Help me find blackout/lined curtains without breaking the bank.

August 7, 2011 9:17 PM

Help me find blackout/lined curtains without breaking the bank.

I need new curtains for my bedroom. I really want blackout/lined curtains so that I take a nap when it's daylight outside. I found some I like on etsy but the price is a bit much.

I searched Target, BBB, etc. and they have some cheaper ones, but they're all solid color ones that strike me as kind of "older woman's/married couple's house." I'm a guy and I live by myself and my place is kind of shabby-chic. Here's a design I like (shamefully enough from Urban Outfitters), but none of theirs are lined.

I'm aware of the possibility of buying plain curtains and having them lined, but I'd prefer to avoid the extra step. And I don't really have the skills or the time to take on a craft project myself.

So, maybe there is somewhere out there that sells curtains with cool designs that are lined, but won't break the bank? Thanks!

posted by drjimmy11 to home & garden (17 answers total)

Have you ruled out layering a pattern of curtain you like over a dark solid color? That would seem like it would block out most of the light without breaking the bank.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:24 PM on August 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Do you have an IKEA nearby? I'm pretty sure they have several light blocking curtain options, and they're about as cheap as you'll find.
posted by crabintheocean at 9:25 PM on August 7, 2011

I have these from ikea - they're dirt cheap and block out the light really, really well. (I was amazed how well mine, in black, work!) You could very easily make them your own with some random paint, or funky curtains on top, or, well, anything. Think of them as a blank slate waiting for inspiration!
posted by cgg at 9:30 PM on August 7, 2011

This place has the blackout it hangs by hooks over your bed like a mosquito net.
posted by hortense at 9:31 PM on August 7, 2011

More into curtains than blinds or canopy thingies. Ikea lost me when I bought something that didn't come with the screws necessary to install it. (Also with the incredibly poor quality of everything they sell.) Thanks!
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:03 PM on August 7, 2011

I just some purchased some blackout curtains for my daughter at Home Depot. They had a variety of patterns rather than just plain cloth.

Target also had some patterns which were masculine, or at least non-frilly.
posted by blob at 10:24 PM on August 7, 2011

I went through something similar last year here in Australia. I could find cheap and poorly-made curtains, or expensive and quality ones, but there didn't seem to be much middle ground.

So every time I went past my local charity shop, I popped in and looked their curtain rack over. People donate the most amazing made-to-measure, fully-lined curtains all the time. Most of them were too fru-fru for me, or too pastel, or too floral, but after about six months, I found some lovely curtains that matched my bedroom perfectly.

I'm pretty sure they're Laura Ashley, or at least, they're of similar quality. Perfect condition. Price: $30 each.

If you're not in a hurry, perhaps that could be an option.
posted by Georgina at 10:54 PM on August 7, 2011

Have you thought of using a double curtain rod? If you haven't seen one before, they have two parallel rods instead of one so you can hang two sets of curtains. Normally it is used for hanging sheer curtains behind the main ones.

I had a similar problem - My bedroom has a huge window but I wanted to use some pretty curtains that matched the room. I put cheap blackout curtains on the back rod and my pretty curtains on the front. I'm happy with this solution.
posted by elerina at 11:36 PM on August 7, 2011 [4 favorites]

I recently bought lined curtains off overstock.com, at a good price. They had some non-solid options, including some I would describe as masculine (e.g., stripes), but nothing I would describe as trendy. One option, therefore, would be to get the curtains you want and affix blackout liners to them:
posted by drlith at 4:06 AM on August 8, 2011

I know you said you're not that into blinds, but just to make sure you know it is an option: I bought black out blinds from overstock and plan to just use regular curtains over them. Also, have you seen the shabby chick (non black out) options from Target? They're really nice.
posted by cestmoi15 at 5:06 AM on August 8, 2011

Oh, and I forgot, home depot also had very well priced black out shades.
posted by cestmoi15 at 5:09 AM on August 8, 2011

OK, this is going to sound super-ghetto, but it works for me: I find that blackout curtains block out too much light when I *want* the light, even if they're open, and light-blocking curtains are all so heavy-looking anyway so I just use regular, light-weight curtains and hang cheap yoga mats over my windows on skirt hangers when I want it to be dark. I should take a photo of this, since it's a bit hard to describe. When I don't need it to be dark, the mats hang in the closet. (I started with blankets but realized the yoga mats were better for blocking the light and are just about the width of my windows.) My windows are fairly small and have a frame around them; if you have big tall windows this might not work.

Alternately, you might want to check out TJ Maxx and/or Marshalls; I've found some blackout curtains there (though they weren't as effective as the yoga mats). That might be your cheapest option if you want to go the "heavy curtain behind pretty curtain" route.
posted by mskyle at 6:58 AM on August 8, 2011

Honestly, I've never found blackout curtains dark enough (I've got south-facing windows in San Diego) - I use stand-alone blackout liner (example, though I've never paid more than $3/yd; retailmenot will have coupons, too) beneath my regular curtains. Using velcro strips means they're removeable, and I can fit them flush to eliminate any light-permitting gaps. Cools the room, too.
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:24 AM on August 8, 2011

In our kids' bedrooms we came down to this: Hang cellular shades (with a black core for light-blocking) behind good-looking curtains. It gets dark as night in there at 2PM despite direct southern exposure.

Blinds hung inside the window frame leak less light, and the curtains will contain that. You may want a valance to hide the raised shade, though the Levelors we got at Lowe's (like $50 or $70 each, ouch) compress well when raised and so aren't that visible.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:21 AM on August 8, 2011

The solution I use here for the alaskan summer is:

Cafe curtain rods---takes 2-3 screws to install. Skip if you already have curtain rods.

Cafe curtain clips. These look like rings with clips attached to their bottom.

For double-panel curtains: 2 one-yard lengths of dark fleece fabric, available from your local fabric store. If you want light-colored fleece, or darker curtains, layer two one-yard lengths.

Clip fabric to clips. Hang clips on rod. Instant black-out curtains.

If you want it absolutely dark, layer two dark fabrics. It works really well, it looks fine, and it's really quick to do. It costs between $3 - $8/ yard for the fleece and maybe $10-15 for the hardware, depending how fancy a rod you get, etc.
posted by leahwrenn at 9:47 AM on August 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ok, based on all the above, I am hearing that maybe I need to make two layers.

Out of sheer laziness, I would prefer not to install new rods. leanwrenn, I like your solution. The only drawback I can see is it sounds like the curtains are clipped together, so you can't open one and keep the other closed? That's not a big deal to me though.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:01 PM on August 8, 2011

The reason for the two layers is to make sure you get the room really black. We have a single layer of dark green in our bedroom, and it makes the room dim enough to sleep, but not black. In my daughters' room, one set of curtains is navy over black, and it really is opaque. The other set of curtains is medium blue fishes over dark green, and it's mostly opaque, but not totally. (the fish kind of glow. It's actually a nice effect. )

For more entertainment, you can use patterned fleece or some other fabric as the top layer. (my daughter has sparkly blue sheer stuff over the fleece, which ends up being pretty nice. )

If you want to have sheers or something also, you would have to install one of those double curtain rods.

Did I mention with fleece, there's no need to hem? Just clip and go.
posted by leahwrenn at 1:39 PM on August 9, 2011