Sheer or blockout curtains, or both?
Sheer curtains filter daylight and give privacy during the day, but not at night with the lights on. Blockout curtains darken the room and give privacy at any hour. Many homes hang both on a double track: the sheer closed by day, the blockout drawn at night.
What a sheer does
A sheer is a light, open fabric. It softens glare, hides the room from the street in daylight and still lets you see out. At night it reverses: with lights on inside and dark outside, people can see in. A sheer on its own is not night privacy.
What a blockout does
A blockout curtain stops light passing through the fabric, either with a coating on the back of the fabric or with a separate blockout lining. Dense woven fabrics, often called triple weave or dim out, darken a room without a coating but usually let a little light through. No curtain seals a window completely, so some light can still show around the edges and over the top.
Layering the two
A double track carries two curtains, one behind the other. The usual arrangement is the sheer on one track and the blockout on the other, each opened and closed on its own. By day the blockout stacks back and the sheer stays closed. At night the blockout closes too. Which one sits on the room side is a style choice, and it is done both ways.
Trade offs
- Depth. Two tracks and two curtains need more room off the wall or window, with enough space between them that the folds do not rub.
- Stack. Two curtains stack at the sides, so allow more wall beside the window.
- A blind instead. A sheer curtain over a blockout roller blind does a similar job in less depth.
A curtain retailer can show you sheers and blockouts together, check there is room for a double track at your window, and measure and quote it. Speedy Blinds makes for retailers and does not sell direct.
Other ways people ask this
Can you see through sheer curtains at night?
Yes, when the lights are on inside. Sheers give daytime privacy only.
Are blockout and blackout curtains the same?
Yes. Blockout is the usual word in Australia and blackout is used elsewhere.
Do blockout curtains block all light?
They stop light through the fabric. Light can still come around the edges.
Should the sheer go in front of or behind the blockout?
Either. It changes the look, not what each layer does.
This answer is general information. For your own windows, your retailer's advice and your order with them come first.
Last reviewed