Most people like to open their curtains and window to let the sunshine in to brighten up the whole house. I feel like this about my kitchen and occasionally my living room. However, I\’ve worked nights for most of my adult life. As I result, I am somewhat of a night owl. Quite often, I\’ll go to bed just before the rest of the world wakes up. It is during this time of day that I extract maximum value from my black curtains. I can sleep on my own schedule in a nicely darkened room.

When I\’m up during the daytime, though, I like for some rooms to be well-lit. I do not like black kitchen curtains as I don\’t enjoy feeling as though I\’m stumbling around in there. Do not get me wrong: I do have a black velvet kitchen curtain, but it\’s not the same. That\’s just the color I chose for decorative purposes.

The same rule applies to my living room. I do not have black curtains in there, but the ones I do have are very close. I have a curtain with a black-and-white striped design in there that is proudly hung from its black curtain rod. This lets me leave it open to enjoy the sunshine and close it to create sufficient darkness to view my television or take a little nap.

I happen to realize the benefits of occasionally letting in some sunshine. Too much time spent in the dark can lead to feelings of depression. Thus, opening up the house for a little while each day is a great idea. Doing so can alleviate seasonal depression symptoms while boosting your general mood. Sometimes when I\’m at my computer, however, excessive incoming light hurts my eyes. Black-out curtains are made to let you stay in control of the level of light that enters your home.

My computer is in my den, so I have a black beaded curtain hung in there that works very well when I close it. It also does a good job of filtering out most of the light, although it does not obstruct it totally. I like to let it stay open most of the time so that I can look out the window to let my eyes feast on something besides my PC screen.

If you wish to darken a room just slightly while not totally blocking out all light, you might want to try a black sheer curtain or a black lace curtain. A black curtain sets a room\’s mood without making you feel as if you are in a dungeon. This is a good thing for those who are like me and have mostly black and blue decor. I think it looks very classy, although many may feel that it has a gaudy look.

Before I began using black curtains, I put aluminum foil on my bedroom window. That helped out quite a bit, but looked tacky from the outside. In fact, the homeowners association called me one day to ask that I remove the foil. The woman who called suggested black window curtains, and that\’s when I went one step further and got black out curtains to completely shut out all light from entering my bedroom.

Jane Damad writes about home decorating tips at her blog, The Curtains Guide. For more tips, check out these helpful guides: Your Guide to Cafe Kitchen Curtains, Curtain Ideas for Kitchen, and How to Find the Right Curtain Tie Backs.

Jane Damad writes about home decorating tips at her blog, The Curtains Guide. You can check it out here: http://www.thecurtainsguide.com

Author Bio: Jane Damad writes about home decorating tips at her blog, The Curtains Guide. For more tips, check out these helpful guides: Your Guide to Cafe Kitchen Curtains, Curtain Ideas for Kitchen, and How to Find the Right Curtain Tie Backs.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: black out curtains, curtain tie backs, kitchen curtains