Hi Shifali, At Bloc Blinds we have the perfect solution to your problem! Our Bloc Out blinds provide total blackout and bring an unmatched level of darkness to any room, functionality that is just not possible to achieve with any other blackout blind currently on the market. Our products have been independently tested by The British Board of Agrément and are proven to reduce heat loss through the window by 43%. Our customers have also reported a reduction in external noise which is a bonus for urban dwellers like you. We have a range of plain and pattern blackout fabrics to suit any window and you will find that additional curtains and shutters will be unnecessary. The blind can be fitted on the edge of the window recess or inside the recess providing a clean and stylish aesthetic in your bedroom. For further advice or support on how to install don’t hesitate to contact our team at info@blocblinds.com and we’ll be happy to help. Good Luck! Síle

That many blinds would be a pain to open and close on a daily basis. You'd likely end up leaving some of them closed permanently which would cut the light enormously. Consider curtains that hang from the flat wall above the archway, in front of the whole bay window. When open they could hang on either side of the opening, meaning no loss of light. It would definitely make the room smaller when closed but would be a lovely 'wall of fabric', closing off any clutter on your dressing table.

Hi there, congratulations for having your first place! Moving into a new place is always exciting, but especially when it's your first place together. Let's start with practical issues. For the bedrooms the main thing is that you have proper blackout to guarantee a good sleep. You can combine a blackout roller blind with full lenght curtains (so you can have lighter curtains) or full lenght curtains with a blackout lining (normal lining isn't usually enough to blockout the light). It doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you want to sleep a bit later in the morning or happen to be unwell, it is really nice to be able to make the bedroom as dark as possible. The kitchen curtains depend on how close to the sink and the hob they are. If the window is on the other side of the room than the hob, then curtains are ok. But if the window is right next to the hob, I don't recommend having curtains as they go horrible in no time. In the living room you don't necessarily need blackout curtains so you can choose to have lighter curtains which are mainly for decorative purposes and to add texture to the room. One thing to take into consideration is insulation. In many houses windows can be really drafty and come winter, you may wish you had chosen thick curtains to keep the cold out. Wheather you go for roman blinds or full lenght curtains really is a matter of taste, but you also need to consider what works best for the size of the windows you have, if there is space for full lenght curtains (for example, you might have a radiator under the window in which case full lenght curtains may not be the best option). All curtain options have a different look, so I suggest you first decide what kind of a look you want to achieve in each room and then see which curtain option best delivers that look (taking into account practicalities). Hope this helps, Kati

Hi Lee- the window recess is actually a bonus in this case because it gives you sufficient depth for the 2 blind mechanisms. Plus the additional recess into the ceiling will help as well because it will disguise hanging the blinds at slightly different heights, eg one rod above the other, which you will likely want to do to get both blinds as close to the window as possible. The closer the blind the less light through the sides. I would recommend you get a standard roll roller blind, eg you want the fabric to go down the back of the roll. We’ve had really good luck ordering from Tuiss in the past for our roller blinds, and they do Romans’ as well. One thing you might also want to look at is cassette blinds, which have fixed side rails and thus offer better blackout and thermal coverage. We have a “Velux Duo” on a loft window and it’s terrific. It would give you a different option to combine a pull-up bottom mounted sheer blind to hide passerby (but keep the upper part of the window uncovered for better light) along with a traditional top mounted roman/roller blind for nighttime cover.