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Blackout Shades
Darkness when you want it, with no cord. For sleeping, for the kids, for the home theatre.
Texts every day, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. · Free consultation and quote · Text us
What it changes
The benefits
A blackout shade, also called opaque or light-blocking, doesn't let light through the fabric. It's the blind for bedrooms, children's rooms, night-shift workers and home theatres. Our BlankBlinds line: several colours, operating systems with no accessible loop, and a fabric covered for 10 years. Good to know before you buy: an opaque roller blind blocks light through the fabric, not at the sides (details below).
Sleep, for real
Night shifts, a baby napping, a teenager sleeping in: the shade blocks the sun through the fabric, and the room stays dark. With side tracks, it stays pitch black.
Children's bedrooms
Darkness for naps, and no loop within reach: child-safe covered chain, spring, cordless or motor.
Home theatre
A movie at 2 p.m. on a Saturday in July, with no glare on the screen.
Privacy at night
Closed, a blackout shade lets nothing be seen, lights on or not. That's what a solar shade doesn't do.
A little insulation
A coated fabric, closed in the evening, keeps in a little heat in winter and blocks a little in summer. It's not a roller shutter, but you can feel it.
Very good, not expensive
BlankBlinds: a very good shade, at an affordable, fair price, with a 10-year warranty. And we sell a lot of blackout.
How it works
How it works
- A fabric that lets nothing throughThe fabric is coated or tightly woven: light doesn't pass through. Up close, a white blackout shade stays white on the room side; the back does the work.
- A colour, with no compromise on darknessWhite, grey, beige, charcoal, black: colour is for the decor. The opacity is the same. So you can put white in a child's bedroom and get total darkness through the fabric.
- A tube, a top finishThe fabric rolls onto a 1½ or 2 in aluminum tube. At the top: exposed roll, fascia, or cassette — square, rounded or fabric-insert. A cassette also closes the gap of light above the tube.
- Operation with no accessible loopAt home: the child-safe covered chain — the chain is enclosed in a rigid chain cover, and a two-button handle slides along it: top button, the blind goes up; bottom button, it goes down. Or the classic spring roller, or the cordless (spring-loaded) shade, or a Somfy motor. The regular chain, with a free loop, is now for commercial use only.
Our work on video
In motion
Gallery
Recent installations
Specifications
The numbers
- Opacity
- 100% through the fabricsee “Light at the sides” below
- Side tracks (option)
- Aluminum profiles on each side, the fabric comes down inside themabsolute darkness, no strip of light; white, black or silver
- Colours
- White, grey, beige, charcoal, black and moredepending on the collection; same opacity whatever the colour
- Residential operation
- Child-safe covered chain, classic spring roller, cordless, or Somfy motorno accessible loop
All specifications
- Commercial operation
- Regular chain (free loop)commercial projects only
- Top finish
- Exposed roll, fascia, square cassette, rounded cassette or fabric-insert cassettefascia and cassettes in white, black or silver
- Bottom bar
- Exposed aluminum, teardrop or flat (modern style)white, black or silver
- Tube
- Aluminum, 1½ in or 2 in2 in for wide sizes and 40-series motors
- Minimum motorized width
- 16 ⅜ inwith the most compact Somfy motor
- Wide sizes
- On a 2 in tube, priced after measuring
- Mounting
- Inside or outside the frame, on the wall or the ceiling
- Side tracks
- Available as an optionclose off the sides, like on a roller shutter
Light at the sides, in plain terms
An opaque roller blind blocks all light through the fabric. But a roller blind is a fabric that comes down in front of a window: there's a thin gap between the fabric and the frame on each side, and in the morning, a strip of light gets through. Mounted inside the frame, the gap is small; mounted outside the frame, wider than the window, it's almost nil. With a cassette, the light above the tube disappears too. And for absolute darkness — not a strip, nothing — we add side tracks: two aluminum profiles, like those on a roller shutter, fixed on each side of the window, that the fabric comes down into. The light has no path left. It's the option for night-shift workers' bedrooms and home theatres. We'll tell you at your home, in front of the window, because the right answer depends on the room and what you really want: inside the frame, outside the frame, or with side tracks.
Where it goes
Applications
Bedrooms
The blackout shade on its own, or behind a dual zebra shade to have both day and night.
Children's bedrooms
Naps, summer bedtimes at 7 p.m. when it's still light out. With no accessible loop.
