As a friend recently said to me, 'summer is great, until you have kids'... Personally, I feel she was forgetting about the fact that, as a parent, you're perfectly entitled to blow up a paddling pool on a hot day and lounge in it to your heart's content without any judgment. But I see her point.
Become a parent, and those long, hot summer days suddenly mean overheated children waking up at 4 am when the dawn light first enters their bedrooms, and then trying to convince your child it really *is* bedtime despite the fact it's still bright daylight at 8pm.
That's exactly why I've been recommending the Tommee Tippee blackout blind to every parent I know ever since I first tested it. And right now, the Tommee Tippee blackout blind is on sale at Amazon for just £16.95.
This portable blackout blind is one of the only blackout blinds I've tested that truly blocks out majority of the light, requires no tools to install, leaves no marks or residue when you take it down, and you can easily fold it up and move it to any room, or take it on holiday with you.
It's a game-changer if you want to create a darker bedroom in the summer, and it can help you to keep a bedroom cooler – which is exactly what we all want with another heatwave touching down.
As someone who doesn't have children and still swears by suctioning this blind to my bedroom window from May to September, I also recommend it to everyone I know who *doesn't* have kids, too.
Admittedly, it's a shame there's only one design, and that features a not-entirely-grown-up moon, star, and owl print (more plain colourways please, Tommee Tippee!). But, as someone with an east-facing bedroom that gets the full sun as soon as it rises in the summer, this has been the only blackout blind I've found that properly blocks out light in my bedroom.
I've tried normal roller blackout blinds and light still seeps around the edges, the same with blackout curtains. In fact, I currently have *two* blinds up in my bedroom window. Dunelm's Blackout Roller Blind and then a fabric Roman blind that snuggly fits the window recess in front. But, as you can see, light still creeps in.
The Tommee Tippee blind is different because it uses suction cups to stick directly to the glass window. That means it fits snugly against the window, and very little light gets around the edges. I use it under my roller blind, as a first line of defence against the light, and it's made a huge difference to the darkness levels from the instant I put it up.
I was also surprised by just how much cooler it makes my hot dormer bedroom. If you want to keep a room as cool as possible, keeping blinds and curtains closed during the day is the best approach, but being able to truly block out that light and heat has made a big difference in keeping the top floor of my house cooler in the summer.
Below is the same window with the Tommee Tippee blind stuck to the glass window behind.
This portable blind comes in two sizes. I opted for the larger version, which turned out to be WAY too big for my window, but you can adjust the size of the blind thanks to velcro strips that allow you to concertina the blind and make it smaller.
That means I can move it around the house to different-sized windows, and it makes it ideal if you want a blackout solution you can take on holiday to help your kids (or you) sleep better at night.
It folds down very small, and there's also a handy storage bag included, which is great for travelling. Plus, its robust PVC design doesn't mind being scrunched up or bunged in the car – and speaking of cars, it's also useful for attaching to the inside of a car window to block out the sun so your kids don't get too hot in the backseat. (As long as it doesn't block your vision, of course).
Unlike something like Dunelm's £5 temporary blackout blind – which is ingenious and *super* affordable – but can leave behind a residue that isn't ideal if you're AirBNBing it, the suction cups on the Tommee Tippee blind are super easy to de-suction in the morning, and leave no residue a quick wipe down of the window can't remove.
It also makes this blind a great solution for those of us who rent, or novice DIYers who don't have the drilling skills to install something like an encased blackout blind.
And it seems I'm not alone in thinking this blind is a discovery *well* worth its affordable price tag. The number of five-star reviews this blind has amassed speak for themselves.
'A must-have for the summer!', says one 5-star reviewer on Amazon. 'As much as we enjoy waking up to sunshine, we found that our son was waking up very early, due to the sunlight coming through the blinds. Thanks to these, our sleep has massively improved, and they are super easy to stick to the windows and then remove in the morning! Great purchase!'
'I’ve now ordered 2 of these due to how well they work and how easy they are to use around the house,' shares another 5-star reviewer. 'Have recommended these to so many people as such good quality for money.'
And I'm not the only one who is embracing this blind without children. 'Excellent if you need a dark room for sleep,' says a third 5-star reviewer. 'I don't have a baby or a small child, but I do have sleep issues, so I need a dark room. This suction cup blackout blind is brilliant.'
All in all, I think the Tommee Tippee blackout blindis one Amazon Prime Day purchase *everyone* should make.
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