Group Ring Lighting together to customize how they illuminate. If one light detects motion, it can brighten up a pathway or make your whole yard shine.

From the initial concept to the final product, privacy, security, and user control are at the core of the decisions we make at Ring. Learn more about our privacy and security practices.

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The Ring Bridge also allows you to connect your lights to select Alexa-enabled devices, so you can hear announcements, turn on Ring Lights when motion is detected, and adjust the settings at the sound of your voice.

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This polyester cellular shade is one of the best we found at blocking light and the most attractive of the bunch, and it comes in one of the widest ranges of sizes and colors.

This polyester cellular shade is one of the best we found at blocking light and the most attractive of the bunch, and it comes in one of the widest ranges of sizes and colors.

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So if you're looking to add some style and beauty to your yard or patio, then you'll want to check out our outdoor spotlights today! Sub-Collections For ...

They are cordless and easy to clean. The cordless lift system works like that of our cellular picks. If you can’t reach the top of your window, get a draw rod, such as the IKEA Riktig. If you have kids or pets in the house, roller shades present no safety hazards and can stand up to roughhousing. Like most polyester roller shades, the iFit model is durable and easier to clean than cellular shades.

We researched and tested dozens of blackout and room-darkening curtains and found the best ones for blocking out light, so you can sleep.

Smart shades and blinds can be set up to open or close on a schedule or at your command. They save energy, make life more convenient, and can help boost home security.

Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).

This IKEA shade is easy to install, looks good, and works as well as custom options (as long as you need only standard sizes). But it comes in few sizes and only one color.

The Ring Bridge is required to enable smart controls and notifications for Ring Lights, pair Ring Lights together, and connect them to Ring Doorbells, Cameras, and select Alexa-enabled devices.

The Select Blinds Classic Cordless Blackout Shade is the best-looking of all the shades we tested and one of the most effective at blocking light.

Redoing your room doesn’t have to blow your budget. Here’s a handful of less-pricey picks for mattresses, pillows, and everything in between (ahem, sheets).

We like cellular shades because they look good, effectively block light, and are easy to install. Our panel unanimously agreed that the Select Blinds Classic Cordless Blackout Shade is the one they’d most like in their homes.

These lights are really nice. The color of the light itself is very pleasing. They are easy to install and group together to light an entire walkway when motion is detected by just one of the lights.

You can group Ring Lights together and connect them to your other compatible Ring devices and select Alexa-enabled devices with the Ring Bridge.

Our research, along with our conversations with industry experts, helped us determine that a blackout shade should offer the following features and benefits:

They may last longer than you expect. Redi Shade models may rip, tear, or discolor more than vinyl or polyester options, but they can last a surprisingly long time. One tester has had hers for five years, and she has found that they’ve held up well, even with a toddler in the house.

Pathlight and Steplight- The Solar Pathlight or Solar Steplight can also be recharged by bringing the unit inside and connecting it via micro USB. The unit will blink on and off as it charges, and then glow on when it is fully charged.

Effective blocking of light: Good blackout shades block the amount of light they claim to, but proper installation is key. Even the best blackout shades can suffer from the dreaded “light halo,” which occurs when small slivers of light seep in around the sides of a shade (see How to achieve total darkness for how to fix this). According to Blinds.com’s Danielle Sansone and Stoneside’s Steve Musgrove, cellular shades are often the most effective at blocking light. These shades are constructed with either a single or double layer of hollow cells, which not only block light but also improve insulation and muffle noise. Roller shades tend to let light in through a gap between the mounting hardware and the top of the shade; to achieve true blackout with this style, you generally need to mount them above the window frame or use a valance. Woven-wood shades usually require a liner to keep out light.

This shade doesn’t look quite as nice as cellular shades, but it’s easier to clean. It is the best-looking of the roller models we tested and one of the most effective at blocking light.

They block out most light. Nearly all of the roller shades we considered passed our external flash test with flying colors, and the iFit shade was no exception. These shades blocked most of the light coming through, with just a bit seeping in through the sides. And they performed just as well in our real-world tests, blocking as much light as our other picks.

Ring Bridge is the hub of your Lighting. It enables smart security features and connects your Ring lights with other compatible devices.

Safe and convenient design: Some types of shades, particularly those with a continuous-loop lift mechanism, pose a safety hazard in homes with small children or pets, who might accidentally strangle themselves while playing with the cords. Most of the experts we consulted recommended motorized lifts, if you can afford them, or cordless lifts if you can’t. We think many people are likely to be satisfied with cordless lifts. However, you need to be able to reach the top of your window to fully retract a cordless design (draw rods can help).

