[Closed] Decent budget blackout curtains

If you want to try it then you can buy the blackout liner quite cheap (which is ironically white). Attach to windows somehow (depends on your window frames) and if it does the trick either get it sewn into the curtains as a proper liner or get curtains already fitted.

In the end I got some roller blinds....
I got these: £30
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005C40OAK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Really quite good at the blackout bit but the roller part is a bit cheap... I ended up just using a Ikea roller bit for the end.

You can cut these to fit which is a bit of a fiddle but not too hard.

I went to Dunelm, bought the liner and then, using my amazing machine sewing skills* sewed the lining onto the back of the curtains.

Light no longer comes through the curtains. It cost me next to nothing.

* - skills with sewing machine not actually amazing. Your own results, like the straightness of the stitches, may vary.

As above - we just use black out roller blinds

Lookup blindfold sleep masks - I always use the ones from International Flights that I'm given.... easier than curtains... and a lot cheaper...

We used off the roll blackout material and clothes pegs to attach them to our blinds as a temporary measure- they were there for about four years!

Got some from Ikea for around £50 or so that work reasonably well.

I got some dead cheap ones from Argos that are actually pretty good. They were bought as a stop gap but are moving to the new house.

Got some from Ikea for around £50 or so that work reasonably well.

The £30 ones I posted on amazon work very well as blackout blinds (there is really no light gets through them) but Ikea blinds have a better (more metal mechanism)

I've got a made to measure black out lining roller blind arriving tomorrow.
£39 delivered. eBay.

B&m stores

Highly recommended, but check how they are intended to fit. Mine came with big rings like pat butchers earrings, sliding along a curtain pole.

Bear in mind, they'll be much heavier than you might expect.

I found some beefier curtain rail supports at ikea.

If you want to block out dawn or streetlamps, I'd get a roller blind.

We have curtain liners, and loads of light spills out onto the wall and ceiling. Worst with a curtain pole as its further from the wall. If you have tracks and those old fashioned boxes that go over the top they are probably a lot more effective.

The IKEA ones are really good at blocking light and they're very lightweight too.

I'd recommend roller blinds too. got them in our kids room and the rooms are pitch black during the day. very little light leakage. Also a cheaper option and easier to install even if you have sewing skills (or even a mother in law with sewing skills as I have).

I got these when I was renting a flat for a few months with work. Was working odd hours so often needed to sleep during the day.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L5D273E/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They were under £20 inc delivery and did a decent job. They were much too long but I wasn't bothered about that as it was a short term fix

If you go with blinds, check how much gap there is between the blind and the frame. Ours had about 5mm which was enough to make the room completely light in the summer months (or at least enough to give a toddler an excuse not to go to bed).

We ended up with black out curtains instead, they do a much much better job. They were cheap and from ebay.

My wife has insisted on spending £450 on made to measure curtains despite all the options above. I will be very very grumpy if they turn out to be crap.

If you really want budget to see if it works for you - Wilcos.

I bought a roller blind (£16 iirc) to see if it would help. It did and it's stayed. Will get same for my spare room after mate stayed and whinged about it being too light!

DT78 - why would your made to.measure curtains be crap?
Oh and why does everybody want something for nothing nowadays?

As a professional curtain maker you lot are putting me out of business 😉

There's a saying 'you get what you pay for'.

The cheapest option is to buy some blackout lining (mine is £5.20 per metre to give you an idea.)
Cut it to window recess size, with extra for hems on sides and base, also extra for putting under a 1" curtain tape.
Buy a cheap rail, top fix this and hang.
We didn't even do that in our last house, we just hung the blackout piece from 2 screw hooks.

You don't even have to hem the sides and base as blackout doesn't fray.

All of the above are expensive options (bar bunnyhop's).

If you want really cheap, buy the blackout lining (off eBay, Dunhelm, wherever) and a pack of sticky back velcro. Stick velcro to UPVC window frame at each corner and stick then sew velcro onto blackout material.

The window in my lads room cost £12 all in.

While you're sorting out a more permanent solution the easy fix is to spray water on your window and use that to 'stick' tin foil to it.
It's been great when on holiday at places with paper-thin curtains and will stay up all week.