The Best Blackout and Room-Darkening Curtains

As a staff writer on Wirecutter’s home and decor team, it’s my job to find and test items that help make your home as comfortable and functional as possible, like bed frames and bedroom storage. This guide also builds on research and reporting by Jackie Reeve, a senior staff writer also on the home team, who wrote an earlier version of this guide.

For this guide:

• I wrapped 11 curtains around a bright, light therapy lamp inside a dark closet to measure how much light filtered through them in complete darkness. I then hung all the curtains in my sunny Los Angeles bedroom window to assess their real-world performance.
• Jackie spoke with behavioral sleep experts and researchers to get insight on ideal conditions for sleeping.

Our experts said that most people would benefit from a darker room while they sleep. Whether you need total blackness or just a very dark room depends on your own reaction to light. “Individuals differ in their sensitivity to light, so I don’t think one answer fits everyone,” said UCLA psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences professor Jerome Siegel, PhD. But for shift workers who sleep during the day, total darkness is essential, said Rachel Manber, PhD, sleep medicine clinician and researcher at Stanford University.

A lot of the curtains I tested for this guide are labeled as blackout curtains, but often they’re simply room-darkening (and sometimes not very good at that). True blackout curtains and shades, when installed properly, block all light—even daylight—while good room-darkening curtains block most light at night but are less effective during the day. If you want to darken a room for children napping during daylight hours, Jodi Mindell, PhD, psychology professor and author of Sleeping Through the Night: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night’s Sleep, said room-darkening curtains are probably better because a bit of light actually helps preserve their sleep rhythms.

We’ve researched 73 blackout curtains since first publishing this guide in 2017, and our criteria for narrowing down the best have always been simple:

Effective light-blocking: If a curtain is labeled as blackout or room-darkening and it doesn’t make a room significantly darker, it’s not doing its job.

Attractive fabrics: Most of the blackout curtains we’ve found are made with synthetic fabrics, which are better at blocking light, but many of them look stiff and cheap. Blackout curtains have a specific job to do, but they’re still a prominent piece of home decor, so they should look as nice as possible. I focused mostly on solid-color curtains available in at least a few shades to work with a variety of styles.

A variety of sizes: Windows come in all shapes and sizes, so we looked for curtains in a good range of lengths and widths. Wide panels are essential for proper installation—all of these picks are at least 42 inches wide, and most are wider.

I first tested the curtains by draping each directly over a 10,000-lux light therapy lamp—a very bright lamp that mimics a bright sunny day—while inside a dark closet, and I took note of how much light filtered through the fabric.

I also hung each curtain in my bedroom window for real-world testing. I assessed how effectively they kept out actual sunlight and also graded them on how they looked and felt in my home.

The Target Pillowfort Blackout Chambray Cotton Kids’ Panels look great and are reasonably dark, at a great price.

They’re some of the most room-darkening curtains we tested. Though “blackout” is right there in the name, it would be more appropriate to call them “very, very darkening.” Still, they were bested only by the IKEA Majgull and the IKEA Rosenmandel curtains for their darkening ability. For some people, this level of light control may be their preference, especially if the sun peeking through a bit helps you wake up more easily. For kids (or anyone) napping, a little light actually helps preserve sleep rhythms, said sleep expert Jodi Mindell.

They come in pretty, neutral tones. With five neutral colors and three sizes, there’s a good chance you’ll find a curtain combo that works specifically for your window. Like all our picks, the curtains have both a rod pocket and loops for two different hanging methods.

Washing them is easy. Unlike many blackout curtains that are dry-clean only, these can be thrown in your washer and dryer. Most people don’t need to wash their curtains very often, but the easy care instructions on these curtains are a plus. They weigh about 3.4 pounds per panel, roughly in the middle weight-wise among our picks.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• A few customer reviews complained that the cotton fabric shrunk when washed, sometimes causing the polyester lining to peek out of the front. We washed and dried ours according to the care instructions and have not experienced this problem, but we will update this guide should that change with long-term testing.
• These curtains arrive very, very wrinkled. You’ll definitely want to steam them.

Key specs

• Dimensions: 42″ by 63″, 42″ by 84″, 42″ by 95″
• Colors: black, blue, cream, gray, green
• Material: 100% cotton top layer, 100% polyester backing
• Care: machine-wash; machine-dry; iron as needed

Though not quite as elegant as our other picks, the IKEA Rosenmandel Black-out Curtains were one of only two models we tested that could very nearly block out all sunlight. They’re also the cheapest curtains on our list, at around $20 for a pair.

