Quick Fix Blackout Pleated Paper Shade Black, 36" x 72", 6 Pack
The Quick Fix Blackout Pleated Paper Shade Black is not too bad. The shades are kind of thin. They feel like a heavyweight paper, kind of like heavy resume paper. They come with an adhesive tape to hold them to the window, and I found this to work very well. In other reviews I saw people recommended purchasing 3M adhesive tape to ensure the shades stay up, but I found if you clean the window area properly with some alcohol, there was no issue with the shades falling.
There are six shades in the package which is great. The shades were super easy to cut to size. I just followed the instructions provided. Once you have them hung, I found using the supplied plastic clips to hold the shades mostly “closed” while hanging was the best method for me.
They are easy to raise and lower and keep that way by folding them together or releasing them. They do a phenomenal job of blocking the light.
The only real negative I can provide is that one of the blinds was partially torn in two spots which I was able to tape. It was not the most professional looking thing, but for the price point it did the job.
Update – after about six months I removed them and hung new Faux wooden blinds from Lowes. I spent almost $700 after installation. The reason I finally replaced the Blackout Pleated Paper Shades was more about my pride than anything else. They remained easy to use and did an admirable job of blocking light. They actually blocked light better than my new blinds do.
I recommend these blinds for anyone who does not have a large chunk of money to put up blinds or in a temporary situation like an apartment. Clean the area you are installing the blinds on very well and they will stay hung. Take care while raising and lowering them and they should last you a good while, like mine did.
If you found my review helpful I would appreciate that you click the “Yes” button to let me know that I am providing useful information to you and others.
These have been a life changer! I have been doing shift work for over 12 years and I have never found an affordable, effective, yet visually pleasing and convenient option to darken my room for daytime sleep. I've used roller shades, mini-blinds, curtains, room darkening curtain panels, cardboard, blankets, you name it. I've found that the most effective method to block light (cardboard and blankets) is the most hideous to look at. The more visually pleasing options (blinds, shades) inevitably allow glaring rays of light in that always seem to find my face. The past few years, I've let the visually pleasing factor outweigh the effectiveness factor, but I finally got tired of it. So, I went on the search for a solution and came across these shades on several different sites.
These shades are paper and marketed as being "temporary". They are essentially a really long piece of pleated, thick, black construction paper with a tape strip on the top that is used to affix it to your window frame. There is no roller or pull cord mechanism, as they are simply folded up/down to the desired level and then held in place by two black clips (they are included and are much like chip-clips). You install them by simply measuring your window opening and cutting the shade with a razor-edge blade, such as a box cutter. The shade is pliable enough I just held it up into to the opening, bending the excess portion of the shade outward, and then marked my cut with a white crayon. I used a straight edge to hold my place, and then with several swipes of the blade, they were cut to size. Remove the strip that covers the adhesive and then you're ready to stick it in place. I attached mine to the metal portion of the inside of the window pane. I removed my blinds, however that wasn't necessary. These shades would have fit just fine behind them. It took a total of 20 minutes to cut and install 3 shades.
Now, I will say that part of the reason these work so well for me is due to my color schemes. My bedroom is full of gray, purple and black. So the black shades showing act as an accent to all of that. Had it not been, I would have probably left my blinds up, so the shades wouldn't be visible from the inside. The exterior of my house has gray siding with black shutters, so from the outside it looks like I have black roman shades that go with my exterior colors as well.
With regard to the light blocking ability, I have to say I'm impressed. I have one single window on one wall and a double window on another wall. There isn't a glimmer of light visible through my single window. There is a slight amount of light getting through in the middle portion of my double window, however I do have curtains and when they're closed; they seem to trap most of the residual light.
I can't speak of the longevity of the shade just yet, but I'll post an update if needed. However, for the job these do and the price (about $6 each), I wouldn't even mind if I had to reinforce the tape or replace them every once in a while.
See the attached photos (if I can figure out how to attach them) for further details. The photos were taken minutes apart, during a sunny St. Louis afternoon around 4pm. I had no lights on in the home and no flash on the camera.
Amazing. Quick fix for light blocking in baby's room. Completely blocks out light from the two windows in baby's room. The tape is pretty strong as well and it comes with clips to hold the shade up as well or roll it up when you want. Would highly recommend. In picture the window on the left is with the shade, window on the right is just closed blinds during daytime.
There are some bad reviews for this and honestly, I can't figure out why.
They're inexpensive.
They're a non-permanent solution for someone renting.
They're completely light blocking.
They're easy to use.
I had no trouble installing them at all. I just cleaned the window sills and stuck them up. I did add some staples to the ones in my children's room because they tried to rip them down. (Woo ... Toddlers!!!)
PRO TIP: If you have large windows I recommend trimming the excess off the bottom. I have very large windows and I found out with the ones in my room that because the blinds so big they are too heavy to hold themselves up. The blinds will relax after a few days and straighten out a bit. I trimmed them a little each day for about 3 days until they seemed to stop relaxing. Trimming the excess off the bottom solved the weight issue and I've had no problems since.
This product is what you would/should expect it to be: a lower quality, but much cheaper alternative to expensive higher quality blackout shades or curtains.
