I'm curious to see what people's opinion's / techniques on hiding basement windows for the purpose of light reduction. Other than framing over them (making them unusable) what types of things have worked for you? Any products out there that you would recommend?

I'm curious to see what people's opinion's / techniques on hiding basement windows for the purpose of light reduction. Other than framing over them (making them unusable) what types of things have worked for you? Any products out there that you would recommend?

I watched these blinds (she had a name for the type of blinds but I can't remember it) that Debbie Travis made on the show Painted House on HGTV that I plan on making for my basement window.

Basically you lay down strips of wood (my dad called it wood laff?) about 8 or 12 inches apart, then you lay down cloth (she used muslin), then you lay down another set of wood strips over the cloth. You screw the two pieces of wood together using chicago screws basically sandwhiching the cloth between the strips of wood. Lastly, you attach hooks between the first and last 2 strips of wood so you can hang it.

I plan on doing the same thing but using something like canvas that light can't really get through.

I don't really want to frame mine in because we play darts and stuff downstairs and it's nice being able to have natural light from the window.

Interesting idea. Makes it so that they are removeable when you need to and it dresses it up a little bit.

Interesting idea. Makes it so that they are removeable when you need to and it dresses it up a little bit.

Yeah exactly. I liked the idea because I plan on painting the wood strips the same color as my walls (light brown) and then using a cloth that is an accent color (red most likely). And if you ever want to change them you just unscrew the chicago screws and switch out the fabric instead of having to buy all new blinds and installing them.

Here's the episode it's from if you plan on being near your tv on the morning of valentine's day....

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hdtph/episode/0,1806,HGTV_18716_33724,00.html

I'm framing the window in right now on mine... Should have insulation and sheetrock up tomorrow :)

http://mike.napurano.com/album/listpics.asp?dir=misc%5CMediaRoom%5C2007%2D01%2D05+Window+%2 D+Stage

I used white faux wood blinds from HD on my small basement windows. The slats are about 2" wide and do a good job of keeping the light out during the day. Because the window is only about 18" high I had to remove a lot of the slats but its a nice clean look. I like being able to open them up if I need to. I was going to get some little curtains made using some brown velvet material and black out cloth but didn't think it would suit the overall look of the basement. The blinds look more modern.

I'm trying to figure out the same thing right now. I have small basement windows, so I'll probably go with the blinds at HD/Lowes that can be custom ordered in a very small size.

I'm going to be doing mine soon too. I plan on creating frames that will fit inside the window area, but I'll put them on hinges so they can be flipped up when I want light down there. If I get any light bleeding around the edges, I'll just make the panel over the frame extend 1/4" inch past the edge of the window. I plan on wrapping mine in fabric, but they could easily be painted too.

Like you I wanted to not permanently frame over the windows of our basement theater. I made custom sliders out of MDF that work like a pocket door and slide out of the way when we want some light in the room. Of course this only applies if you are able to frame a wall in front of the wall that the windows are on....

We will also use drapes and panels in front of them.

Here's a couple of pictures.

Close up of MDF panel and channel we used to hang them.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q136/notnser/Home%20Theater%20Construction/window_panel_track.jpg

Open
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q136/notnser/Home%20Theater%20Construction/Theater_update_1-18-07014.jpg

Closed
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q136/notnser/Home%20Theater%20Construction/Theater_update_1-18-07015.jpg

Great idea dynfan!

What I did with my windows in my dedicated theater was to call a tint company and have them completely dark out the windows. The windows I have in the room has the grills between the glass and therefore when you are looking from outside the house at the window it just looks like you are looking into a dark room.

I also added sound board which covers the window on the inside. My screen then hangs on this soundboard. When you are in the room you would never guess there is a window behind my screen. If I ever sell the house and the new owners do not want a theater in the room I can just pull them down and pull the black out tint off the window. The black out of the window was around $100 but the window size was 5 ft. tall x 4 ft. wide with a half radius window on top.

This worked great.

You could probably use a couple of layers of automotive tint if you wanted to DIY. There have been some great ideas discussed in this thread!

You could probably use a couple of layers of automotive tint if you wanted to DIY. There have been some great ideas discussed in this thread!

I did this with mirrored window tint and it worked wonderfully. The brand was Gila.

I took a different route. I put velcro on the inner parimeter of the glass of the
basement windows. The GF then made up panels with blackout material to fit.
It's removable, and my drapes hide it perfectly. I can even leave them on and
open windows in the summer for fresh air. Absolutely no light gets in.

I took a different route. I put velcro on the inner parimeter of the glass of the
basement windows. The GF then made up panels with blackout material to fit.
It's removable, and my drapes hide it perfectly. I can even leave them on and
open windows in the summer for fresh air. Absolutely no light gets in.

That is a great idea, I think I will do this behind my sliders!

That is a great idea, I think I will do this behind my sliders!

I'll post pics when I get a chance... Just overlap the edges by about 1/2" on the panels, adds that extra seal of no light getting through.

My feeling is "what's wrong with drapes?"

Drapes out of heavy cloth might be best, as they'll also help with acoustical absorbtion. Many basement caverns are too reflective by default, so more soft material is better.

My feeling is "what's wrong with drapes?"

Drapes out of heavy cloth might be best, as they'll also help with acoustical absorbtion. Many basement caverns are too reflective by default, so more soft material is better.

Ikea sells "thermal insulating" drapes that are very thick and heavy. I don't know about how well they block heat, but they definitely have zero light transmission.

Check out the first page of my theater thread (link in my sig, below) to see what I did to cover up my window.

I think I will eventually turn the window into a bass absorber. Basically, I'll put up a frame of 2x2s around the window well, stuff the cavity with acoustic cottom, and stretch GOM fabric across the 2x2s to create what appears to be an acoustic panel mounted to the wall.

But for now, it's just covered up by some thin plywood painted to match the wall.