Summer is fast approaching, and there’s no better time than the present to prepare your home for the warm weather season. To help get your home summer-ready, Barn & Willow offers window treatments that feature blackout lining, which is heavier than their privacy lining, and is designed to insulate your windows and keep your home cool against the hot summer sun.
Interested in learning more about sunlight-blocking window treatments? From blackout-lined drapes to roller shades and more, here’s how to get your home ready for summer with sun-blocking window treatments—and why you should.
Image via #mybwhome
1. Invest in blackout lined drapes or shades.
If you aren’t already hip to blackout lining for your window coverings, then now’s the time to smarten up. Thicker than their 100-percent cotton privacy lining, Barn & Willow’s blackout lining is designed to block out daylight entirely—and can be added to any of their custom-cut drapery or shades. Black-out lined window treatments can also help protect your furniture and floors from sun damage and fading, since they stop unwanted sunlight from streaming into a room.
Photo by @boneill_athome
2. Buy blackout roller shades.
Love the idea of blackout shades but in the market for patterned window treatments? All of Barn & Willow’s Roller Shades are constructed with blackout lining, so they’ll help protect your furniture and floors from sun damage while keeping your home nice and cool (no matter how hot it is outside). Plus, they come in an array of sophisticated patterns and colors—including Pisces Amethyst and Patch Sage—so you can layer them with blackout-lined drapes for maximum efficiency.
3. Lower your electricity bill with nothing more than window treatments.
Not only will adding blackout lining to your curtains or shades help keep your home cool during the summer, it will also reduce energy costs by cutting the amount of sunlight and UV rays that enter the room. So while adding a blackout liner to your custom window coverings might seem more costly up front, it will actually save you loads of moolah in the long run.
Image via #mybwhome
4. Reduce your home’s carbon footprint.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that heat gained-and-lost through windows is responsible for about 25-to-30 percent of residential heating and cooling energy use. That means installing insulating blackout-lined curtains and shades throughout your home can help you cut back on energy waste and live more eco-consciously at home.
5. Don’t scrimp on style.
For as functional as sun-blocking blackout window treatments may be, they’re every bit as stylish as they are warm weather savvy. Believe it or not, blackout lining adds a little bit of weight to drapery panels, allowing them to fall and pool better. That’s why with the exception of sheer drapes (where the flow-y see-through look is preferred), you can add blackout-lining to your drapery to ensure they’ll hang perfectly (and keep unwanted sunlight at bay).
