Blockout vs Sheer: Which Blinds Are Right for Me?

Blinds are more than just a practical solution to block out light or let it in—they’re a statement piece, a mood setter, and sometimes even a lifesaver (because who wants their neighbours witnessing pyjama mornings?). If you’re standing at the crossroads between blockout and sheer blinds, you’re not alone. This is a decision that has homeowners everywhere scratching their heads.

The choice isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about function, lifestyle, and the unique quirks of your home. Whether you’re a light-loving minimalist or someone who’d happily cocoon themselves in total darkness, the right blinds can make all the difference. Let’s take a closer look at what blockout and sheer blinds have to offer—and help you figure out which one feels more you.

 

What Are Blockout Blinds?

Think of blockout blinds as the homebody of window coverings: dependable, solid, and happiest when they’re keeping the outside world at bay. Designed to eliminate light completely, blockout blinds are the go-to choice for people who value privacy and comfort in equal measure. If you’ve ever cursed the early sunrise for interrupting your Saturday lie-in, these blinds are your solution.

Blockout blinds aren’t just about darkness, though. They’re also a clever way to keep your home cooler in summer and cosier in winter. By reducing the amount of sunlight that sneaks in, they can help regulate your home’s temperature—a blessing for energy bills.

In essence, blockout blinds are a practical, hardworking option. They’re ideal for spaces where peace, quiet, and a bit of seclusion are top priorities.

 

What Are Sheer Blinds?

If blockout blinds are the homebody, sheer blinds are the social butterfly. They’re all about letting the sunshine in while still providing a little privacy. Picture a curtain of soft, natural light bathing your living space—sheer blinds bring that aesthetic to life.

Sheer blinds are designed to diffuse sunlight, which makes them perfect for rooms that thrive on brightness. Unlike blockout blinds, they won’t cut you off from the world entirely. Instead, they strike a balance, allowing you to enjoy the outside view while still filtering out harsh glare.

With sheer blinds, it’s less about hiding from the world and more about embracing it—just on your terms. They’re ideal for spaces where you want to feel connected to the outdoors while maintaining a soft, filtered light indoors.

 

How to Choose Between Blockout and Sheer Blinds

Selecting between blockout and sheer blinds isn’t always a straightforward decision—it’s about weighing the needs of your space, lifestyle, and personal preferences. To make things clearer, let’s break it down into practical considerations. Here’s how you can figure out what works best for you:

 

Think About the Function of Each Room

Different rooms in your home have different purposes, and your choice of blinds should reflect that.

  • Bedrooms: If you value deep, uninterrupted sleep (or have little ones with unpredictable nap schedules), blockout blinds are a lifesaver. They create a pitch-black environment, perfect for snoozing any time of day.
  • Living Rooms: Spaces where you relax or entertain benefit from the soft glow of natural light. Sheer blinds can brighten the room without blinding your guests or fading your furniture.
  • Home Offices: If you’re battling glare on your computer screen while trying to focus, sheer blinds can filter the light to reduce eye strain while keeping the room energising.
  • Media Rooms: For a true cinematic vibe, blockout blinds are the obvious choice. There’s nothing worse than a glare cutting through your favourite movie scene.

 

Assess Your Natural Light Situation

How much sunlight does each room get? A room that basks in sunlight all day might benefit from blockout blinds to control heat and light. On the other hand, if your space feels perpetually gloomy, sheer blinds can open it up and make it feel more inviting.

  • North-Facing Rooms: These tend to get consistent sunlight throughout the day, so blockout blinds are ideal if you want to keep things cool and dim when needed.
  • South-Facing Rooms: If your room lacks direct sunlight, sheer blinds can maximise whatever light does make its way in, keeping the space cheerful and bright.

 

Consider Your Privacy Needs

Privacy levels can vary drastically depending on your home’s layout and surroundings.

  • Street-Facing Windows: If you’re on a busy road or close to neighbours, blockout blinds provide the ultimate sense of security.
  • Second-Story or Secluded Spaces: For rooms where privacy isn’t as much of a concern, sheer blinds let you enjoy the view without making you feel exposed.

And don’t forget the time of day—sheer blinds work beautifully during the daytime, but at night, when lights are on inside, they offer little privacy. Blockout blinds or a combination of both may be more suitable for multi-purpose rooms.

 

Style and Atmosphere

Blinds do more than serve a functional purpose—they contribute to your home’s overall aesthetic.

  • Modern Minimalism: Sheer blinds fit seamlessly into contemporary spaces with their clean, light-enhancing look.
  • Cosy and Private: If you’re after a snug, intimate vibe, blockout blinds help create a sense of enclosure that’s perfect for bedrooms or dens.

