Blackout vs. Room Darkening vs. Light Filtering Curtains

Curtains come in four levels of light control: sheer, light filtering, room darkening and blackout. Two curtains can share the same linen or velvet on the front and still behave very differently once the sun is behind them. For the Quince styles covered here, different linings create different levels of light control. This guide covers what each level does, how it is made, and how to choose the right one for each room.

Sheer curtains are unlined and lightweight. They let daylight through, soften the view from outside, and give a room a bright, airy feel. Our sheer curtains are semi-sheer and come as a set of two panels.

Light filtering curtains soften daylight without making the room dark. Our light filtering curtains have a 100% cotton inner lining for medium opacity, offering more coverage than a sheer while keeping the room bright.

Room darkening curtains add a lining that reduces light without blocking it completely. Choose them for a dimmer room with some daylight still coming through.

Blackout curtains have a liner made to block light completely. With the curtains closed, no daylight comes through the fabric itself.

Start with the light you want to keep. Sheer and light filtering curtains suit bright living spaces; room darkening and blackout give you more control when you want to sleep or watch a screen.

The face fabric is what you see from inside the room. In the Quince styles compared here, the lining is a key difference between the light-control options.

Our light filtering curtains pair the face fabric with a 100% cotton inner lining for medium opacity and protection from fading. Room darkening adds a 100% polyester lining for extra privacy, without completely blocking light. True blackout uses a 37% polyester and 63% polyacrylic liner for complete light-blocking through the fabric.

You can choose light control without starting over on style. Our European linen curtains come in light filtering, room darkening and true blackout in coordinating colors, so you can keep the look consistent while choosing a different lining for each room.

The question to ask is whether you want the room dim or dark.

Choose room darkening if you like a dim bedroom with a little daylight still coming through. Blackout is a good fit when keeping light out matters most: a nursery, a bedroom used for daytime sleep, a window facing a streetlight, or a media room where glare distracts from the screen.

Even with a blackout liner, light can come in around the curtain, through gaps at the sides, the top and between the panels. To keep a room as dark as possible, hang the rod above and wider than the window frame, so the panels cover the edges, and make sure the two panels overlap in the middle when closed. Floor-length panels also cut the light that escapes below the sill.

For living rooms, kitchens and dining rooms, most people want daylight and some privacy rather than darkness. Light filtering and sheer curtains both do that, in different amounts.

Sheer curtains let in plenty of daylight and soften the view, but they offer limited privacy, especially after dark with lamps on inside. Light filtering gives you more coverage while keeping the room bright. For a street-facing room, consider how much privacy you need at night as well as during the day; room darkening or blackout panels give you more coverage when closed.

Layering gives you two settings at one window. Hang a sheer closest to the glass and a lined curtain in front of it, on a double rod or two separate rods. During the day, open the lined panels and leave the sheer closed for soft daylight. Close the lined panels when you want more privacy or less light.

The same idea works in a bedroom: a sheer for daytime with room darkening or blackout panels for the night. Keep the sheer and the lined panels in related colors, or choose the same fabric in both, so the window reads as one treatment rather than two.