20% off, already in the price. No code needed.

6 reasons blackout curtains still let the light in at 5am

Over 2,800 5-star reviews

Across the UK and Ireland

Red Dot Award

For product design

15+ years

Made in Northern Ireland

20 July 2026

Updated

Our toddler sleeps past 6am now. Wish we'd had this with the first.

Olivia, mum of two

Most parents reading this have already tried something. A blackout curtain, a blackout roller blind, sometimes both. And the room is still bright enough to read in at five in the morning. What follows is why that keeps happening, and what other parents did about it.

1. You already bought blackout, and it still wasn't dark

A mother and her young daughter in a dimly lit bedroom early in the morning
A blackout curtain, a blackout roller blind, sometimes both. When the room stayed bright, you probably assumed you'd bought the cheap one. You hadn't. Sch, five stars in April: "I've tried blackout blinds and curtains before, different types and even different sizes, and nothing has shut the light out."

2. The fix is at the edges, not in the fabric

Close-up of a star-print blind held in its side rail, with the sealed bottom bar across the window frame
Hold that fabric to the window and it does its job. It was never the fabric. Hang it up and it sits in front of the window, so light slips in around the edges. BlocOut is built the other way round. A sealed top unit closes the gap above. Side rails run down both edges, so the edges seal to the full window frame.

3. The first night is the one they write about

A young girl asleep in a dim bedroom with a nightlight on
Maria George, five stars: "My toddler was waking at 5am so decided to purchase the blocout blind. First night with the blind my toddler slept until 7." It is the first night that keeps coming up.

And she is not the only one

Six reviews, dates as posted.

Now the children's bedroom is dark enough before sunset.

D Trinca, 28 May 2026

Kids fell asleep quicker than they have done in ages, because it's actually dark in their rooms!

Katy, 7 June 2026

They really are the very best blackout blinds, just brilliant, and buy us a few hours of precious sleep between our toddler and newborn.

Chris Green, 16 February 2024

We've had black out roller blinds with a blackout curtain on top and this still beats it.

Cee Bee, 24 October 2025

The bedroom is now so dark that for the first couple of nights I kept bumping into furniture!

Andrew, 25 March 2026

The room is so dark and the quality of sleep I'm getting it is amazing.

Mary Dougan, 1 April 2026

4. Not a brand you have only seen on Instagram

Staff on the Bloc Blinds factory floor in Northern Ireland
BlocOut blinds are made by Bloc Blinds in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, where they have been made for over fifteen years. The blind has been in Grand Designs, House Beautiful, the London Evening Standard and Real Homes.

5. The measuring is the part to slow down on

A parent measuring the width of a nursery window with a tape measure
A blind cut to your window cannot be sent back because you changed your mind. So take this part slowly. You need two numbers, the width and the drop, and BlocOut's Measuring Guide walks you through both. Want cover on the numbers? Measure Protect goes in the basket at 15%, for one remake to your new measurements.

6. Order the samples first

Fabric swatches in a range of colours, laid out overlapping
BlocOut will post up to ten fabric samples, free, through the letterbox, and there is nothing to measure to get them. See the colours in the room they are actually for, at five in the morning if you like. Order when you are ready, or don't.

And then there is the price

The price follows the size of the window. £23.60 is where it starts, for the smallest size, so a nursery window will come out higher than that. The only way to see yours is to put the measurements in. The 20% is already off, and nothing is ordered until you say so.

Build the blind for their room

The BlocOut Touch blackout blind fitted in a bedroom window

20% off, already in the price

BlocOut Touch Blackout Blind

Cut to your window, with a sealed top unit and side rails, so the edges seal to the full window frame.

From £23.60 £29.50

  • Cut to the measurements of your own window, from a choice of fabrics.
  • The price follows the size, so it climbs from £23.60 with the window.
  • A fitting guide walks you through putting it up.
  • You can add Measure Protect in the basket at 15%, for one remake to your new measurements.
Build my blind

The price follows the size of your window.

Five years of cover on the parts. You can add Measure Protect in the basket if you want cover on the measurements.

Five years on the parts

Not a money back guarantee. A blind cut to your own window does not come with one. Worth knowing before the basket rather than after. What you do get is five years of cover on the parts.