In one of John Donne’s most beloved poems, he describes the sun as a “saucy pedantic wretch” for having the gall to disturb him and his lover as they’re sleeping.
Perhaps a bit dramatic, but if you’ve ever woken up unintentionally because of that fireball’s mean glare, or if your child refuses to nap in the brightness of day, well … you get it.
Donne was not lucky enough to live in the age of Wirecutter, but you are: We’ve researched dozens of blackout and room-darkening curtains and put 35 to the test so that when you want darkness, you get it.
Our pick
These simple curtains are among the best priced options we found that still look nice hung up. However, they don’t fully block the light—they just darken the room.
Target’s Pillowfort Blackout Chambray Cotton Kids’ Panels have a polyester backing that offers good room-darkening power (though they’re not fully blackout) for a very reasonable cost, while looking much more attractive than others at the same price. They also come in several colors and sizes and are machine-washable.
Budget pick
These curtains fully block sunlight and are very affordable. But they’re less attractive than our other picks.
Though not quite as handsome as our other curtain recommendations, IKEA’s Rosenmandel Black-out Curtains were one of only two models we tested that could fully block out sunlight. (The other one is also from IKEA but very ugly.) The Rosenmandel curtains are lightweight, come in nice neutral colors, and, despite their extremely reasonable price, still manage to look nice hung up.
Upgrade pick
These elegant curtains bring decent darkening, letting just some light in, and major va-va-voom. But they’re the heaviest and most expensive of our picks.
West Elm’s Worn Velvet Blackout Curtain is the only model we tested that could be hung straight out of the box without any wrinkles. It looks elegant over a window, comes in eight jewel-tone colors, and does a good job at room darkening. It’s the most expensive of our picks, though, as well as the heaviest.
Also great
These delicate curtains look beautiful hung up; however, they let some light in.
The breezy CB2 European Flax–Certified Linen Blackout Window Curtain Panels hang gorgeously while still offering impressive room darkening (without blacking out the room completely). They come in five colors and four sizes and can be machine-washed, but they’re on the pricey side of our picks.
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