If outdoor light interrupts your sleep, you may rest better using blackout or room-darkening curtains. After testing 20–using a strobe burst and a light-sensitive camera–we’ve found our favorites: the Freemansburg Solid Blackout Thermal Curtains, if you want a stylish option that blocks most light; or the Sebastian Insulated Total Blackout Window Curtains, if you need cavelike darkness (and don’t mind shiny fabric).

Freemansburg Solid Blackout Thermal Curtains

The best room-darkening curtains

Combining style with almost total blackout capabilities, these look better than other polyester curtains we’ve tested and come in 14 colors, more than most we found. During the day, however, they may let in some light.

If you need to darken a room but also want good-looking curtains, we recommend the Freemansburg Solid Blackout Thermal Curtains, which are sometimes also sold under their former name, the Bellino Textured Blackout Curtain. Unless you’re extremely light sensitive, these should block enough light to help you sleep at night, and the fabric looks much better than any total-blackout style we’ve seen. We’ve tested many blackout curtains and found that the ones that block the most light often have cheap-looking fabric, but the fabric on these looks and feels high quality. Although the curtains may let a little light in during the day, they’ll still block more light than many curtains we’ve found. We also prefer these to total blackouts for napping kids, whose sleep rhythms can be disrupted in the day by a room that is too dark. They come in 14 colors and five lengths, so they’ll match a range of interior styles.

Sebastian Insulated Total Blackout Window Curtains

Our favorite blackout curtains

If you need complete darkness in a room and don’t mind overly shiny material, these are one of the best we’ve ever tried for blocking light.

The Sebastian Insulated Total Blackout Window Curtains are among the few curtains that completely blocked all light during our testing. They’re the best choice for people with extreme light sensitivity and for shift workers (or anyone else) who sleeps during the day and needs a pitch-black bedroom. They aren’t the prettiest of our picks—the fabric is very, very shiny—but they look better than the other total-blackout curtains we’ve found. We’ve tested them twice, and when installed properly they’ll keep a room cave-dark. Available in six colors and five lengths, these should work with most windows.

IKEA Marjun Curtains

Inexpensive room-darkening curtains

These come in only one length and three color-blocked styles, but they look nice, blocked more light in our tests than most, and they’re less expensive than many we’ve tested.

If you want an eye-catching color-blocked look and excellent room darkening, IKEA’s Marjun Curtains are a solid choice. They’re the least expensive of our picks, and though they don’t provide 100 percent darkness, they come pretty close—they even block a bit more light than our favorite darkening curtains. The downside is they come in only gray, blue, or lilac and only in one length, making them the least versatile curtain we recommend.

Crate and Barrel Silvana Silk Blackout Curtains

The chicest room-darkening curtains

Silk and linen fabric gives these curtains a light weight and beautiful texture, but they don’t block as much light as others we’ve tested.

The Crate and Barrel Silvana Silk Blackout Curtains are the most beautiful curtains we recommend, but they block the least light. The fabric is higher quality and drapes better than the other curtains we tried, so they’re perfect for adding luxury (and some room darkening) to your home decor. This is our only pick made with natural fibers; the front is a blend of silk and linen, while the liner is 100 percent polyester. They look better and feel lighter than any other blackout curtains we’ve tried, but don’t expect them to create a totally dark room.