Blockout vs blackout blinds: is there a difference?
Blockout and blackout are two names for the same fabric type. Here is what it does, where light still leaks in and how to fit it for a darker room.
Blockout vs blackout blinds is a difference in wording, not in product. Blockout is the term most Australian retailers use and blackout is the one most people search for, but both describe a fabric that stops light passing through the cloth. The fit matters more than the word, because light still enters around the edges of a conventional roller blind.
In short
- Blockout and blackout are two names for the same type of fabric.
- The fabric stops light passing through the cloth and gives you privacy at night.
- A little light can still come in around the edges of a conventional blind. Face fit with an under-roll, or a Full Blockout Cassette, reduces those gaps.
- "Room darkening" is not a fixed term, so check what the description promises.
Blockout vs blackout blinds: what the words mean
In Australia, "blockout" is the everyday word for a fabric that stops light passing through it. Shoppers often search for "blackout blinds" instead, and they are looking for exactly the same product. If a listing says blackout, you can read it as blockout.
Other words are looser. This table sets out how we use the terms.
| Term | What it means | Where it sits in our range |
|---|---|---|
| Blockout / blackout | A fabric that stops light passing through the cloth and gives night privacy | The nine blockout ranges |
| Light filter | A fabric that diffuses daylight and obscures the view | The four LF ranges |
| SunScreen | A woven fabric that cuts glare and keeps the view | The Screen range |
| Room darkening | Wording that varies from seller to seller | Check the description; we describe fabrics as Blockout, Light Filter or SunScreen |
The last row is where confusion starts. Room darkening is not a standard category, so read the product description to see whether the cloth stops light or only reduces it. If you are choosing between our three fabric types, blockout, light filter or SunScreen compares them.
How blackout blinds work
A blockout roller blind is a coated polyester fabric wound on a tube. Shade, for example, is 100% polyester with an acrylic coating, and the coating helps stop light passing through the cloth. In use, that puts an opaque layer between the room and the window, and that is all a blockout blind does.
Two details are worth knowing when you shop:
- Backing. Shade is the same colour on both sides. Serene II and Lakeside have a colour-coordinated backing. Serene, Ultra, Array, Allure, Elegance and Opulence have a white backing. With a standard roll, the backing shows at the top of the roll.
- Colour does not decide the job. The blockout ability comes from the fabric type, so you can choose by texture and colour. Order a sample and look at it in your own light.
Our blockout roller blinds page shows every range and colour.
Are blackout blinds effective? Where light still gets in
Yes, at the job the fabric does: the cloth stops light passing through and gives night privacy. What it cannot do on its own is close the gaps around the blind. On a conventional blind, light still enters around the edges.
| Where light gets in | Why | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Down the sides of a recess-fit blind | Small gaps, roughly 20 mm at the chain side and 10 to 20 mm at the pin end | Face fit, or a cassette with side channels |
| Between the fabric and the glass | A front roll sits farther from the glass | A standard (under) roll, which drops closer to the glass and blocks more light |
| Between two blinds on a wide window | About 17 mm on linked blinds, 30 mm or more if butted | Linked blinds, with the join over a mullion centre |
| Around the hardware | A fascia hides hardware but does not remove every gap | A Full Blockout Cassette |
Working through the fit gets you much closer to a fully dark room. Our guide to how to reduce light gaps around roller blinds goes through each option in detail.
Do blackout blinds keep a room cool?
Keeping direct sun out of a room in the first place generally helps, and a lowered blockout blind does that. It works best if it is lowered before the sun reaches the window: the morning for an east-facing window, the afternoon for a west-facing one. A face-fit blind with an under-roll usually leaves the fewest gaps.
How much difference a blind makes depends on your window, its orientation and how early you close it. If you want to keep the view and still cut glare, SunScreen is the alternative. Our guide on how to keep your home cooler in summer covers combinations.
How to get the darkest room from a blockout blind
Work through these in order. Each step reduces the light that gets around the blind.
