The best blackout curtains for a short-term rental are the ones labelled 100 percent blackout, in a dark colour, hung wide and high on a wraparound rod. The Eclipse Absolute Zero line is our pick on price and blackout claim, at about $24 for a 37 by 84 inch pair at Walmart. NICETOWN is the budget favourite in most roundups, around $28 for two 52 by 84 inch panels, and IKEA MAJGULL, from $44.99 a pair, looks the most like a regular curtain. But in our experience the curtain matters less than how you hang it. Here is the scorecard and the hanging rules.
Why Dark Bedrooms Get Better Reviews
Guests rarely write "the curtains were great." They do write "the room was bright at 6 a.m." and "street light came in all night." Sleep is the core of what a rental sells, and light is one of the easiest things to fix and one of the most common things to get wrong. Our units are in Austin, where summer sunrise comes early and every building seems to have a security light pointed at a bedroom window.
We cover the rest of the sleep setup, from mattress to white noise, in Airbnb bedroom ideas that help guests sleep. Curtains are the first thing on that list because they are cheap and because nothing else works if the room is not dark.
Blackout, Room Darkening, Thermal: What the Labels Mean
- 100 percent blackout means the fabric itself is meant to stop all light passing through it. It says nothing about light coming round the edges.
- Blackout with a percentage, such as 85 to 99 percent, means some light passes through, especially in lighter colours.
- Room darkening usually means less than blackout. Good for a living room, not enough for a bedroom.
- Thermal is about heat. Many blackout curtains are also thermal, which helps with Texas afternoons, but the word alone does not promise darkness.
For bedrooms in a rental, we only buy curtains labelled 100 percent blackout, in a dark colour. Lighter colours let more light through even when the label is the same.
How We Scored Them
- Blackout claim on the label, and what buyers report.
- Sizes available, especially long lengths for tall windows.
- Look in listing photos. Some blackout curtains look like hotel room drapes, which is not always the look we want.
- Washability and durability for frequent turnovers.
- Price from the listing on October 14, 2026.
The Scorecard
| Curtain | Blackout claim | Example size and price | Look | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eclipse Absolute Zero | 100% | 37x84 pair, about $24 | Plain, solid | Bedrooms on a budget |
| NICETOWN | 85 to 99%, or 100% by product | Two 52x84 panels, about $28 | Plain, many colours | Wide windows |
| IKEA MAJGULL | Blackout, edge leaks reported | 57x84 pair $44.99, 57x98 pair $49.99 | Most like a regular curtain | Style-led units |
| Eclipse Corte | Blackout | 37x84 pair, about $22 | Plain | Secondary bedrooms |
The Picks
1. Eclipse Absolute Zero: Best Overall for Rental Bedrooms
Would we use it? Yes, in every main bedroomEclipse's Absolute Zero line is sold as 100 percent blackout. At Walmart, the Talisa Absolute Zero 37 by 84 inch panel pair is listed at $24.19 (down from $28), and longer Absolute Zero panels, such as a 40 by 108 inch design, start at about $28 a panel. That price-to-claim ratio is the best we found.
The 37 inch width is narrow, so for most windows you will need two pairs to get the coverage we describe below. Budget for that when you compare.
2. NICETOWN: Best Budget Pick for Wide Windows
Would we use it? Yes, check the exact productNICETOWN shows up in almost every blackout roundup, mostly for price. One long-running review puts a pair of 52 by 84 inch panels at about $28 on Amazon. The wider 52 inch panels mean fewer panels per window than the 37 inch Eclipse, which also means fewer gaps between panels.
Read the label carefully. NICETOWN sells different lines, and reviews quote blackout figures from 85 to 99 percent on some sets and 100 percent with a sewn-in black liner on others. For a bedroom, buy the 100 percent version in a dark colour. Reviewers also note that sizing the panels exactly to the window lets light in at the top and bottom, which is true of every curtain on this list.