Night shift work
Sleeping at 10 a.m., for real. Mounted outside the frame, or with side tracks for absolute darkness.
Home theatres and playrooms
Basement or main room: darkness for the screen, with side tracks if the room has windows, and the blind raised the rest of the time.
Bathrooms
Complete privacy, fabrics that tolerate humidity.
Commercial
Conference rooms, clinics, daycares (naps): chain or motor, several blinds on the same order.
Certified Somfy Expert
Child-safe covered chain, spring, cordless or Somfy motor
Four ways to operate a blackout shade at home, all with no accessible loop. Our favourite: the child-safe covered chain — simple, sturdy and durable. The motor for large shades, high ones, or so the whole bedroom closes with one button. The classic spring roller and the cordless shade also exist, for those who want a blind with nothing hanging.
Warranty. The BlankBlinds blackout shade fabric is covered by a 10-year warranty from Le Gars des Stores; the Somfy motor, for 5 years. The mechanisms are covered against manufacturing defects. An accident (a shade torn by a cat, a bar bent during a move) isn't a defect: we replace it, but it's billed.
Our warranties are in addition to the warranties provided by law.
- Child-safe covered chain — our recommendation: the chain is enclosed in a rigid chain cover; a two-button handle slides along it — top button to raise, bottom button to lower
- Classic spring roller or cordless shade, if you insist: two chainless blinds, operated by hand from the bottom bar — the first goes up on its own, the second stays where you put it
- Frankly: the spring roller and the cordless shade mean bending down to the bottom bar. On a patio door, or when you no longer feel like getting on your knees, we recommend the child-safe covered chain or the motor
- Somfy motor with rechargeable battery (Sonesse 28, 30 or 40): no wire to run — perfect in a bedroom
- RTS remote or TaHoma hub: the bedroom closes on its own at 7 p.m., and opens at 7 a.m.
- Minimum motorized width: 16 ⅜ in; certified Somfy Expert, motors covered for 5 years
Frequently asked questions
We answer
Blackout, opaque, light-blocking: is it the same thing?
Yes. Three words for a shade that doesn't let light through the fabric. We say blackout.
Will the bedroom really be dark?
The blackout fabric blocks light through the material, but a thin strip can get through at the sides. Mounting outside the frame reduces these leaks; side tracks and a suitable cassette reduce them further. To aim for maximum darkness, we choose the complete system based on the window.
Does a white blackout shade block as much as a black one?
Yes. The opacity comes from the coating or the weave, not the colour. We put white in children's bedrooms without losing the darkness.
Blackout or dual zebra?
Blackout if your first need is to sleep or make the room dark. Dual zebra if you want to adjust the light through the day. In a bedroom, we often install both: the dual zebra shade in front, the blackout behind.
How does the child-safe covered chain work?
The chain is enclosed in a rigid chain cover. Hold the top button and pull the handle down: the blind goes up; with the bottom button, it goes down. The chain stays out of reach while you use it, which makes it a safe operating system for the whole house.
What are the classic spring roller and the cordless shade?
Two chainless operating systems. Classic spring roller: you pull the bottom bar and the shade goes back up by itself. Cordless: the shade stays at the height where you place it. You have to bend down to the bar every time; for a patio door or an older person, we recommend the child-safe covered chain or the motor.
How do I close the strip of light at the sides?
We add side tracks: rails on each side of the shade, like on a roller shutter, that trap the edges. It's an extra option, mostly requested for a home theatre or a night-shift worker's bedroom.
Do you have decorative or patterned fabrics?
Yes, in addition to plain fabrics, we offer decorative or patterned blackout shades — a more textured look, for a slightly higher price than the standard plain fabric.
How much does it cost?
One of our most affordable blinds, and we don't do low-end. The price depends on the size, the top finish and the operation: text us a photo and approximate measurements (width × height, in inches) at (514) 967-3629 for a quick estimate, confirmed at the measuring.
Where do you install?
The West Island and Montreal, Vaudreuil-Dorion, the South Shore, the North Shore, western Laval, and the Eastern Townships with our local team. Elsewhere, depending on the project.
Free consultation and quote
A bedroom that's too bright, a baby who wakes up with the sun?
Free in-home consultation and quote, installation included.
Text us a photo of your windows · Texts every day, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. · Free consultation and quote
Somfy®, TaHoma® and RTS® are registered trademarks of Somfy SAS. Reg. TM of Somfy SAS. Le Gars des Stores is an authorized dealer and a certified Somfy Expert.
