Yes, you can install blackout shades behind blinds to better control natural light, privacy, and room darkening. This layered approach allows you to use your blinds throughout the day while lowering the blackout shade when you want a darker room.
However, successfully combining blinds with blackout shades depends on your window, available mounting space, and the type of treatments you choose. Blackout fabric can prevent light from passing directly through a shade, but light may still enter around the edges. Proper measurements and installation are important, especially when room darkening is the priority.
Some window treatments also combine different levels of light control into a single treatment. Depending on your needs, you may be able to achieve light filtering and blackout shades in one rather than layering two separate window treatments.
How Do Blackout Shades Work Behind Blinds?
When combining blackout shades with blinds, the blackout shade is generally positioned closer to the window while the blinds sit in front. Each treatment can then serve a different purpose.
During the day, you can raise the blackout shade and adjust the blinds to manage natural light and privacy. When you want a darker room, lower the blackout shade to block significantly more incoming light.
This combination can be particularly useful in bedrooms, nurseries, media rooms, and other spaces where you want flexible light control throughout the day.
The exact configuration will depend on your window and existing blinds. There needs to be enough clearance for both treatments to operate properly without interfering with one another.
Benefits of Combining Blackout Shades and Blinds
Better Sleep
Blackout shades help you sleep better by blocking all light. Installing blackout shades behind your blinds stops any light from sneaking in, making your room perfect for sleeping. This is helpful for people who work at night and sleep during the day or anyone sensitive to light.
Total Darkness
Blackout shades are made to block light completely. By putting these shades behind your existing blinds, you can know that no light will get through. It’s also great for rooms with tv’s to get rid of unwanted glare so you can enjoy movie night!
Reduced Glare
Controlling incoming sunlight can make it easier to watch television, use computers and other screens, or relax without harsh sunlight and glare entering the room.
Added Privacy
Combining treatments provides additional flexibility for privacy. You can adjust your blinds during the day and use the blackout treatment when you want greater coverage.
Improved Window Insulation
Adding blackout shades can help lower your energy bills. These shades block the sun’s heat in the summer and keep warmth inside during the winter, providing insulation for your windows. Cellular shades, in particular, are very good at improving energy efficiency because of their unique structure.
Noise Reduction
Blackout shades also help reduce outside noise. The materials used in blackout curtains and shades absorb sound, creating a quieter and more peaceful environment. This is great if you live in a noisy area and want to block out the outside noise. This is especially helpful in busy city settings or near busy roads where outside noise can be disturbing.
Greater Light Control
Blackout shades offer excellent light control. By combining blackout shades with your existing blinds, like venetian blinds or woven wood shades, you can adjust how much light comes into the room. This setup lets you block light completely or let in as much as you want. This flexibility makes it easy to create the perfect lighting for any activity, whether you need bright light for working during the day or a dim, cozy atmosphere for the evening.
Best Blackout Window Treatment Options
Blackout isn’t limited to one window treatment style. Hunter Douglas offers a variety of products with room-darkening or blackout fabric options, so you can choose a solution based on your windows, design preferences, and desired level of light control.
Duette® Cellular Shades
Duette® Cellular Shades combine excellent light control with the insulating benefits of a honeycomb design. They are available in a variety of fabrics and opacities, including room-darkening options.
For homeowners who want an even darker environment, the Duette® LightLock™ system uses unique side channels designed to absorb or deflect incoming light and help prevent light from entering around the sides of the shade.
Duette shades can also be paired with PowerView® Automation for convenient control using a remote, app, or compatible smart-home system.
Applause® Cellular Shades
Applause® Cellular Shades provide the energy-efficient benefits of a cellular construction with fabric options for different levels of privacy and light control. Room-darkening fabric makes them another option for bedrooms and other areas where limiting incoming light is important.
Sonnette® Cellular Roller Shades
Sonnette® Cellular Roller Shades combine the streamlined appearance of a roller shade with an innovative cellular construction. Room-darkening fabric options let you enjoy the clean look of a roller shade while gaining greater control over incoming light.
Roller Shades
Blackout roller shades offer a clean, contemporary appearance and straightforward operation. When raised, the treatment rolls neatly out of the way. When lowered, blackout fabric prevents light from passing through.