- Choose Blockout fabric. Light Filter and SunScreen let light through the cloth.
- Choose face fit. The blind overlaps the window opening instead of sitting inside it. The roller blinds measuring guide explains how to measure for face fit.
- Choose a standard (under) roll. It drops from the back of the tube, closer to the glass. The comparison is in standard roll vs reverse roll.
- Consider a Full Blockout Cassette. It has a headbox, side channels and a bottom channel, and it is available as a full four-sided or a three-sided system. It is ordered with a compatible under-roll blockout blind and cannot be retrofitted. Cassette roller blinds shows the options.
- Add curtains if you want a second layer. Blockout curtains are coated and opaque.
Tip: If you add curtains, a box pelmet above them can help close the gap at the top.
Blockout blinds or blockout curtains?
Both stop light passing through the cloth. The difference is in where light still enters and what you can do about it.
| Blockout roller blind | Blockout curtains | |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric | Coated polyester, nine ranges | Galaxy or Epic, both coated |
| Light through the cloth | Stopped | Stopped |
| Where light still enters | Around the edges of a conventional blind | At the edges, top and bottom |
| What reduces it | Face fit, an under-roll, a cassette | A track wider than the window, a box pelmet above, or a blind behind can help |
| Cleaning | Dust, wipe with a damp sponge and dry | Not machine washable; professional wet clean, or hand wash with care |
Many bedrooms use both: a blockout roller blind close to the glass and curtains over the top. If you want that layered result from curtains alone, lined curtains sew a blockout lining behind a sheer so both move together on one track, and double curtains put a sheer and a blockout on two tracks so you can draw them separately. For more on choosing between the two families, our guide to blinds or curtains works through each room.
Which rooms need blockout
Blockout is the first fabric to look at for a bedroom, a nursery and a home theatre. For bedrooms we usually suggest face fit, and a cassette or a double roller if you want extra control. See bedroom blinds for the options, or home theatre blinds for a room that needs to be as dark as possible. A darker room can make it easier to sleep, and our guide to blockout for better sleep has a practical checklist.
In a nursery, blockout pairs well with ZeroGravity cordless controls or a cassette. Keep chains out of reach of children, use the chain safety device that comes with a chain drive, and choose cordless or motorised where you can. In a kitchen or living area you may prefer a fabric that lets in daylight, and a double roller lets you have both. If you are working out what to buy for the whole house, the roller blinds buyer's guide sets out every choice.
Questions
Are blackout blinds and blockout blinds the same?
Yes. Blockout is the usual Australian term and blackout is what many people search for, but both describe a fabric that stops light passing through the cloth.
Are blackout blinds effective?
They are effective at stopping light through the fabric and giving night privacy. Light can still enter around the edges of a conventional blind, so fit matters as much as fabric.
Will blockout blinds make my room completely dark?
No. Even a Full Blockout Cassette is not completely dark, but face fit, an under-roll or a cassette will get you a much darker room than a loose recess fit.
Do blackout blinds keep a room cool?
Keeping direct sun out of a room generally helps, and a lowered blockout blind does that. How much difference it makes depends on your window, its orientation and how early you close the blind.
Is room darkening the same as blockout?
Not necessarily. Sellers use room darkening in different ways, so check whether the description says light is stopped passing through the cloth.
Build your blockout roller blind
Choose your fabric and fit, enter your measurements and see the price before you order.
Keep reading
ComparisonsBlockout, light filter or SunScreen? Choosing roller blind fabricWhat each roller blind fabric does with light, view and privacy by day and night, and which one suits each room in your home.
BlindsHow to reduce light gaps around roller blindsLight gaps come from fit, not just fabric. Compare face fit, under-roll, side channels, linked blinds and layering to get the darkest room a roller blind allows.
BlindsRoller blinds: the complete buyer's guideFabric, colour, controls, fit, roll direction and special formats: every decision in ordering a made-to-measure roller blind, in the order you make it.