Pros: simple design, easy to install, does a great job of blocking light (the pictures speak for themselves)
Cons: low quality, made of paper so it crinkles easily, does not fold back up well once opened/extended
I would definitely recommend these shades though, especially for the price. My only advice: do not install these on windows you plan on opening and closing a lot. As mentioned in my "cons", these do not fold back down well and would be a huge headache if you tried to open and close these often.
Note: as you can see in the pictures, I installed these on the bottom of my existing shades in my daughter's nursery. So when you pull the shades up, the blackout curtains follow. It works pretty slick
Feature Product
- Trim at home for the perfect fit inside or outside your window frame, then install in seconds without a drill, screws, or brackets- no tools needed
- Block 99% of light for complete privacy, light control, and UV protection for bedrooms, children's rooms, and movie rooms
- No cords for a clean look and child safety - use included clips to raise and lower shade. Light blocking original fabric shades are made of soft, 100 percent non-woven polyester with a heat reflective layer that helps block heat entering through windows
- Made in the USA of durable paper that will not yellow or crack from sun exposure
- Works as a stand-alone solution, or easily layer behind existing window treatments
Description
When a good night’s sleep is all you need, sometimes the most beautiful color is a perfectly dark room. That is exactly what you get when you remove 99% of light with Redi Shade’s Original Blackout Shade. Trim this pleated shade at home for a perfect fit, then install without any tools – no drill, screws, or brackets needed. Ideal for any space that requires complete light control and privacy like bedrooms, children’s rooms, and movie rooms. This blackout shade is made of durable paper in the USA.
These really are excellent black out shades, assuming you do two things:
1) cut them super super tight. They should be tight enough to make physical contact with the entire edge of the window. Yes, this means that they are harder to raise and lower, since you have to kind of pull and drag it against the tight fit. But the tight fit is what makes them truly blackout.
2) attach them so the first pleat angles in, not out. When you glue them to the top, you can choose to angle it so the pleat falls out or in. If it angles out, there will be a larger gap between the shade and the window, and this can let light in. If it angles in, toward the windows, the entire sheet lies closer to the glass, so it is darker.
We did have them fall a few times so we bought the additional double-sided mounting tape, and it hasn't fallen since.
I really do love these shades, I gave them 4 stars because they are a little harder to close, because of the weight of the paper. That's nothing to do with the manufacturing etc., just a fact. The paper needs to be thicker than the white ones, otherwise they wouldn't be black0out shades! They do the job that's for sure! Up here in the PNW, the sky is light past 10PM, this time of year, and the sky gets light by 4AM, I actually slept 3 hours longer than I usually do (that's 7:30 am...I'm an early riser) Good product. I just figured out that the easiest way to open the shades is to do one side of the pleats, 1/2+ way up, then clip them, then do the other side all the way up, it's not rocket science, but it took me a few times of trying to raise them from the middle, or both sides at the same time, before I realized that there had to be an easier way. One side at a time does the trick.
We built a movie theater room in our loft but needed to block out the AZ sun during the day. After getting quotes of nearly $1800 for custom blackout shades I found these on Amazon. For $36 and 30 minutes of measuring these made our space look as good as a professional job! On the big center window I overlapped 2 of the shades and used scotch tape on the back to keep them together. Unless you are a foot away you can't tell there are 2 there. Super easy to measure, cut, and install. I can't recommend these enough!
I have a long window(68") in my bedroom, and boy, there are five of them with two different sizes! My windows are all facing the street or toward the front entrance to the house, so having blinds is the must. On top of that, I work night shift, so in order to sleep during daytime, it has to block the light good. However, even one room darkening/black out blinds costs 10-20 bucks a piece, and I was not ready to spend that much for the blind...
I never knew about paper blinds and I wasn't sure how well it will block the light and how durable it would be. It took me about 15-20 minutes to do all five windows; I measured the window, cut the blind, and maybe cut some more, and placed it on the window. They fit quite well, and definitely satisfied my intent to block the majority of the light coming into my bedroom.
Though, since my windows are high, upper part of the blind stretches out a bit, causing the lower part of the blind to get folded and it sticks out as well. I might have to clip the lower part a bit. I don't think I will open my blinds often because of my odd sleep schedule, but I think it would last for years.
It was definitely worth of my money, especially getting all 6 blinds for this price! Now that my windows are all blocked well, I can sleep better :)
Let's be clear, you're basically paying $5 a pop for someone to take black construction paper, pleat it, and add stickytape to the back of it (plus the included plastic clips). That said, it's summer in AZ, and the largest room in my house has four windows to it (I'd prefer none, but I'm renting). I replaced the existing blinds with these and am very satisfied by how well they're working. Prior to this I had cardboard blocking the light, and these do a much better job. Some light does still get around the edges, but short of blacking out the glass itself, there isn't much to be done about that regardless of the solution you use. Installation takes 5 minutes, if you can get to the window, and the skill level of a second grade art project, which is to say that any adult can install these themselves, and frankly you could probably let your kid do the install themselves in their room.
0 comments:
Post a Comment