They’re a versatile option for bedrooms, media rooms, home offices, and other spaces where glare or incoming sunlight can become an issue.
Duette® Vertiglide™
For wide windows and sliding glass doors, Duette® Vertiglide™ offers the insulating cellular construction of Duette shades in a vertical application. Room-darkening fabric options can provide greater privacy and light control for expansive areas that may be difficult to cover with traditional horizontal shades.
Vignette® Roman Shades
Vignette® Modern Roman Shades provide the soft appearance of a traditional Roman shade without exposed rear cords. Room-darkening options let you combine decorative fabric with greater light control.
Alustra® Woven Textures® Roman Shades
Alustra® Woven Textures® Roman Shades bring distinctive fabrics and textures to the window while offering options for enhanced privacy and room darkening. They’re a great choice when the window treatment itself is an important part of the room’s overall design.
Provenance® Woven Wood Shades
Provenance® Woven Wood Shades bring the organic beauty of natural materials to a room. An appropriate liner can add privacy and room darkening while maintaining the distinctive look of a woven shade.
Pirouette® Privacy Sheers
Pirouette® Privacy Sheers feature sculptural fabric vanes you can adjust to manage natural light and privacy. Room-darkening fabric options provide additional flexibility for spaces where you want the softness of a fabric treatment with greater control over incoming light.
Silhouette® Privacy Sheers
Silhouette® Privacy Sheers feature adjustable S-shaped vanes suspended between sheer fabric panels. They let you diffuse natural light and adjust privacy throughout the day, with room-darkening options for greater light control.
Luminette® Privacy Sheers
Designed for wide windows and sliding glass doors, Luminette® Privacy Sheers combine soft vertical fabric with adjustable vanes. Room-darkening options can make them especially useful for large expanses of glass where both privacy and flexible light control are priorities.
Skyline® Panel-Track Blinds
Skyline® Panel-Track Blinds use sleek fabric panels to cover large windows, sliding doors, and other expansive openings. Selecting a room-darkening fabric can help reduce incoming light while maintaining the clean, contemporary appearance of the panel-track design.
Which Blackout Window Treatment Is Right for You?
With several blackout and room-darkening options available, the best choice depends on the type of window, the look you prefer, and how much light control you need.
| Window Treatment | Best For | Key Benefit |
| Duette® Cellular Shades | Bedrooms and rooms where insulation is important | Cellular construction provides excellent insulation, with room-darkening options and LightLock™ available for enhanced darkness |
| Applause® Cellular Shades | Bedrooms and everyday living spaces | Practical cellular design with room-darkening fabric options |
| Sonnette® Cellular Roller Shades | Modern spaces | Combines the streamlined look of a roller shade with cellular construction |
| Roller Shades | Bedrooms, media rooms, home offices, and nurseries | Clean design with effective room-darkening and blackout fabric options |
| Duette® Vertiglide™ | Sliding glass doors and wide windows | Vertical cellular solution for large expanses of glass |
| Vignette® Roman Shades | Bedrooms and decorative spaces | Soft Roman-shade appearance with room-darkening options |
| Alustra® Woven Textures® Roman Shades | Design-focused interiors | Distinctive textures with enhanced privacy and room-darkening options |
| Provenance® Woven Wood Shades | Natural and organic interiors | Woven materials can be paired with liners for greater privacy and room darkening |
| Pirouette® Privacy Sheers | Living spaces needing flexible light control | Adjustable fabric vanes provide varying levels of light and privacy |
| Silhouette® Privacy Sheers | Living rooms and open spaces | Diffuses daylight while offering adjustable privacy and room-darkening options |
| Luminette® Privacy Sheers | Sliding doors and large windows | Soft vertical treatment designed for expansive windows |
| Skyline® Panel-Track Blinds | Large windows and sliding doors | Contemporary panels with room-darkening fabric options |
Can You Get Light Filtering and Blackout Shades in One?
Yes. If you want natural light during the day and greater room darkening at night, certain window treatments let you combine both capabilities into a single window treatment.
