When we moved into our new house, our son finally (finally!) started sleeping through the night. And it was wonderful. Like, THE BEST THING EVER.
And then summer came along, and it stopped being wonderful, because guess what happened every morning around 5:30AM? The sun got up, and our son got up right along with it.
So we decided that something needed to be done, and installed blinds. Except they only dimmed the room; they didn’t actually darken it. We looked at traditional blackout curtains, but they were way too dorm-room-y for my taste. We ultimately decided on thick, dark-grey curtains, and those work – our son now sleeps past sunrise even in the summertime…but now we have Child Number Two in the house, and for our daughter’s bright, feminine, minty nursery, heavy, almost-black drapes just weren’t going to fly.
I wanted to keep it feeling light in there…but still wanted to be able to turn off the sun when a midday nap was in session.
The solution: Smith & Noble Optilight Blackout Shades, which block out all of the light in the room without looking like…well, like blackout blinds. They just look pretty, and elegant (and are available in lots of different colors – I love the Blush and Spa shades, but decided on Soft White because I wanted to keep the room feeling as airy as possible).
I went for the Optilight style (as opposed to classic Honeycomb Blackout Shades) because they come with a pleated sheer on top: you can pull up the honeycomb shades if you want to keep the room dark…and then pull them down to expose the sheer shades if you want to let in the light but still keep the room private. It’s seriously a perfect solution for bedrooms (and especially children’s bedrooms).
We also decided to go with custom shades (these were fitted and installed by a measure and installation professional rather than just picking up a ready-made set) because the windows in our nursery are a little irregular (one is actually a door), and custom-made window treatments ensured no light gaps whatsoever (and also guaranteed that we’d get the exact look we wanted).
Here the shades are pulled down halfway, so some light comes into the room while still providing maximum privacy (this would be ideal for, say, a first-floor, street-facing window)…
And here they are all the way down, with just the pleated sheer covering the window. You can see the view outside, but are still partially shielded from view (the pleated sheer also blocks UV rays and filters glare).
And if you have kids or small animals, this is super important: all of Smith & Noble’s shades are available in a cordless style for optimal safety.
See? No cord, just a handle that you use to push the shades up and pull down.
Huge fan of how pretty (and practical) our nursery is now. (So is Goldie…or at least yesterday’s absolutely epic nap would suggest that she is.)
Smith and Noble is giving one Ramshackle Glam reader a $500 voucher for Smith & Noble child safe product to use on their own room makeover. Just enter below!
In addition, Smith and Noble is offering all RG readers a special promotion of $30 off of any window treatment. You can design the treatment yourself (use code DIY – 1409FD), have a company representative come out and do a complimentary measurement (use code M&I – 1409FF), or have an In-Home Designer come help you select the product and place your order (use code: SAH – 1409FG).
And FYI: Smith & Noble is the only window treatment company that guarantees delivery and installation in time for Christmas, or the products are FREE (more info about the Holiday Guarantee here).
This post was created in collaboration with Smith & Noble.
