Plaid blackout curtains was the category I assumed was one product until I stood in the curtain aisle at Target and counted more than a dozen boxes with the word "plaid" on them. Some said "blackout." Some said "room darkening." Some had percentages I had to look up on my phone. The first plaid blackout curtain I bought was a buffalo plaid in red and black, and the curtain blocked 80 percent of light, which was fine for my living room but inadequate for the bedroom. The second plaid blackout curtain I bought was a windowpane plaid in cream and gray, and the curtain blocked 99 percent of light, which was perfect for the bedroom but the cream was too bright for the dark room I was trying to create. What follows is the 4 plaid blackout curtains patterns I tested across 3 rooms, the 3 light-blocking percentages, the 1 pattern to skip, and the 1 renter install hack that lets you test a pattern before committing to a full set.
The 4 Plaid Patterns (And Which Works Where)
Pattern one is buffalo plaid. Buffalo plaid is the most common plaid, and the pattern is two colors in a large checkerboard — usually red and black, but also navy and white, gray and white, and green and red. Buffalo plaid is bold, and the bold pattern is the right answer for a living room, a den, or a child's room. The Buffalo plaid is a bold pattern. Some people love it in a bedroom; others find it too busy in a dim room. If you're not sure which camp you're in, buy one panel and live with it for a week before you commit to a full set. The same advice applies to tartan and houndstooth, and the unsettled feeling is the cause of the "I can't relax in this room" complaint that most people have about bold plaid.
Pattern two is tartan. Tartan is a multi-color plaid with stripes of different widths, and the pattern is the traditional Scottish plaid. Tartan is bolder than windowpane but less bold than buffalo, and the tartan is the right answer for a den, an office, or a living room where the room has multiple uses. The Tartan is a multi-color pattern. It works well in a den or an office. In a bedroom, it depends on your tolerance for visual busyness. If you want a calm room, windowpane is the safer choice, and the visual busyness is what the brain processes when the room is dim. A busy pattern in a dim room is overstimulating, and the overstimulation is the cause of the "I can't fall asleep" complaint that most people have about tartan in a bedroom.
Pattern three is windowpane. Windowpane is a simple plaid with thin lines in a single color on a solid background, and the pattern is the most subtle of the four patterns. Windowpane is the right answer for a bedroom, a nursery, or a room where the room is meant to be calm. The windowpane is the right answer for a renter who wants the room to look designed without looking busy, and the windowpane is the right answer for a renter who is going to add other patterns to the room (a striped pillow, a floral chair, a geometric rug). The windowpane pattern is the most versatile of the four patterns, and the windowpane is the pattern I'd buy again.
Pattern four is houndstooth. Houndstooth is a broken-check pattern that's usually black and white, and the pattern is a classic that comes back every 5 years. Houndstooth is the right answer for a living room, a den, or a room where the room is meant to look polished. Houndstooth is high-contrast. It looks polished in a living room or a den. In a bedroom, the contrast might be too stimulating for some people. If you're not sure, test a single panel first, and the high-contrast pattern is what the brain processes when the room is dim. A high-contrast pattern in a dim room is stimulating, and the stimulation is the opposite of what most people want in a bedroom. The same pattern recognition applies to discolored walls in apartments — small details that are easy to ignore become big problems if you don't address them.
The 3 Light-Blocking Types (From 50% to 99%)
Type one is light filtering. Light filtering blocks 50 to 70 percent of incoming light, and the filtering is the lowest of the three types. Light filtering is the right answer for a living room or a den where the room is meant to be bright, and the filtering is the wrong answer for a bedroom or a nursery. Light filtering is the cheapest of the three types, and the filtering costs $10 to $20 per panel. The filtering is the wrong answer for any room where the room is meant to be dark, and the filtering is the right answer for any room where the room is meant to be bright but slightly softened.
Type two is room darkening. Room darkening blocks 80 to 95 percent of incoming light, and the darkening is the middle of the three types. Room darkening is the right answer for a bedroom or a den where the room is meant to be dim but not dark. Room darkening is the most common of the three types, and the darkening is what most people buy when they buy "blackout" curtains. The darkening costs $20 to $40 per panel, and the cost is the middle of the three types. The darkening is the wrong answer for a nursery, because the 80 to 95 percent light blocking is not enough for an infant's sleep, and the 5 to 20 percent of light that gets through is what wakes the infant at 5 a.m.
Type three is blackout. Blackout blocks 99 percent of incoming light, and the blackout is the highest of the three types. Blackout is the right answer for a bedroom, a nursery, a media room, or any room where the room is meant to be dark. Blackout is the most expensive of the three types, and the blackout costs $30 to $60 per panel. The blackout is the right answer for a renter who has a street-facing window, a sun-facing window, or a window that faces a bright light source. The blackout is also the right answer for a renter who works night shifts and sleeps during the day, because the blackout is the only type that blocks enough light for daytime sleep.
