Room Darkening Shutters | Best Options for Bedrooms & Nurseries

Room Darkening Shutters

Looking to reduce light in your home without compromising on style? Plantation shutters are a popular choice for room darkening, especially in bedrooms and nurseries, where comfort and light control are essential.

While shutters alone don’t create complete blackout, their slats and frames help block a significant amount of light – and when combined with the right configuration, they can greatly reduce glare and ambient glow.

How Shutters Help With Room Darkening

• Full height shutters reduce light entry across the entire window
• Mid-rails or tier-on-tier designs provide flexible control
• Thicker slats (e.g. 76mm) reduce light gaps
• Solid panel shutters offer the best standard darkening effect

❗ Limitations of Standard Shutters

While shutters reduce light significantly, they don’t eliminate it entirely.

Slats naturally let some light through – which may not suit:
• Shift workers or light-sensitive sleepers
• Home cinemas or media rooms
• Rooms facing streetlights

Looking for Enhanced Room Darkening?

Discover Shutter and Shade

For those who need greater light reduction than standard shutters can offer, our Shutter and Shade system is a brilliant solution. It combines a classic plantation shutter with a discreet cellular pleated blind fitted behind the frame to help improve room darkening.

This dual-layer design helps reduce light levels more effectively than shutters alone, making it ideal for:
• Bedrooms and nurseries
• Home cinema spaces
• Light-sensitive sleepers or shift workers

In addition to improved light control, it also offers:
• Enhanced thermal insulation with honeycomb fabric
• Better sound absorption, especially with lightweight wood shutters
• A clean and tailored finish with a range of colours and slat options

Maximising Room Darkening with Design

When it comes to improving room darkening with plantation shutters, it’s not just about the material — it’s about carefully managing gaps, slats, joins, and finishes.

Here’s how we design shutters for better light control:

✅ Limit the Number of Gaps
• Full height shutters with a mid-rail are often the best choice to reduce joins and improve light control
• Tier-on-tier shutters can be used, but we recommend a horizontal T-post join between the two tiers to reduce visible light gaps and improve performance

✅ Choose Larger Slats (Where Practical)
• Larger slats (like 76mm or 89mm) mean fewer slats per panel, creating fewer gaps and improving room darkening
• Slat size must still be matched carefully to the window height to maintain balance and aesthetics

✅ Use D-Moulds at Panel Joins
• Rebated joins are our standard fitting choice — they provide a cleaner look and help minimise light lines between shutter doors
• For customers prioritising maximum blackout, we recommend upgrading to a D-mould (estrigal join) which gives a deeper overlap and even greater light blocking between panels

✅ Seal the Frame Properly
• We always caulk around the frame during fitting to close any minor gaps between the shutter and wall
• Proper sealing reduces draughts and limits light seepage around the shutter edge

✅ Opt for Darker Colours (Optional)
• Darker painted shutters absorb more light than lighter finishes
• This helps reduce internal slat bounce and improves the perceived room darkening, particularly important in bedrooms or media rooms

📏 How Slat Size Affects Room Darkening

Choosing the right slat size isn’t just a style decision — it has a direct impact on how much light enters the room, how well gaps are controlled, and how clean the finished installation looks.

Here’s how slat size makes a difference for room darkening:

• Larger slats (76mm, 89mm) = fewer slats per panel = fewer light gaps
• Smaller slats (47mm, 63mm) = more slats = more minor gaps where light can seep through
• 63mm slats offer a strong balance between privacy, light control, and fitting tightly into bays and standard windows
• 89mm slats are excellent for large windows or feature shutters where fewer lines are desirable
• Slat size also affects fit — larger slats require the panel to sit slightly further forward, potentially allowing slightly more edge light without careful planning

When planning room darkening, we carefully recommend the slat size to match:
• Your window size and shape (bay window)
• Your room function (bedroom, cinema room, nursery)
• Your expectations for privacy and light reduction

🧺 Layering for Enhanced Darkness

While plantation shutters alone provide excellent light control, layering additional window treatments can further reduce light seepage — particularly important for bedrooms, nurseries, and media rooms.