Good customer service and a solid warranty: Great customer service reps can help you choose the right shade and address any problems you might encounter. Strong warranties and good return policies help to ensure you end up with shades that are right for your needs.

We were concerned about the durability of the adhesive-mounted cut-and-install Redi Shade Easy Lift Trim-at-Home Shade. If you have unusually sized windows and want inside-mounted cellular shades, these are your only option. Otherwise, we think you’re better off with our top pick.

Easy installation: We preferred shades with mounting hardware that’s simple to install and easy to hang the shades on. Roman shades can be more annoying to install than roller or cellular shades, since their excess fabric tends to get in the way of mounting hardware. Some companies offer professional installation for a fee, but we didn’t find any shades that were especially challenging to install ourselves.

They do a good job of blocking light. While they’re not quite as effective at blocking light as our top pick, they still do a decent job. One of our testers told us that in his space, the Trippevals shades “block out 95% of the light, but there’s still a nonzero amount that gets in.”

Always come home to a brightly lit house. Add Lighting around your home and control them from the Ring App. Turn lights on or off while you’re away. Link your lights to select Ring Video Doorbells and Security Cameras, so they shine when motion is detected. And best of all, choose from new solar-powered options for added flexibility.

Adjust the brightness and motion settings of your Lighting. Plus create countless combinations to customize your Ring of Security.

Your Ring Bridge should be placed indoors within reach of a good Wi-Fi signal and in a centrally-located place relative to your Ring Lights. Best practice is not to install it in a metal cabinet or closet, but to leave it out in the open so the signal is not restricted.

If you’re interested in a version of our pick that offers additional insulation and durability, you might consider getting the Select Double Cell Blackout Shade. And if you’re looking for a shade that combines traditional and blackout shade functionality, check out the top-down/bottom-up Premium Light Filtering/Blackout Cordless Shade.

Attractive appearance: You’ll interact with your blackout shades every day, so it’s important that you like the way they look. We prioritized shades with attractive materials and modern designs.

Have your Lighting automatically illuminate your yard or walkways at the same time every evening and turn off when you want them to.

These tracks can be installed along the sides and bottom of a window frame to eliminate the light halo you get with improperly or inside-mounted shades.

Some custom-shade specialists might also include tracks with their shades, but this isn’t a common option. Instead of using tracks, many people opt to layer a curtain or drape over the shade.

We researched and tested dozens of blackout and room-darkening curtains and found the best ones for blocking out light, so you can sleep.

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If you prefer the look of roller shades, the iFit Cordless Blackout Polyester Fabric Roller Shades block light as effectively as our top pick and more effectively than most of the roller and cellular shades we tested. They’re also thinner than cellular shades, so they might work better for doors with windows, which can have shallow clearances.

A comfortable, well-fitting sleep mask blocks disruptive light, which can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Without the Ring Bridge, Ring Lights will shine as soon as motion is detected or the light is turned on, but you won’t be able to customize your settings. You also will not be able to pair your Ring Lights into groups, receive notifications, or connect Ring Lights to other compatible Ring or Alexa-enabled devices.

They come with a three-year limited warranty. The company has a good reputation for providing quality customer service, and we found its representatives more than happy to assist us with measurements and selecting the right setup. For a fee, you can upgrade your warranty to a five-year limited or five-year unlimited plan. But the basic warranty should protect you against most manufacturer defects.

A white noise machine can mask irritating noises that make it hard to sleep or difficult to focus. The LectroFan EVO is the most effective option for the price.

The Ring Bridge brings it all together in Ring app. There, you can completely customize your smart controls and create action combinations. For example, if you connect a Ring Lighting Floodlight to a compatible Ring Video Doorbell via the Ring Bridge, it can activate your doorbell as soon as your floodlight detects motion.

To compare the shades, we replicated the test we used for our blackout curtains guide. We suspended a shade in the middle of a room with virtually no ambient light. We placed a camera on one side of the shade and an external flash on the other.

You can get them in-person. If you live relatively close to an IKEA store, the biggest advantage of the Trippevals shade over our main pick is its availability. Because Select Blinds takes two to three days to manufacture shades, you could wait as long as eight days between the time you order and when the shades show up at your doorstep.

They are easy to install. Home Depot customer reviews of the iFit Polyester Roller Shade are glowing and specifically mention how easy it is to install. A number of customers say they were also impressed with the quality of the materials—one compares this shade to those at “a boutique shade shop where I was quoted a price four times as high.”

