If you are like me, you love movies and have invested in a home theater or dedicated media room. One item that can get overlooked is the right window treatment. This article will help you select the right ones.

The main deciding factor in selecting window treatments for you media room is whether or not that room is a truly dedicated room for watching movies or a living room or family room which is used for other things. If you have a true dedicated room in your house for a large screen television or projector, than kudos! My home heater is in my living room which influenced what types of blinds were right for me.

If you have a true home theater room most likely what you want are room darkening or blackout blinds or shades. Having a dedicated room for watching movies allows you to create a movie theater style experience because that room is not really used for other purposes. In that case I would recommend blackout roller shades. The best window treatments for room darkening will always be one piece or a solid shade. Roller shades come in a lot of different fabrics so make sure that you select one that is labeled as blackout. Than the only things you will need to do is make sure you measure your window accurately so that you have minimal space around that shade itself that can let in light. If you are not interested in a completely dark room and just want light filtering than you have many choices. Blackout roller shades may not be the best choice for a living room or family room because they don’t offer much versatility. So the rest of my recommendations apply to both types of rooms.

First up are solar shades, which are like roller shades but they come in a variety of light filtering materials that range from almost completely see-through to semi-opaque. The choices are in percentages from approximately 3% to 14%. This number indicates the amount of light that is allowed to pass through; the lower the number the less light. So, if you are interested in solar shades, also known as solar screens, a good choice would be 3-5%.

The next option would be cellular shades which come in a large variety of colors, fabric and opacity. You can choose cell shades that range from room darkening (note: this is different from blackout) to light filtering depending on your movie viewing preference. Cell shades are also an excellent choice because they add insulation to your windows. If you are also interested in energy efficiency, and most people are, than these are the perfect choice.

One of the simplest choices for a home theater - dedicated room or not – are drapes, which do come in room darkening fabrics or have liners. Drapes can also be a good layering option where you could have a light filtering shade with room darkening drapes. This combination offers great looks as well as versatility for either type of room. Drapes also offer better insulation than solar shades and layering window treatments compares to the energy efficiency of cellular shades.

There are of course other types of blinds and shades. In general I would not recommend blinds, such as vertical blinds, mini blinds and shutters, because they have slats which can let too much light pass through. That is, if you want to create a truly special room for enjoying movies.