Hunter Douglas Duolite® combines two different fabrics into one shade, giving you greater flexibility without necessarily needing two completely separate window treatments.
For example, one fabric can filter light for comfortable daytime illumination, while the second provides room darkening when you want greater privacy or a darker environment.
This can be particularly useful for bedrooms and multipurpose spaces where your lighting needs change throughout the day.
Blackout Fabric vs. a Room-Darkening Installation
One important distinction when shopping for blackout shades is the difference between blackout fabric and the overall performance of the installed window treatment.
Blackout fabric is designed to prevent light from passing through the material itself. However, depending on how the shade is installed, small amounts of light may still enter around its sides, top, or bottom.
That’s why the window treatment, measurements, mounting method, and installation all matter.
If your goal is maximum room darkening, tell your window treatment specialist how dark you want the room to become. They can recommend a product and installation method designed around that goal.
What to Consider Before Installing Blackout Shades Behind Blinds
Before adding blackout shades behind blinds, consider how both treatments will fit and function together.
- Available Mounting Space – Two treatments require more space than one. Your window frame needs enough depth and clearance for both treatments and their hardware.
- Inside vs. Outside Mount – Inside-mounted treatments provide a streamlined appearance, while an outside-mounted blackout treatment may offer additional coverage around the window opening. The best option depends on the window and your room-darkening goals.
- Light Gaps – If darkness is your primary concern, pay attention to the window treatment’s perimeter. Even high-quality blackout fabric cannot prevent light from entering through uncovered gaps.
- Window and Door Hardware – Locks, handles, cranks, and other hardware can affect where you can mount a window covering and how it operates.
- Manual vs. Motorized Operation – If one treatment is positioned behind another, convenient operation becomes especially important. PowerView® Automation can allow compatible shades to be adjusted using a remote, app, or voice control instead of manually reaching behind another treatment.
- Existing blind placement – The new shade shouldn’t interfere with your blinds’ operation.
- Style – Window blinds or shades should complement each other and the rest of the room. Custom window treatments give you considerably more flexibility in fabrics, colors, textures, and operating systems.
Choosing the Right Blackout Solution for Your Windows
No single blackout treatment is right for every window.
The best solution depends on the window’s size and depth, the type of treatment already installed, how much natural light you want during the day, and how dark you want the room to become when the treatment is closed.
At AIM, we help Colorado homeowners compare custom window treatments based on how they actually want their rooms to function. Our team can measure your windows, evaluate existing treatments, and help determine whether blackout shades with blinds, a dual-function treatment, or another custom solution is the best fit.
We offer free in-home consultations throughout Colorado, so you can explore fabrics, products, operating systems, and light-control options directly in your home.
Frequently Asked Questions
In many cases, yes. The best installation method depends on the existing blinds, available window depth, hardware, and whether an inside or outside mount provides the appropriate clearance.
Custom measurements from AIM’s window treatment experts can help determine whether layering treatments is practical for your windows.
Blackout fabric prevents light from passing directly through the material, but light may still enter around the edges of the treatment. The amount of room darkening depends on the product, measurements, mounting method, and installation.
Either can work. An inside mount provides a streamlined look, while an outside mount can add coverage around the window opening and may help reduce perimeter light gaps.
Yes, as long as there is enough mounting space for both treatments. Because wood blinds can require substantial window depth, the window should be measured carefully before adding a second treatment.
Cellular shades, roller shades, and other room-darkening treatments can all work well in bedrooms. If maximum room darkening is the priority, consider products designed to minimize light gaps, such as Duette® Cellular Shades with LightLock™.
Blackout and room-darkening window treatments can help control bright sunlight and reduce glare on televisions, computers, and other screens. Reducing glare may make a space more visually comfortable, particularly in home offices and media rooms. However, window treatments don't treat eye strain itself.
Cellular shades are designed with honeycomb-shaped pockets that trap air at the window, providing an additional layer of insulation. This can help reduce heat transfer through windows and improve the home's overall energy efficiency.
Yes. Many Hunter Douglas room-darkening and blackout window treatments are compatible with PowerView® Automation, allowing you to adjust them with a remote, app, voice control, or automated schedules.