This shade doesn’t look quite as nice as cellular shades, but it’s easier to clean. It is the best-looking of the roller models we tested and one of the most effective at blocking light.

They come in several colors. The iFit shades come in six colors: beige, black, brown, light gray, dark gray, and white. The acrylic-coated material of the iFit shade looks sleeker and feels more pleasant than that of many of the other roller shades we tested (although we prefer the look of our main pick). The iFit shade comes in a 73-inch length, and the width ranges in half-inch increments from 24 to 73 inches.

Whenever we clicked the shutter, the external flash illuminated the back of the shade. By using a softbox and a modified blackout curtain, we were able to capture only the light that passed through the shade. The darker the resulting photo, the more effective the shade.

Shine a light from up high with mounted lights. Illuminate large areas like the driveway and backyard with Floodlights for security and safety. Or focus on a single area like a porch or shed with Spotlights.

They’re well made, and they ship quickly. These Select Blinds shades felt better to the touch and looked higher quality compared with the other 100% polyester shades we tested, and they also had a much shorter lead time—eight days versus four weeks—than other custom shades we considered. We’re taking notes on how well they’re holding up, and we’ll report back with our findings.

Whether you mount your shade inside or above your window frame, you’ll want to make sure you get the right width of shade for your window, which is where most of the light halo comes through.

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This inexpensive paper option doesn’t look as nice as other blinds we tested, but it’s a great quick fix. You can trim it to any size, and it hangs from an adhesive strip.

This guide builds on the extensive research that Wirecutter senior staff writer Jackie Reeve undertook for her guide to the best blackout curtains, which included interviewing a number of sleep experts.

Floodlight- The Floodlight Solar' battery is a Ring Quick Release Battery that can also be recharged using a Quick Release Battery Pack.

This IKEA shade is easy to install, looks good, and works as well as custom options (as long as you need only standard sizes). But it comes in few sizes and only one color.

The IKEA Trippevals shade comes in eight sizes and is available only in gray, but if that works for you, it’s a cellular option that looks almost as attractive as the Select Blinds shade. Since it isn’t custom, it is likely to be delivered faster than our top pick—and if you need a shade quickly, you can pick it up at your local IKEA store. The installation process is easy, and IKEA offers a 365-day return policy.

This IKEA shade is easy to install, looks good, and works as well as custom options (as long as you need only standard sizes). But it comes in few sizes and only one color.

Compared with our roller shade pick, the now-discontinued IKEA Tupplur was more difficult to mount. Wirecutter staff members we polled also disliked the slick-feeling vinyl. The Tupplur was also available in fewer colors and sizes than our roller shade pick.

If you live with children or pets, it’s a good idea to discourage them from playing with your shades. Tugging on a shade with extraneous force or in unusual directions can easily tear it. Keep an especially close eye on cats, as their claws can easily scratch or rip shades.

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This inexpensive paper option doesn’t look as nice as other blinds we tested, but it’s a great quick fix. You can trim it to any size, and it hangs from an adhesive strip.

They are especially easy to install. These shades couldn’t be easier to install—just peel and stick. This isn’t the best long-term option, since these shades are less attractive and less durable, but they work in a pinch. Some buyers note that you need to “clean the window area properly with some alcohol” in order to prevent a shade from falling down after prolonged use.

Customer service varies according to the store you’re in, but we found the reps on IKEA’s customer service line to be knowledgeable and personable. These shades don’t come with a warranty, but they’re covered by the company’s generous return policy.

This shade doesn’t look quite as nice as cellular shades, but it’s easier to clean. It is the best-looking of the roller models we tested and one of the most effective at blocking light.

While our main picks are better-quality and longer-lasting shades, the Redi Shade Original Blackout Pleated Paper Shade is the best choice if you need a temporary room-darkening option or something less expensive than our other picks. It comes in six colors, and you can trim it yourself to any width. It’s the easiest to mount of any shade we tested: Just peel and stick.

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If you prefer the minimal look and easier-to-clean material of roller shades, the iFit Cordless Blackout Polyester Fabric Roller Shade is an excellent option. Installation is straightforward, and it blocks light as effectively as our main pick (and better than other roller shades). We prefer the iFit shade’s sleek acrylic-coated fabric and its sophisticated crosshatched texture over the cheaper-looking vinyl of other roller models. This shade comes in an extensive array of sizes and six neutral colors, and it has a one-year warranty.

They look good for the price. Like our pick from Select Blinds, these IKEA shades are constructed entirely from polyester, but they feel thinner, less textured, and generally less pleasant to touch than our top pick. Our panel confirmed that while the Select Blinds shade felt more luxurious, the Trippevals shade looked almost as nice.