3. IKEA MAJGULL: Best Looking
Would we use it? In style-led units, with edge fixesMAJGULL looks the most like an ordinary curtain, with a soft fabric and colours that photograph well. IKEA US lists the 57 by 84 inch pair at $44.99 and the 57 by 98 inch pair at $49.99. The 98 inch length is useful in units with high ceilings, where mounting the rod high makes the room look taller in photos.
Buyer reviews are mixed on blackout performance. Some say there is light leak at the edges, and one buyer got the room fully dark by taping the edges to the wall. That matches what we see: the fabric is not the weak point, the gaps are. Use the edge tricks below and MAJGULL works; hang it flat on a standard rod and it will not.
4. Eclipse Corte: Best for Second Bedrooms
Would we use it? Yes, for kids' rooms and bunk roomsThe Eclipse Corte is a basic solid blackout curtain, listed at Walmart at $21.97 for a 37 by 84 inch pair. It is the cheapest option here for a second bedroom or a bunk room where the look matters less than the price, especially in units where you need several sets.
The Gaps Are the Problem
Every blackout curtain leaks light if you hang it like a regular curtain. Light comes in at four places: the sides, the top, the bottom and the middle where the panels meet. Fix those and a mid-priced curtain will beat an expensive one hung badly.
- Go wide. Extend the rod 8 to 10 inches beyond each side of the window frame, so the panels cover the wall around the opening.
- Go high. Mount the rod 4 to 6 inches above the frame, or close to the ceiling. Light spilling over the top is the most common leak.
- Use a wraparound rod. A rod that curves back to the wall at each end lets the curtain wrap round the side and seal against the wall. This is the single biggest improvement you can make.
- Overlap in the middle. Buy enough width that the two panels overlap by several inches when closed. A small magnet sewn into each leading edge keeps them together.
- Go to the floor. Panels that stop at the windowsill let light pour out underneath. Floor length or very close to it.
- Seal the edges if needed. Hook-and-loop strips on the wall at the sides hold the panel flat. Easy to remove at the end of a lease.
Width: How Many Panels You Need
For a curtain to look full when open and seal when closed, the total width of the panels should be about one and a half to two times the width you want to cover. For a 40 inch window with the rod extended 10 inches each side, you are covering 60 inches, so you want 90 to 120 inches of panel. That is two or three 37 inch Eclipse panels per side, or about two 52 inch NICETOWN panels per side. Do the maths before you order, because ordering one pair per window is the most common mistake we see.
Turnovers and Durability
Blackout curtains in a rental get handled, opened and closed hard, and occasionally used as towels. A few things we do:
- Choose dark colours that hide marks: charcoal, navy, deep green.
- Check the care label. Many blackout curtains wash on gentle, but coatings can crack with hot water or the dryer.
- Use curtain rings or grommets that slide easily. Guests who have to yank a curtain shut will eventually pull the rod out of the wall.
- Anchor the rod brackets properly, into studs where you can. We go into more detail on materials that survive guests in durable, good-looking rental materials.
Photos Versus Sleep
Blackout curtains can make a bedroom photo look heavy. Our solution is two layers on a double rod: a light sheer at the front for daytime and photos, and the blackout panels behind it for night. The listing shows the airy room; the guest gets the dark one. We wrote about choosing for real guest comfort over the photo in designing for reviews, not photos.
Tell Guests
A line in the house manual helps: "The bedroom has blackout curtains behind the sheers. Pull both closed and the room gets fully dark." Guests do not always see the second layer. A note on the nightstand, along with the other small touches in our welcome details, makes sure they use it.
The Short Version
Buy curtains labelled 100 percent blackout, in a dark colour. Eclipse Absolute Zero at about $24 a pair is our pick, NICETOWN at about $28 for two wide panels is the budget choice for wide windows, and IKEA MAJGULL from $44.99 is the best looking if you fix the edges. Then hang them wide, high, to the floor and on a wraparound rod, with enough panels to overlap in the middle. That is what actually gets a guest room dark.
