The summer solstice was last weekend, which means that this week is officially the lightest of the year, with almost eighteen hours of daylight each day.
If, like me, you have an east-facing bedroom, that means that you too may currently be suffering from severe sleep deprivation caused by waking at roughly 03:57 in the morning.
Yep, that's the current time of dawn in the UK, and about the time that light starts entering my east-facing bedroom window, which is at least three hours before I actually want to wake up!
As such, I've been on a mission to find ways to make my bedroom darker, and after testing out multiple failed solutions, I think I've finally found a blackout blind that *actually* works. The solution is an encased blackout blind.
Yep, if you too have been searching for a way to block out light from a room – whether that's trying to prevent early morning wake-ups or to darken a children's bedroom so your kids aren't awake past their bedtimes – you'll know it's far easier said than done.
There are hundreds of blackout solutions on the market, from super affordable tricks like this £5 temporary no-drill blackout blind from Dunelm to numerous blackout curtain ideas. But the one thing I've found most of these have in common, is that they don't block out *all* of the light.
Yes, they make a lot more difference than a non-blackout window covering, but daylight still has a way of creeping around the edges of even the darkest blackout blind or glowing brightly at the top and bottom of blackout curtains.
The key, I've discovered, is to opt for a blackout blind with an enclosed frame system instead. I got the Ultra Blackout Blind from 247 Blinds, but friends of mine also rave about the TotalShade Blackout Thermal Blind from blinds2go, and the BlocOut Touch Blackout Blind.
All achieve what your average blackout roller blind can't. That is, eliminating the light that seeps around the sides of the blind by enclosing the blind in a frame that fits snugly into your window reveal, Hey presto, all light is blocked.
A fully enclosed frame ensures no light leakage around the edges, plus the pleated honeycomb fabric acts as thermal barrier to keep a room cooler in the summer and cosier in the winter.
Blinds2go's TotalShade blind also acts as a 2-in-1 solution to block out light and heat in the summer months.
This deluxe version of BlocOut's encased blackout blind can be operated by a phone App or voice control, with the ability to set scheduled opening and closing times.
One additional plus factor I hadn't considered in my hunt for more shuteye in the morning, was the cooling effect an encased blind can have on a room. Something especially relevant to me, as my dormer bedroom gets the full heat of the sun during the day.
If you opt for an option like the 247 Blinds Ultra Blackout Blind, its pleated fabric has an added benefit – its total coverage doesn't just block the sun's light, it also blocks the sun's warmth thanks to a thermally-efficient honeycomb layer that traps the air to add better insulation to a window.
This means a cooler bedroom in the summer, and the reverse in the winter – its layered fabric will form a barrier to keep the warmth in a room rather than it escaping through the window for cosier winters.
And it seems I'm not alone in my new appreciation for the merits of an encased blind.
As one reviewer of the £29.50 enclosed Touch BlocOut blind says, 'I'm so lucky to be woken each morning with the sun streaming through my window. Although this is not so welcome at 4.30 am during the summer months. Having tried sun filter film, thick curtains, and a blind. The sun found its way in. Then to my extreme delight I ordered this blind. It works. My room is dark and cool and I sleep peacefully until 8am.'
'The lighter mornings and evenings made it harder to get my children to sleep,' says another reviewer. 'We tried curtains, but even the blackout versions let so much light in around the edge. These encased blackout blinds have a track down the side which the blind fits into, meaning they don't let any light in at all. Total darkness!'
If you're sick and tired (literally) of dawn wake-ups or the kids staying awake until all hours, this is one bedroom essential I highly recommend getting on your wishlist. If it means a blissful three hours extra sleep in the morning, I'm all in favour.
