, add side channels: that is what takes a room from dark to genuinely dark.
Because it is fitted inside the recess. Every roller is cut slightly narrower than its opening so it can turn freely, leaving about 10 to 15mm at each side.
It is normal and it is not a fault. Refitting outside the recess, or adding side channels, is what removes it.
Every blind we fit meets the UK child safety standard, with the safety device fitted and secured during installation.
Next to a cot we would still recommend cordless or motorised. It removes the chain entirely rather than managing it, and cots and furniture give a child the height to reach cords that would otherwise be out of range.
No. A properly fitted blackout blind darkens a room on its own.
People add curtains for warmth or for the look, which is fine, if the blind is doing the darkening, you can choose the curtain fabric purely on appearance.
A little: blackout fabrics are denser than standard ones, so they slow heat loss through the glass.
If warmth is a real concern, ask for a blackout fabric with a reflective thermal backing. You get darkness and insulation from the same blind.
Dim-out fabric. It blocks most of the light but lets a soft glow through, so the room is dusky rather than black, with full privacy.
It is a genuinely useful middle ground and far better than fitting blackout and then propping the door open every night.
Tell us which way the window faces
East-facing bedrooms need more than west-facing ones, and a nursery needs more than a guest room. We will look at the window and specify honestly. Free visit, written quote.
Unit C3, Star Business Centre, Marsh Way, Rainham RM13 8UP