They deliver a nearly pitch-black room. In our real-world testing—on a window in Los Angeles, with the sun at its zenith—these curtains blocked out all light (only very minimal light filtered through in our lamp tests). The IKEA Majgull Black-out Curtains were the only truly blackout curtains in our tests, but those looked very plasticky and almost like shower curtains.

Depending on the color you select, some of the Rosenmandel curtains are labeled room darkening rather than blackout; we tested the dark green black-out curtains and the yellow-beige room-darkening curtains, and we found them both to block out light just as effectively.

They’re extremely lightweight. At just 1.2 pounds per panel, these curtains were the lightest we tested (for comparison, the Target Pillowfort curtains are 3.4 pounds per panel and the West Elm Worn Velvet Blackout Curtains are 4.5 pounds). Though any properly installed curtain rod should be able to hold any of the curtains featured in this article, I had a much easier time hanging these curtains solo than the others.

They’re sold in pairs. These IKEA curtains are the only pick that are sold in pairs. They cost between $20 to $25 a pair depending on the length you pick, or about $10 per panel. The rest of the curtains on this list are sold by the individual panel.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

They don’t slide easily on the curtain rod. The hanging loops on these curtains are made from flossy strands which tend to catch while hanging them. They sometimes require more force to pull open or close than our other picks. They can also be hung by a rod pocket, or you can separately purchase hooks that attach them to a track.

They’re a little stiff. These curtains have a slight crinkly quality. The front fabric is made of a woven matte polyester, but there’s still a certain inflexibility to the way they hang.

Key specs

• Dimensions: 53″ by 84″; 53″ by 98″
• Colors: dark blue, dark green, gray, yellow-beige
• Material: 100% polyester top layer; 100% polyurethane backing
• Care: machine-wash cold, normal cycle; hang dry; iron top layer only and on low heat; do not dry-clean

The West Elm Worn Velvet Blackout Curtains look elegant over a window, and they do a good job at room darkening.

They darken but don’t blackout a room. If you’d like moderate, but not complete, darkness, these are a good choice. They are less darkening than the Target Pillowfort Blackout Chambray Cotton Kids’ Panels but more darkening than the CB2 European Flax–Certified Linen Blackout Window Curtain Panels.

We love the drama. Unlike traditional shiny velvet, these curtains have a woven texture and are brushed, which gives them a more elegant, subtle sheen. They fit nicely into my airy Los Angeles bedroom but would be just as appropriate in Count Dracula’s dining room. Like all our picks, they can be hung via rod pocket or back tabs.

They hardly need any ironing. Setting these curtains apart from every other curtain we tested, the panels came out of the box with very few wrinkles, some of which went away naturally after hanging for a couple of weeks.

They’re easy to wash. Like our top pick from Target, these curtains can be washed and dried in a machine.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

They’re a bit of an arm workout. At 4.5 pounds per panel, these are the heaviest of our curtain picks. They should be fine hanging on properly installed curtain rods, but people with upper body weakness may find them a bit challenging to install solo.

They’re pricey. These are the most expensive of all our picks, and five to six times more expensive than our top pick, the Target Pillowfort curtains.

Key specs

• Dimensions: 48″ by 84″; 48″ by 96″; 48″ by 108″
• Colors: alabaster, frost gray, metal, tarragon, regal blue, dusty blush, camel, golden oak
• Material: 100% polyester
• Care: machine-wash cold; tumble-dry low or dry-clean

These breezy CB2 European Flax–Certified Linen Blackout Window Curtain Panels hang gorgeously while still offering very decent room-darkening ability (not blackout, however).

They’re bohemian chic. These CB2 flax linen curtains and the West Elm European Flax Linen Blackout Curtains (in the Other good curtains section) were among our favorites based on appearance alone; we preferred the CB2 curtains since they sell at a slightly better price. But both exude the same airy elegance and possess equal darkening powers, and both weigh just slightly over 3 pounds for a 48-by-84-inch panel.

They come with hooks. All our curtain picks have both rod pockets and back tabs that you can hang without hooks, but these are the only ones we tested that come with included drapery hooks as well.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

They’re not all that dark. Like all of our picks besides those from IKEA, these offer room darkening but do not fully blackout the room. And as far as that darkening goes, they’re only moderately effective—the least darkening of our picks.

Key specs

• Dimensions: 48″ by 84″, 48″ by 96″, 48″ by 108″, 48″ by 120″
• Colors: natural, white, black, forest green, warm white
• Material: 100% linen front; 100% polyester back
• Care: machine-wash cold; line dry

The more you can close gaps between the curtain and the window, the less chance that light will have to sneak in. The blackout layer of the curtain panels must be wide and long enough to eliminate those gaps.