The right percentage for a renter depends on the room. For a living room, light filtering is the right answer. For a bedroom, room darkening is usually enough, and blackout is the upgrade if the renter has a sun-facing window. For a nursery, blackout is the right answer, because the infant's sleep is more sensitive to light than the adult's sleep. The same logic applies to spackle versus caulk — the right product for the right situation, and the right percentage is the right amount of light blocking for the room.
How to Match the Plaid to Your Room Color
The 5 color schemes that work with plaid blackout curtains. Scheme one is red and black buffalo plaid with cream walls. The cream walls soften the bold pattern, and the cream walls make the room look designed rather than busy. Scheme two is navy and white windowpane with gray walls. The gray walls are the most common apartment paint color, and the gray walls work with the navy because the gray and the navy are both cool tones. Scheme three is forest green tartan with white walls. The white walls are clean, and the green and white are the right contrast for a den or an office. Scheme four is black and white houndstooth with red walls. The red walls are bold, and the black and white houndstooth adds visual interest without competing with the red. Scheme five is cream and gray windowpane with beige walls. The beige walls are warm, and the cream and gray are the right cool tones for a bedroom.
Two color combinations that are harder to pull off: red and black buffalo plaid with red walls (the red on red can feel overwhelming), and any plaid against a busy wallpaper or wall covering. If you're not sure, take a swatch of your wall color to the store and hold it next to the curtain, and the red on red is what most renters complain about when they say "the room looks like a Christmas card." Scheme two is any plaid with a busy wallpaper or a busy wall covering. The busy on busy is visually overwhelming, and the visually overwhelming is the cause of the "I can't relax in this room" complaint. The same advice applies to door handle repair — the right product for the right situation, and the right color scheme is the right contrast for the room.
One renter-to-renter warning. The 12 boxes on the curtain aisle that say "plaid blackout" don't all have the same color. The reds vary from bright fire-engine red to deep burgundy, and the blues vary from navy to royal blue to powder blue. The color variance is the reason most people buy the wrong color, and the color variance is the cause of the "I bought the wrong shade" complaint that most people have about online curtain orders. The fix is to see the curtain in person before buying, and the fix is to take a swatch of the wall paint to the store to compare.
What to Skip, and How to Test Before You Commit
The 1 plaid type to skip is the large-pattern buffalo plaid. Large-pattern buffalo plaid is the boldest of the four patterns, and the bold pattern is the cause of the "the room looks like a hunting cabin" complaint that most renters have about buffalo plaid. The small-pattern buffalo plaid is the right answer, and the small-pattern buffalo plaid is what most stores label as "mini buffalo" or "micro buffalo." The small pattern has the same color contrast as the large pattern, and the small pattern is versatile enough for a living room, a den, or a child's room.
The 1 renter hack that works when the pattern is questionable is to test the pattern with a single panel before buying a full set. A single panel costs $20 to $40, and the single panel is enough to cover one window. The single panel is the test, and the full set is the upgrade after the test confirms the pattern works in the room. The single panel is the right answer for a renter who is moving within 12 months, because the single panel is portable and the full set is not. The single panel is also the right answer for a renter who is undecided between two patterns, because the single panel lets the renter live with the pattern for a week before committing to the full set.
The 1 renter install hack is to use a tension rod for the test, and the tension rod is the right answer for a renter who doesn't want to drill or commit to a permanent rod. The tension rod holds 5 to 15 pounds, and a single plaid blackout curtain weighs 2 to 4 pounds. The tension rod is the test, and the no-drill rod is the upgrade after the test confirms the curtain works in the room. The same advice applies to sliding door guide repairs — the right product for the right situation, and the test is the right answer for a renter who is undecided.
When to Walk Away (And Buy Solid Instead)
Walk away and buy solid curtains when the room already has too many patterns. A room with a striped pillow, a floral chair, and a geometric rug is not a room that needs a plaid curtain. The plaid adds a fourth pattern, and the fourth pattern is what makes the room look busy. The fix is to buy a solid curtain in a color that matches the existing patterns, and the solid curtain lets the existing patterns be the visual focus. The solid curtain is the right answer for a room with 3 or more existing patterns, and the solid curtain is the right answer for a renter who is trying to add to a room that the previous tenant designed.
Walk away and buy a different room covering when the room is meant to be a nursery. A nursery needs blackout, and a nursery needs breathable, and a nursery needs cordless. The plaid blackout curtain may be cordless (most are), but the bold pattern is the wrong answer for a nursery, because the bold pattern is what the brain processes when the room is dim. The right answer for a nursery is a solid blackout curtain in a soft color (cream, light gray, or pale blue), and the solid curtain is the right answer for a room where the infant is the focus, not the curtain.
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