 

Your Lifestyle and Habits

Your day-to-day life plays a big role in determining the right blinds.

  • Early Risers vs. Night Owls: If you wake with the sun, sheer blinds can let the morning light gently filter in. If you prefer to sleep through it, blockout blinds are non-negotiable.
  • Frequent Hosts: Sheer blinds offer a welcoming, light-filled environment that’s perfect for entertaining guests.
  • Families with Kids: Young children often nap during the day, making blockout blinds essential for keeping rooms dark and quiet when needed.

 

Ready for the Perfect Blinds?

At the end of the day, the choice between blockout and sheer blinds boils down to how you live, how your home functions, and, perhaps most importantly, how you want your space to feel. Are you someone who thrives in total darkness and values privacy above all else? Or do you prefer to welcome natural light, soft and filtered, into your home?

Whatever your answer, there’s no need to overthink it. At Total Look Blinds, we offer a wide range of expertly crafted blockout, sheer, and dual blinds to suit every lifestyle, every room, and every aesthetic.

Top Quality Custom Blinds and Shutters

Total Look Blinds has the best and most experienced people in the industry with a combined experience of greater than 180 years within the industry. If we can’t help you nobody can. We offer free help and advice when you ask us to meet with you.
Contact us Today

What Our Customers Say

Excellent
4.8
Heidi Reid
Great service and wonderful blinds, thanks
Jo in the office was helpful and available Roger was superb with his installation and communication thanks
Tina Smith
Have used Total Look Blinds for a number of years and always outstanding service. Jo had my blind repair turned around in less than 3 hours. Highly recommend them.
Lia Wongsohardjo
I love my roller blinds from Total Look Blinds, the products are great. They have excellent customer service, the sales, the admin and the installer are amazing. I have bought from them twice for my house in Oteha and now in Orewa where I moved recently. Terry is very expert, kind and helpful, he is a talented salesman.
Eve O-R
A five star company to deal with, accurate, quick, professional and reasonably priced. Definitely will return. Highly recommended!
Joel Schiff
Contacted them about a replacement part on a Sunday with a hope and a prayer that they had it since the blinds were rather old. Monday morning had a reply with just what I needed.with instructions on how to fit the new part into the blind. The part is now in the post and these folks are simply the best!
robert crighton
Have used Total Look Blinds several times over many years,the latest some roller blinds,which look great.Its a family business,lovely people to deal with [they take pride in what they do] & the products are excellent quality & well priced.Would recommend to one & all.Thank you.
Robyn Adams
Carolyn outstanding. Installers did a fantastic job. I am a many repeat customer and have been impressed and always happy with the outstanding level of service. Thank you. Neil Adams
Jim Richardson
Total blinds were Totally Professional. Excellent service from measurements to advice given through to the final fitting and the blinds look great! The price was also very reasonable and far better than competitor's. I totally recommended Total Blinds. Thanks! Jim
James B
Lovely blinds with professional service.
Sincere thanks to Laren for your helpful advice and Carl for excellent installation…..much appreciated
Anne Hunt
Fabulous service and a wonderful product. Very happy with our New Zealand made shutters. Richard the installer is a perfectionist. Thank you
Vicki Landon
Cannot fault Caroline and the team from Total Look Blinds. Very professional and accommodating. Friendly people from the measuring, advice on product and installation. We have used them in several houses and will continue to do so. Highly recommend Total Look Blinds.
Melissa Slater
Awesome consultation gave really good ideas and pointers. Quick to manufacture and install. End result is beautiful.
Arishma Lata
Highly recommend Total Look Blinds. The whole team makes it so easy for you from start till finish without any hiccups. Their neat and 5star work is what you looking for. Thank you guys. Appreciate your great job in making my house look so gorgeous. ❤️❤️❤️
Stephen Ball
Very happy with result, beautiful appearance. High quality, efficient and effective at a good price.
Grant McFlinn
From first contact with Sales Consultant Lauren to Jo in the office and installer Carl, the entire process was nothing short of exceptional. As for the blinds themselves, thanks to Lauren's invaluable input, they look amazing and are undoubtedly high quality. Thoroughly recommend and will most definitely use again.
Heather
Excellant product. Very efficient service. Pleasure to do business with. Would recommend Total Look Blinds to everyone.
Nick Appleton
Great product, service & price. This is the 4th house TLB have done for us, the blinds look great. Thanks guys.
Cathy Crombach
We have used Total Look Blinds for many years now and they always give us a good service and good product, I highly recommend their services. A+ from me
Brooke Maber
Really impressed with Total Look Blinds, Terry was great to deal with and very knowledgeable with some great advice when selecting blinds. Great communication from Jo. Since having them installed we have decided on a few tweaks and add ons which they made very easy for us. I recommend you to everyone! Thank you.
Namrata Lal
Awesome service by Total Look Blinds.
Supplied and installed a very beautiful set of blinds.
Ant MacLean
Had an old vertical blind that was manufactured by them, that was broken. Excellent cheery and quick repair service and great value too.