Here’s how layering can improve room darkening:

✅ Roman Blinds Over Shutters

• Roman blinds with a blackout lining are an effective way to add a second light barrier
• Ideal for bedrooms and nurseries where complete darkness is preferred for sleep
• Adds both softness and extra warmth to the room’s appearance

✅ Curtains Over Shutters

• Curtains with blackout linings offer excellent insulation and darkness
• Particularly effective in older homes where frame gaps are harder to eliminate entirely
• Allows flexibility — curtains can be opened during the day for a lighter, airier feel

✅ Blackout Fabric Roller Blinds Behind Shutters

• Blackout fabric roller blinds fitted behind shutters can dramatically improve darkening while remaining cost-effective
• Not quite as effective as cellular blinds, but a strong affordable option for additional light control
• Best suited for straightforward window shapes without complicated recesses

🪵 Engineered Stiles

Most of our shutters are built with engineered stiles, which are made by laminating multiple layers of timber together. This process improves dimensional stability, reducing the risk of warping over time.

Engineered stiles help your shutters maintain their shape and alignment, especially on taller panels, and contribute to the overall durability of the installation, ideal for the long-term performance of full height shutters.

🪚 Traditional Mortise and Tenon Joints

All of our plantation shutters are built using traditional mortise and tenon joints — a time-tested carpentry method that provides superior strength and long-term durability.

In this method, the rail slots directly into the stile of the shutter frame, creating a solid and secure join without the need for dowels, glue blocks, or short-lived fastenings. This approach:

• Minimises movement and warping over time
• Reinforces the frame’s overall strength
• Ensures a longer-lasting, high-quality finish

📍 Want to learn more about how our shutters are constructed?

Room Darkening Shutter Cleaning

• Dust regularly with a feather duster, microfibre cloth, or vacuum brush attachment
• Focus on tilt rods, slat edges, and frame joins, where dust tends to build up
• For waterproof shutters (Herm or Wisley ranges), you can use warm water and a mild detergent — but always dry thoroughly afterward
• For real wood and MDF shutters, use a soft dry cloth and only a very lightly damp cloth if absolutely necessary — never soak the surface
• Avoid bleach or abrasive cleaners, which can damage the finish

🧽 Pro Tip:

Remember to open the shutter panels and clean behind them, especially between the frame and the window glass where dust can settle.

Visit Us In Byfleet

Looking for expert advice on shutters or room darkening solutions in Woking, Weybridge, Cobham, Walton-on-Thames, or Addlestone? Our Byfleet showroom is conveniently located nearby, with free parking and a range of samples on display. Whether you’re browsing or ready to book, our team is here to help – in person, over the phone, or online.

🤝 Our Service Commitment

At Surrey Blinds and Shutters, we combine quality craftsmanship with trusted service, ensuring every customer receives a smooth, professional experience from start to finish.

✅ Our Own In-House Fitting Team

All of our shutters are installed by our own experienced fitters — we never subcontract. You’ll deal with the same trusted team throughout your journey.

✅ Post-Installation Checklist

Once your shutters are fitted, we carry out a detailed checklist to make sure everything is perfect and you’re completely happy before we leave.

✅ 10-Year Shutter Guarantee

We stand by the quality of our products. That’s why all our shutters come with a full 10-year guarantee for your peace of mind.

✅ UK-Made Shutters in as Little as 5 Weeks

Need shutters sooner? Our UK-made range can be manufactured and installed in as little as five weeks – ideal if you’re working to a deadline.

✅ Established in 2009

We’ve been proudly trading since 2009, bringing years of hands-on experience to every consultation, installation, and customer we work with.

✅ Free Temporary Blinds While You Wait

Waiting for shutters to be made? We offer complimentary temporary blinds so you’re never without privacy or light control during the lead time.

Whether you’re fitting out a single bay or updating your whole home, we’re here to help from start to finish – with a team that genuinely cares.

How to Get Started

Book your free consultation today and let our experts guide you through the best options for your space.

📞 Call us on 01483 608 274
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Unit 3, Farnham Business Centre, Dogflud Way
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Schedule your consultation today and let us help you create a stunning look for your windows.