Berek Awend, sales manager at Blackoutcurtains.com at the time of our interview, calls this light seepage “the dreaded ‘halo effect.’” Blackoutcurtains.com specializes in commercial blackout needs for photography studios, labs, and medical clinics. “When measuring outside the window frame, we suggest measuring 12 inches on both sides and above the opening to eliminate that light,” Awend said.

If you don’t intend for the curtains to touch the floor, allow at least that much extra space along the bottom of the window as well (but the longer the curtains, the less chance of light seeping out). Depending on how wide your window is, you may need more than two panels or extra-wide curtains. Essentially, you want the curtains to extend at least 1 foot beyond the window frame on all sides. Layering a curtain over a shade can also help.

Follow the care labels on your curtains. Many we tested are dry-clean only, and some you can wash on very gentle settings but not iron. Many of the curtains we tested, in synthetic fabrics or natural fibers, came with wrinkles out of the package. Iron them if the instructions allow for it or steam them, but make sure to do so at a low heat; too hot and you risk melting the synthetic light-blocking layer.

If your first priority is total darkness: No curtain blocked out light better than the IKEA Majgull Black-out Curtains. Both with a light therapy lamp and a sunny west-facing window, light simply could not filter through the turquoise curtain we tested. However, this curtain is shiny, plasticky, and stiff—ugly, to put it simply. For that reason, we can’t recommend it for decorative home use, unless looks are not a priority or you plan to hide it under another set of curtains.

If you want a breezy linen curtain with more color options: The West Elm European Flax Linen Blackout Curtain was nearly indistinguishable from our pick, the CB2 European Flax–Certified Linen Blackout Window Curtain Panel, but it’s more expensive and it doesn’t come with drapery hooks. However, the West Elm curtains come in several more colors and sizes, if you need more options than what the CB2 curtains offer.

If you want a very pretty budget option and don’t need full darkness: Quince’s Cotton Slub Blackout Curtain is very well priced (only bested by our Target and IKEA options) and looks breezy and linen-like hung up. However, though they offer better darkening than a standard curtain, they were less effective than our other picks, including our linen pick from CB2. They’re also dry-clean only. If you don’t plan to wash your curtains often and want an affordable linen-like textured curtain that isn’t very darkening, these would make a good choice.

Anthropologie’s Luxe Linen Blend Blackout Curtains would look at home by the beach, with their thick, textured linen-blend weave and frayed edges. But, unfortunately, they’re very pricey and not all that great at blocking light—you would do nearly just as well buying a standard curtain.

The IKEA Vilborg Room Darkening Curtains managed to dim outdoor light but couldn’t block it well enough for us to recommend them—they’re slightly better than a standard curtain but far less effective than our other picks. They do come in a few color options, and though I thought their stiff, striated weave and subtle sheen was ugly, many buyer reviews laud these very details.

We thought the IKEA Sanela Room Darkening Curtains were a decent velvet option, though we wish they did a better job at keeping out light—they function about the same as just a standard curtain, but it was a stretch to categorize them as darkening. They’re available in seven colors, and the velvet finish looks surprisingly soft and luxurious given its low price (about $70 for a pair); they make a decent dupe for the West Elm Worn Velvet Blackout Curtains we recommend above, but without the dimming ability.

Target’s Threshold Aruba Blackout Curtain Panels aren’t all that cute, don’t block out light very well, and aren’t particularly cheap. We think you can skip them.

Best Home Fashion’s Thermal Insulated Curtains blocked all light in our testing, but these almost iridescent panels looked like they belonged in a lab or home theater, not a bedroom. They reminded us of a superhero cape.

The Deconovo Room Darkening Thermal Curtains are under $15 per panel. They do a decent job of room darkening for its very low price, but we don’t recommend them because the material felt very cheap. If you’re looking for darkening curtains on a tight budget, these wouldn’t be a terrible choice.

We tested Pottery Barn’s Emery Linen Curtain in 2017, and it had beautiful fabric, but the linen-cotton curtains didn’t compare to the others we tested for blocking out light. It was also the most expensive curtain we tested that year.

Eclipse is a big manufacturer of room-darkening and blackout curtains, and we tested three different models—the Canova, the Samara, and the Fresno. The Canova and Samara curtains had linings that felt flimsy and thin, like a disposable plastic tablecloth. The Eclipse Fresno curtains were much better quality, but all three were terrible at blocking light.

Sun Zero is another big blackout curtain manufacturer. In 2019, we tested the Evan (sold at primarily JCPenney) and the Easton (sold primarily on Amazon), and they were absolutely identical, down to the model number on the tags. Neither was very good at blocking light, and the Evan model is usually double the price of the Easton curtain, despite being identical products, which makes us skeptical.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Joanne Chen.