Blockout vs light-filtering vs sunscreen: which fabric is right?

When you choose a roller blind, the mechanism barely changes. What changes everything is the fabric. The same blind can softly glow, screen out glare while keeping your view, or black a room out completely, depending on which of three fabric types you pick. Here's how to tell them apart and choose the right one for each room.

Blockout: full darkness and privacy

Blockout fabric blocks light almost entirely. It's the choice for bedrooms, nurseries and media rooms, anywhere you want true darkness for sleep or a screen. Blockout also gives complete privacy day and night, and it helps with insulation by keeping the sun off the glass in summer and holding warmth in winter.

The trade-off is obvious. When it's down, you lose the view and the daylight. That's why blockout is often paired with a second, softer blind (more on that below).

Light-filtering: a soft, glare-free glow

Light-filtering fabric softens daylight into an even, glare-free glow while giving you privacy during the day. You can see a soft silhouette of shapes through it, but not detail. So a living room or kitchen stays bright and private at the same time.

The thing to know: most light-filtering fabrics give daytime privacy, not night-time. After dark, with the lights on inside, a light-filtering blind alone won't fully screen the room. For street-facing windows you'll often want a blockout layer as well.

Sunscreen: keep the view, kill the glare

Sunscreen is a screen fabric with a fine weave that blocks UV and glare while keeping your view to the outside. Look through a sunscreen blind and you can still see the garden or the street. Look at it from outside in daylight and it screens the room for privacy. It's the choice for a window with a view you don't want to lose: a living room facing the harbour, or a study that cops afternoon glare on a screen.

Two things to keep in mind. A sunscreen's openness is a balance. A more open weave keeps more view but lets more light through; a tighter weave does the reverse. And like light-filtering fabric, sunscreen gives daytime privacy. At night with the lights on, it becomes see-through from outside.

The setup that solves it: layer two blinds

The most popular answer in living rooms and bedrooms is to run two roller blinds on one window. A sunscreen or light-filtering blind handles soft, private daytime light and the view, and a blockout blind behind it gives full darkness and night-time privacy. On a dual bracket, both sit neatly at the one window, and you pull down whichever you need.

Quick guide by room

• Bedroom: blockout (add a sheer or light-filter for daytime softness).
• Living room: sunscreen or light-filtering for the day; blockout behind for night privacy.
• Kitchen & dining: light-filtering for a bright, private room.
• Study / home office: sunscreen to cut screen glare without losing the view.
• Street-facing rooms: layer light-filtering or sunscreen with blockout for night privacy.

See it in your own light

Fabric looks different in a showroom than it does in your own room, at your own window, at the time of day you actually use it. That's why we bring free fabric samples to your home, or post a sample pack to your door. You can hold blockout, light-filtering and sunscreen up to the glass and see the difference for yourself.

Book a free measure and quote and we'll bring the samples and recommend the right fabric for each room. Call (02) 6332 2144 or order free samples online.