The best VELUX blind for a bedroom, and why the edges matter

A bedroom blind has one job that matters more than any other: make the room dark when you want sleep, and let it go back to bright when you do not.

A skylight sits in the roof, so it faces the sky rather than a street. In a loft bedroom that means the first grey light of a summer morning lands straight on the pillow. Curtains do not cope with this, because a roof window tilts. The fabric hangs away from the glass and the light pours round it. That is why a blind made for the sloped frame, held close to the glass, does the work far better than anything improvised.

So the useful questions are plain ones. How dark does the room need to be? Do you sleep after a night shift? Is the window within reach from the bed? Do you want a little daylight in the room at noon without the glare? Answer those and the choice narrows quickly.

The decision also connects to what sits around the blind. If you are still choosing the window itself, the page on which VELUX size suits a loft bedroom is the place to begin, because the blind is made to fit one size exactly.

The feature that separates a good bedroom blind from an adequate one is how the edges are held. A blind that runs in side channels cannot drift, and it leaves almost no gap for light to creep round.

A basic roller blind hangs from a cassette at the top and rests against the glass under its own weight. On a steep roof that is nearly enough. On a shallow one the fabric can sag away from the sash, and a thin bright line shows down each edge. A side-channel blind is different. The fabric edges sit in tracks fixed to the sides of the sash, so the blind follows the glass down and stays flat against it.

The blackout fabric itself is usually a coated material that blocks light rather than filtering it. Paired with the channels, it gives a room that can be properly dark, even at midsummer. Because the blind is a genuine VELUX part made for the sash, it clips into brackets designed for that frame. Nothing is drilled into the window, and nothing needs to be filled later if you change your mind.

Two practical points follow from this:

• Match the blind to the window. The code on the blind corresponds to the window size and generation. Look at our page on how to read a VELUX size code before you order anything.
• Check the range. VELUX revises its blinds and fixings over time, so confirm the current blind range against the window you have.

A duo blind puts two fabrics in one housing. One layer is a blackout, and the other is a light-filtering pleated or cellular layer. You choose which to draw, or use both together.

That suits a room that has two lives. A guest room, a nursery, or a bedroom that doubles as a study can be shaded softly in the afternoon without being plunged into darkness. The filtering layer takes the edge off the sun. The blackout layer comes down at bedtime. You keep the daylight that was the reason for the window in the first place.

The trade is a bulkier cassette and a little more to operate. If the room is used only for sleeping, a single blackout in side channels is simpler and does the job just as well. If the room is used for other things during the day, the extra layer is worth having.

A loft window is often set high on the slope. Think about how you will actually get the blind up and down before you choose how it is driven.

A manual blind has a handle that you pull down, usually in arm's reach when the window is at a normal height. If the window sits above the bed or over a stair, a pole or an electric blind is more comfortable. Electric and solar versions run from a remote or a wall control, and they can be paired with a window that opens by motor. Our pages on VELUX INTEGRA electric roof windows and VELUX solar powered roof windows explain how those systems are put together.

People sometimes ask whether a blind helps with sound, because a bedroom under a rooflight can hear rain and the odd aircraft. A blind softens the feel of the room, but the glass decides how much noise comes in. If quiet is the real worry, the glazing is where to spend the effort. We set that out in do VELUX blinds reduce noise and in the page on VELUX glazing options for a quieter loft.

Buying the blind is the simple part. Buying the right one means matching it to the window already in the roof.

Begin with what you have. Find the size code on the window, or work it out if the plate has gone. Then decide on darkness, daytime use and reach, using the table above. Our overview of choosing genuine VELUX blinds compares the types side by side, and the VELUX window installation service page describes how new windows and their blinds are planned together.

When we survey a loft, we note which way the slope faces, how high the sash sits and how the room is used. The blind we suggest goes into the written quiet spec alongside the glazing. It is one more detail written down before anything is ordered, so nothing arrives that does not suit the room.

Will a blackout blind make the room completely dark?

It makes it very dark, and in side channels it closes the edge gaps that usually let light through. A trace of light can still show at the frame in bright summer sun, so a small amount of glow is normal rather than a fault.

Can I fit a blind to a window I already own?

Generally yes, provided you buy the blind for that window's size and generation. Confirm the code against current VELUX data before ordering.

Is an external blind better for sleeping?

An external blind is designed mainly to keep heat out. For darkness in the bedroom, an internal blackout is the usual pick, and our page on the VELUX awning blind explains what the outside type is for.

Should the blind match the window frame?

That is a matter of taste. The fabric colour is chosen to suit the room, and the brackets clip to the sash regardless. The frame finish is covered in VELUX pine, white painted and white polyurethane finishes.

If you would like the blind and the window planned together, get a quote and we will write the choice into your quiet spec.