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Welcome to Mumsnet's shopping board. Whether you are after a new family car or a great new coffee machine this is the board for you. Share product recommendations and reviews here. Related: Discuss clothes and fashion on our Style and beauty forum. Check out Swears By to find the products Mumsnetters love and our reviews section to see the best baby and child products put through their paces.
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Easy temporary way of blacking out windows?
franch · 07/03/2005 23:19
Need to move DD to travel cot in front room for a month or so. She's used to the very dark bedroom (thick curtains and blackout linings PLUS blackout blinds) and I expect she'll wake horribly early in the front room which has purely decorative curtains. What would be a good, cheap way of cutting the light out? Doesn't matter if it's fairly ugly as long as it's really easy to hook up and take down, so that we can return the front room to a visitor-friendly state in the daytime.
All ideas gratefully received
irishbird · 07/03/2005 23:20
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
SenoraPostrophe · 07/03/2005 23:21
You might be surprised - I thought dd would wake up when we stayed at my mum's house (normal curtains, as opposed to the proper shutters in our house).
We did thicken the curtains with a sheet hooked over the curtain rail, but she was fine.
SoupDragon · 07/03/2005 23:29
I stapled gunned sheets of blackout lining to DS2s window frames because I couldn't be arsed to make proper curtains... stick-and-sew Velcro worked well too.
goreousgirl · 07/03/2005 23:31
I think you can buy blackout curtains fairly cheaply at Mothercare - could you velcro them round the window and do paint touch-up job when they come down? Either that, or thick towels??? I'm trying.... My friends MIL made her some travel blackout curtains with lots of little tie-ropes in eye-holes at the bottom and top of curtains - they don't block out the light completely because of the gap (depends what you attach them to though).. Best of luck
Janh · 07/03/2005 23:32
I would suggest the same as SP, only maybe blankets rather than sheets - which way does the window face though? If not E then probably not too bad this time of year.
gingernut · 07/03/2005 23:34
We have a length of blackout material which we take with us on holidays, visits to grandparents etc. We fix it across the window usually using pins pushed into the frame. It works well but it's not easy to take up and down - it usually stays up for the duration of the stay. Is this room a living area?
franch · 07/03/2005 23:42
Yes gn it's a living area. Thanks for all the suggestions so far - will present them to DH and see what we can do
franch · 07/03/2005 23:43
PS There are two rather inconveniently LARGE windows
DelGirl · 07/03/2005 23:44
how about some balck card taped to the window if it is just temporary? A bit naff I know but less hassle and prob cheaper
goreousgirl · 07/03/2005 23:46
Clever DG - you've been watching Blue Peter haven't you!! V good idea
franch · 08/03/2005 09:13
Black card would prob be very effective. Difficult to put up and take down on a daily basis tho?
munnzieb · 08/03/2005 09:14
our mum used to put a heavy blanket over my window at night over the curtains, and take it down each morning.
FatDad · 08/03/2005 14:35
When we needed a temporary blackout we stuck a tension rod in the window frame and pegged a big wool blanket ontot it each night.
(we've put up a blackout blind now which is much easier)
welshmum · 08/03/2005 14:44
We've dut black card to size and then attached velcro to the sides and to the windows. Works pretty well.
When we go to my dad's house we use an old curtain to drape over the top of his see-through ones.
dot1 · 09/03/2005 10:52
I take black out material on holiday with us - v. cheap just to buy the material - and I bought some strong velcro to stick it around the window.
miranda2 · 09/03/2005 10:57
We've just been discussing this as baby due soon is going to be in our room at first. We've bought black out material, and are going to duck tape it to the sides and top of the window, behind the decorative curtains, and duck tape in some tapes at the corners so we can 'ruche' (spelling??) it up during the day to let light in. Haven't tried it yet though!!
Ella23 · 11/10/2008 18:11
Have you tried Magic Blackout? www.magicblackout.co.uk
These are black plastic sheets that are staticaly charged. These stick to windows without tape or glue and leave no marks.
Very easy and quick to put up.
fairimum · 12/10/2008 21:32
we have www.baabaablinds.com/ they are fab! have to search about a bit to find them in stock but a friend of mine ordered some last week and got them the net day!
go up really easy, fits up to quite big windows and blocks the light really well!
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