Best Blackout Curtains for a Nursery

Blackout vs room-darkening

Blackout fabric blocks close to all light, usually through a triple weave or a foam backing: hold a single layer up to a window and you see nothing. Room-darkening blocks most light and leaves a glow. Test anything you're considering that way before you buy.

Size matters more than fabric

This is where most people go wrong, and it isn't about quality. A blackout curtain hung exactly to the width of the window leaks down both sides; hung on a rod just above the frame, it leaks over the top. The fabric is doing its job — the installation isn't.

Total curtain width about twice the window width, so the panels stay full rather than stretched flat.
At least four inches past the frame on each side, more if you can.
Rod four to six inches above the frame, and curtains to the floor rather than the sill.

The features worth paying for

Grommet or back-tab heading. Both sit the fabric close to the wall. Pencil pleat and tab-top leave a gap daylight finds immediately.
Thermal lining. Usually comes with blackout anyway, and it keeps the room cooler in summer.
Machine washable. Nursery curtains get sticky hands and eventually get sick on.
No cords. Check what dangles, and check again once the baby can stand.

What doesn't matter: the thread count, the brand, and whether it's marketed as “nursery” anything. The same curtain in the adult range is usually the same fabric for less money.

Worth knowing

If a single layer still isn't enough, layer instead of upgrading: a blackout roller blind inside the recess plus blackout curtains over the top gets closer to true darkness than any single product. In a rental, a portable suction panel on the glass does the same job behind the curtains.

The short version

Buy true blackout, not room-darkening. Hang it wide, hang it high, hang it long. Check the edges at midday and fix whatever leaks. The fabric is the easy part.

Some guides on this site contain affiliate links. Where they do, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Nothing here is medical or safety advice — for feeding, sleep and anything to do with where a baby sleeps, follow your pediatrician and current safe-sleep guidance.