Has anyone gotten room darkening shades?

[colleenfs]

Julia is having trouble getting to sleep at night since "it's not dark!" so I am thinking of getting room darkening shades. Does anyone here have these? Do they really work? Where can I get them for a reasonable price?

Thanks!

~Colleen
Mama to Julia 1-10-02
Baby GIRL! due 7-23-05
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[K-Bear]

I have room darkening shades in all the bedrooms including the future nursery. They do work - some morning sunlight does come through the edges in our room, but nothing too bad.

I purchased ours at JC Penney's.

[mykidsmom]

Home Depot has them. They will cut them to the size of your window and they are only about $30.00. They have helped us with bedtime and also in the morning when the sun comes up.

[amp]

We went on the cheap and just ended up getting a vinyl shade that we put under DS's mini blinds and window valance. Not pretty, but also covered (mostly) by the other window coverings. The darker room has made a world of difference in sleeping, as well as keeping some of the sun/heat out in the late day hours!

[mtracchia]

I just got some too. They are awesome. I first bought some at JCPenney but was very unhappy with the quality. The person who cut them did a terrible job and they wouldn't go back up very well. So I returned them and got them at a local store. The ones I have now are much better. I was going to go to Home Depot but we found this other place. Good luck!

[vdrake71]

We bought room darkening shades from Home Depot and love them. I believe that the brand is Bali. I think that they were around $100 for one. The blinds are so nice because it keeps his room cool in the summer (keeps the sun out) and warms in the winter (keeps the cold air out). I also like the shades because I can dim his room before it is time to sleep so he can adjust and know it is nap or sleep time.

The room darkening shades and a dimmer switch is something that I think all rooms should have.

[Chris]

I purchased white vinyl room darkening shades from Home Depot or Lowes a few years ago-brand and cost unknown. I put the shades behind my blinds, mounted inside the window; had to get white because they can be viewed from the road in front of our house. They cut them to fit the window.

I do not like them at all. Too much light comes in around the edges of the window (the width of the shade is less than the width of the attachment piece, so there is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch gap around the edges), and as somebody else said, they do not roll up very well at all. I would be very careful about what you get-make sure it can be returned. It also matters where your windows are positioned-mine get a ton of light, but if your windows don't face direct sunlight during key times, you might not need the best there is. My mom is able to get away with two blinds-a pretty blind mounted normally, and then when the room needs to be darkened, uses a second cheap room darkening blind that is mounted outside the window.

I am on the hunt for better shades or blinds, so please share if you find something good.

Thanks.
Christina

[saschalicks]

Got the roller shade from JCPenney and they are great. We put them in before Jonah was born and a year later we're still pretty happy w/our $12.95 shades.

[Chris]

Thanks for the info. Do the roller shades roll up and down easily (I like to open my windows daily) and is there any gap around the edges where sunlight can come through?

Thanks much.

[karolyp]

Hi!

I actually got some room darkening curtains from Linens N Things. They are $34.99 to $39.99 depending on length. They were easy to install under my exisiting curtains. I just put them up so I can't comment on whether or not they're making a difference! But if you're really crafty, you can buy the same material at JoAnns and make them yourself for way cheaper!

HTH
Karoly