Best Home Fashion Closeout Basic Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains - Antique Bronze Grommet Top - Sky Blue - 52" W x 54" L – No tie Backs (Set of 2 Panels)

We've owned these in the dark green and also the dark purple. Now I just ordered the turquoise pair for another room. We use these in my kid's rooms and they do just as they advertise---- they truly block the light. I also bought darkening curtain rods at Target. The rods are curved to the wall as opposed to just running parallel to the wall so that they block lights on both ends. They were worth buying (maybe $24ish for 88" rod??). We close these curtains at night and they block the light so my kids can sleep and make the room nice and dark. The material is soft. I'm not a fan of grommets for curtains (personal preference as far as style goes) but they work well so that's OK. Remember that you need plenty of material to go across any window. The more 'bunched up' the fabric is (as opposed to stretched out thin)-- the darker the room will be.Update-- While the dark purple and olive-type green curtains block light entirely, it seems that our 3rd pair in turquoise does not. They still help a lot and we'll be keeping them. However, there is a serious difference between the colors. This pair still lets some light in. They are still great and do the job for us-- but maybe consider buying darker colors if you want true darkening.

2013/2014Nice but you really need to buy a few if you have a large window as the pleats are necessary to give a nice look and to help darken the room. As far as being a blackout curtain, it does helps with eliminating some light but it does not provide total blackout. Without the shades drawn, the sunlight still comes through the curtains. The winter winds also come through so we still had to add plastic to the windows.Update: 2015We have purchased a total of 9 sets for our home. They aren't always cut to the exact height so some of the curtains are a little longer on the bottom and that really bugs my wife A LOT. Luckily, we have furniture in front of ours so it is not noticeable to guests.Another thing to keep in mind is that you should really buy all the panels for your window at one time. We decided we wanted two extra beige panels for our bedroom (first set was bought them last year I believe) but when they arrived, the color was off. I understand that sometimes dye lots can be different, but it was too noticeable to keep in the same room so we had to move the two panels we just purchased to the guest room.We have a large bedroom window. Used 4 52" wide panels and they fit perfectly but this year we opted to add 4 more panels to allow for a more pleated look. The more panels you have, the darker the room gets and the more they tend to keep out the cold. My assumption is that stretching the curtains too much detracts from the "thermal" quality of the material as our room does feel a few degrees warmer in the winter now that we've added the extra panels.Last year, my wife added a panel to the bottom of the stairs as a "wind breaker" and we instantly noticed a difference in the draft traveling up the stairs into the main living area. This year she wanted to add curtains to the hallway, as a room divider, to cut out the remaining draft. I was against it as I felt it looked kind of tacky, but after having the curtains up, I can feel a noticeable difference in the way our main living area retains heat.Update: 2016We ended up buying a few more panels, and per another reviewer's suggestion we placed them back to back and hung. Our curtain rods are holding the weight nicely and it really helps with darkening the room during daylight hours and keeping cold drafts out during winter months. In fact, we noticed a nice drop in our electricity bill!Note: As for the burgandy and cream bedroom curtains, we didn't buy more but rather cut back on the number of alternating color panels... that way, we could use use the existing panels for back to back hanging.Disclosure: This is my opinion, not to be taken as professional advice of any kind.

I am not sure what high tech devices they use to measure the amount of light blocked by this curtain. But I don't think any of those tools are more accurate than human eyes. In my opinion is more like 60% of light. Definitely not 99%.

The quality of the fabric on these curtains is better than I expected. They're thick, soft, with a very fine weave and a nice drape. These curtains would be beautiful for most home applications. They don't scream "over the top luxury" but they do whisper "pragmatic prosperity," which is often better, because who wants floor to ceiling opulent drapery in EVERY room?Because of the tight and fine weave that looks completely flat unless you really get up close, so they would also pair well with any other window treatments like a scarf or valence for extra "pop."I bought five sets of these for a small home office with lots of single pane windows surrounding the room. It definitely helped keep the room warmer -- I've been turning the heat down (the office has its own thermostat) lower than where I normally set it, which has been a huge help for my heating bill in Boston this winter!The beige curtains are not "blackout" (although other colors might be) but they completely eliminate any glare or harsh light and make the room quite a bit darker even during full direct sunlight, which is exactly what I was looking for.One word of warning: The curtains are vulnerable to snagging with metal objects. I found this out when I was taking them out of the dryer and they caught on a sharp bit of a metal wire shelf. Most of the snag was able to be rubbed/massaged back into place, and, luckily, it was on the back of the curtain where it won't show (also, a testament to the thickness/quality of the fabric -- you can get a snag on one side that doesn't show on the other side!), so it wasn't a big deal. But you might want to watch out if you're looking for something more industrial/durable.

As you can see, none of the panels were the same length. There were also some tiny snags and what I assume is residue from the grommets.However, Amazon being the great company they are will credit my account.

I bought these curtains to block out light as advertised, and they totally miss the mark. They shade the light as any normal heavy fabric might, but you can definitely see lots of daylight through them. I posted a picture of them hanging in my living room showing the light glowing through (customer uploaded photo #5). You can clearly see where there is shade vs. direct sunlight outside. Otherwise, the fabric is a soft synthetic. The size, color and grommets all look and feel fine.