From compact car seats and cribs to portable blackout shades and white noise machines, the right tools for travel can lead to less fuss—and more fun.

They’re a great temporary option. Paper shades might come in handy in certain situations, such as in a basement, garage, or dorm room, or as a stopgap measure until you find a more permanent treatment. Wirecutter senior editor Jennifer Hunter installed Redi Shades when she needed some quick privacy shades in a new house. She said: “They took seconds to install and were a great stopgap while we waited for custom shades on a hard-to-size window.”

I purchased four of these along with the Bridge and these things are sturdy – they work. The brightness levels are very good and they interact with your other motion sensors.

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The now-discontinued Birch Lane Blackout Roman Shade seemed overly complex, with multiple layers of fabric and a snag-prone lift mechanism. We also had trouble keeping light from seeping in through the pleats.

The now-discontinued bamboo Top Blinds Privacy Blackout Gray/Brown Roman Shade was attractive and easy to install, but it was the worst performer in our external flash test.

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Hardwired lights give you nonstop power around the clock. Battery-operated lights can be placed almost anywhere. And solar lights offer added convenience.

Learn how to measure light beam spread for outdoor lighting. Find flood lighting and spot beam products at hdsupplysolution.com.

This polyester cellular shade is one of the best we found at blocking light and the most attractive of the bunch, and it comes in one of the widest ranges of sizes and colors.

They’re cordless. These shades use a cordless lift system, so they’re safe for homes with small children or pets. “The raise/lower action on them is smoother than I would have thought,” Purdy said, “and it’s a significant upgrade from terrible two-string draws or roller shades that I’m used to.” If you can’t easily reach the top of the window to fully retract the shade, you could get the IKEA Riktig draw rod, which can grab hard-to-reach handles. Or consider upgrading to the motorized Select Blinds Premier Single Cell Blackout Shade.

They come in a wide variety of colors. One of the most appealing aspects of these shades is the wide variety of colors and sizes available. They come in 10 neutral colors, all various shades of brown, taupe, gray, and white. We recommend ordering the free swatches so that you can see the color, material, and light-blocking ability of these shades before committing to them.

The Redi Shade Original Blackout Pleated Paper Shade is your best option if you want a more affordable or temporary window treatment and don’t mind a bit of light filtering in.

Or have your Ring Lights work together to illuminate a pathway or light up your entire yard if one detects motion. The possibilities are endless.

Compared with our main cellular-shade pick, the IKEA Trippevals shade is just as effective at blocking light, equally simple to install, and made with the same cordless design, while costing about a third less. However, it doesn’t look quite as nice as other, more expensive blinds and comes in far fewer sizes and only in gray.

We measured 25 different sets of earplugs and sleep-tested the top contenders to find that Mack's Slim Fit Soft Foam Earplugs are the best for most people.

Your Ring app will notify you when your battery is running low. Place in direct sunlight to recharge and store power. If additional charge is needed, see the instructions below.

They really do block light. In our external flash test, the Select Blinds Classic Cordless shades blocked nearly all light from passing through. We were also impressed with how well they worked when we installed them in a kitchen and bathroom.

They are very customizable. Unlike some of the other models we investigated, you can adjust the size of the Select Blinds in eighth-inch increments, increasing the likelihood of finding a shade that actually fits your window. Wirecutter’s Kevin Purdy told us that the versatile sizing and quick turnaround was exactly what he needed: “I have a very old Victorian house with nonstandard window frame sizes, and [it took] five days from order to shipping.” Sizes range from 19 inches wide by 24 inches long to 72 inches wide by 84 inches long.

To eliminate the light halo common with blackout shades, you basically have two options. If you use an inside mount, where the shade hangs inside the window frame and covers only the actual glass pane, you’ll need to get a light-blocking sidetrack, like the Sleepy Time Tracks. This magnetic track works with all of our picks—if you opted for our budget pick, we recommend installing the tracks before the shade.

This is a list of sources of light, including both natural and artificial sources, and both processes and devices.

Though the external flash test provided us with a somewhat objective measure of a shade’s effectiveness, we couldn’t totally dictate the direction of the light, and there may have been leakage. It’s important to remember that for many people a room-darkening shade is sufficient. Thus, we didn’t eliminate any blackout shades simply because they performed poorly on our first test.

You can cut them to the appropriate width. These shades come in two sizes, 36 inches by 72 inches and 48 inches by 72 inches (width by length), but you can cut them to the exact size you need. If you’re particularly crafty, you can even cut paper shades into hexagons, semicircles, or other irregular shapes, which allows you to inside-mount them on non-rectangular windows.

