NICETOWN Black Full Blackout Curtains for Dining Room 52"W x 84"L 2 Panels

Why it's worth it

A two-layer triple-weave panel that gets a bedroom genuinely dark and holds up in the washing machine. It comes in a huge range of widths, lengths and colors, so you can usually get the size your window actually needs instead of the closest guess.

This is the panel we'd hang in most bedrooms. The two-layer triple-weave construction is the type Good Housekeeping's testing found does the real work, and it's the construction Wirecutter's long-term look found still intact past five years — unlike foam backing, which cracks and flakes. Owners in desert climates report the room staying noticeably cooler, and parents report a genuinely dark room for naps. It's a boring recommendation. It's also the right one.

Size range is the underrated reason to start here. NICETOWN sells these in hundreds of width and length combinations, which matters more than most people realize. Your panels need to total 2 to 2.5 times your window width to hang with enough fullness to seal the edges. A 52-inch-wide pair gives you 104 inches total, which covers a standard 36- to 48-inch window properly. Buying the exact size beats buying the popular size.

From our review of 8 blackout curtains for bedrooms, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +This is the panel we'd hang in most bedrooms
• +Size range is the underrated reason to start here
• +The grommets are the other quiet advantage
• +You can throw these in the washing machine — cold, tumble dry low — which sounds minor until you've lived with curtains for a…

What to know

• –They're not literally 100% blackout, and some owners say so plainly
• –The black panels are dark on both sides, which is what makes them work — but it also means the outside of your house looks like…