Support kiwi jobs stay local. If you buy something NZ made you can get spares.
Bhavika n Divesh Kumar
We used Total Look Blinds in 2005 for our family home. After 19 years of wear and tear we needed some parts and couple of vertical blinds track needed fixing. Took a drive to Takanini and was greeted by the office lady Jo who was very helpful and was amazed when she pulled out our 19 years old invoice from their record. The team manage to fix the track within a day and got the parts i needed at a fair price. Highly recommend them if you want quality products and a fantastic after sales service. Great company to deal with 😊
Louise Kennedy
Total Look Blinds were absolutely amazing to deal with. From prompt and clear communication through to an excellent and earlier than expected fit, I could not be happier. Thank you for such a stress free, professional experience. Will recommend your company far and wide!
David Lim
Vertical and horizontal blinds completed on time. Reliable and great people to deal. Over the years, I have engaged the services of Total Look Blinds a few times and I have always been pleased with the results. I would do it again in the future with any hesitation. Highly recommended.
Nerissa Attewell
Excellent service, quick turnaround the whole team were informative and helpful! We love our blinds so much :)
Graeme Hewitt
My wife and I had an excellent experience dealing with Total Look Blinds, when we got both sunblock and blackout blinds installed in our place. It started with meeting Jo in their showroom and then Lauren on-site for a quotation. They were both very helpful and a pleasure to deal with. The installation was carried out by Carl which was done very efficiently and he was very helpful in explaining everything, as we had motorised blackout blinds installed. We have now had our blinds for 5 months and we are very happy with them. We highly recommend Total Look Blinds :-)
Katie Duffy
Have used this service for my own home and a rental. Quick efficient professional service. Highly Recommend
Kerry Watt
Erin Corkhill
From Terry's measurements, to Brent's installation it couldn't have been a friendlier or smoother process. The shutters are stunning and I get stopped on the street by neighbours who compliment us on them. Total Look Blinds is a decision you won't regret.
Niall Robertson
Excellent service quality product from this company who consistently delivers a great personal experience to its customers.
Comes highly recommended. Thank you Team!
Lisa Fong
Could not be happier with my new shutters - big shout out to Total Look Blinds who did a fantastic job with the measure, manufacture and installation! All done in NZ so would highly recommend!
Sunnie Ko
Highly recommended, prompt service, quality blinds, professional installer and reasonable price 👍
Jayne Steele
Loving my new retro fit motorised blinds, thought would not be worth the $$ in spare room, WRONG do it once do it right , motorised other rooms, should have done it in the first place, no cords ease of use , fabulous
Kambiz Radman
Could not be happier with my new sun screens and blinds, look awesome. The material seems nice and hopefully durable (I'll update you on that later).
"Terry" is a positive Rep who speaks clearly. He measured well but didn't explain some installation details, which confused me afterward. However, "Carolyn" came to the site and explained everything very well. Roger is a professional installer who did a quick and clean job. Thanks "Jo" for admin updates and following up. 101% recommended.
M Whelan
From consultation with Terry to the professional installation by Richard and liaising with Jo in the office, it was a great experience, and we're delighted with the result. The shutters add a whole new ambience to our house. Total Look Blinds is obviously a business that is proud of its products and cares about its customers - we're glad we chose them and would highly recommend.
WYNN RIECHELMANN
Absolutely love our TotalBlinds shutters! They have transformed our bedroom. Service from measure up and quote was excellent and communication with the TotalBlinds team was a pleasure! They took half the time than was quoted by another supplier and although they were a bit cheaper, the shutters are very good quality. Plus they are NZ made! Highly recommend!
Peter McLeod
I enquired about a blind repair. Response was quick and friendly and when I took the blind into the factory to get it fixed, it was done immediately, with a smile and finished within 10min. Very impressive and much appreciated
Sally Clegg
First class service, products and support from Total Look Blinds. We have asked these guys to come three times as we add more blinds to our home. They look so good and work brilliantly. Really pleased!
Alisha Dodds
This is the second time we have used total look blinds and they are amazing! So simple to get a quote, easy ordering process and arrived much sooner than we thought! The installer was super lovely and I will be getting my blinds through this company again!
Lanice McMillan
Thank you for your awesome service and flexibility to get quotes on very short notice. Love the roller blinds
js_loader
menu