Nothing about the Linen Avenue Custom Cordless Crystal Blackout Cellular Shade stands out when compared with our runner-up cellular shade pick. The company’s customer service also seems to be nonexistent. We couldn’t find a customer service phone number, and after emailing them several times, we never received a response.

The Select Blinds Classic Cordless Blackout Shades are especially effective and block out most light, unlike some other shades we looked at that claimed to do the same.

Range of sizes and colors: Most shades we considered come in dozens of sizes, with the majority ranging from at least 14 inches in width by 12 inches in length to 72 inches in width by 72 inches in length. A more limited range in size or color may mean that the shade won’t work quite as well in your home.

This inexpensive paper option doesn’t look as nice as other blinds we tested, but it’s a great quick fix. You can trim it to any size, and it hangs from an adhesive strip.

After reading editorial reviews from outlets such as Sleep Like the Dead, blogs of prominent window-treatment companies like Blinds.com, and customer reviews on Amazon and other retail sites, we assembled an initial list of 23 blackout shades. Based on our interviews with experts, we decided to focus our search on the most popular types of shades—cellular and roller—but we also looked at other kinds. After eliminating models that cost more than $5.50 per square foot, had lead times greater than four weeks, or received either few reviews or a significant number of negative reviews, we ultimately landed on 12 models to test, all of which happened to be cordless.

Enjoy the flexibility of energy-efficient smart LED bulbs. Simply screw into compatible lamp sockets for smart control from anywhere.

You can bypass the light-blocking sidetracks by using an outside mount, where the shade hangs on the wall above the window, including the frame (similar to how you’d hang a curtain rod). For the best effect, Blinds.com’s Danielle Sansone recommends adding at least 3 inches of extra width on either side of the window. The extra clearance virtually eliminates any light halo and also gives more leeway with measurements. Interior designer Oliver Furth said he often recommends mounting “shades higher up on the wall—close to the ceiling—in order to stretch a room's height and make ceilings look taller.”

Nice addition to my Ring of Security. I live on a dark trail so at night it really lights up the walkway and street. The product feels durable and well built. Definitely will be purchasing more in the future.

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We then installed each shade in two homes for real-life testing. We took notes on each shade’s packaging and instructions, the included hardware, what the installation process was like, how the material felt in the hand, and how easy the shades were to raise and lower. Our testing panel evaluated each shade on look and feel, in addition to observing each shade’s performance at nighttime.

They’re easy to install. Though these shades aren’t as easy to mount as our stick-on budget pick, the installation is still one of the simplest and most straightforward of the models we tested. You screw two to four mounting brackets into your wall, depending on the size of the shade, clip the shade into the brackets, and pop the handle on the bottom.

The Select Blinds Vinyl Blackout Roller Shade comes in fewer sizes than our main roller shade pick, and the rough vinyl also looks worse.

Light every step you take. Pathlights are perfect for driveways, walkways and gardens while Steplights illuminate decks and stairs. Already have landscape lights? Connect compatible lights to our Transformer to control them from the Ring App.

The polyester shade looks and feels noticeably better in quality than other shades we considered. Among the shades we tested, it has one of the widest selections of sizes and colors, and it’s covered by a three-year warranty, the longest coverage of any model we considered.

To find the best blackout shade, we spent 25 hours on research, interviewed five industry experts, and tested 12 models.

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Reasonable shipping time: Custom shades can take as long as four weeks to assemble and ship. We don’t think this is a dealbreaker, since it means you’ll end up with high-quality shades that fit perfectly in your home. But if you need to acquire shades quickly, off-the-shelf models are a good choice and tend to be less expensive, though your ability to customize them is limited.

They get great reviews. These shades received numerous positive reviews on the Select Blinds site, with reviewers citing the shades’ effectiveness at blocking light, the speed and ease of installation, the excellent materials and construction, and the exceptional customer service they received.

Good value: The most basic blackout shades cost as little as 80¢ per square foot, while the highest-end shades run up to 20 times that. Inexpensive shades—such as the pleated paper kind—tend to be less durable, let more light pass through, and use lower-quality materials. Some expensive blackout shades often have extra features such as smart-home functionality or high-end finishes but can still let a lot of light through.

Most shades can be dusted by hand or with the dusting attachment on a vacuum cleaner (be sure to use a low power setting). You can also spot-clean with a sponge, lukewarm water, and mild dishwasher detergent. But again, it’s best to follow the cleaning instructions included with your shade.