# Do you prefer the drapes open or closed at night? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199 "2012-06-05T21:29:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/1 "2012-06-05T21:29:55Z")
I like my windows open whenever possible. I never draw the blinds unless I plan on doing something I do not want anyone else to see…and I am not shy about what others may see. My girlfriend, however, draws the blinds as soon as it gets dark. I think my way is the best, she disagrees. What say you? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/2 "2012-06-05T21:38:13Z")
I used to always close the blinds/drapes after dark; even if I wasn’t doing anything I didn’t want people on the street able to look right in at me. Now I’m more relaxed about it, due to the influence of my SO, but I still said “always” because if I lived alone that’s probably what I would do. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/3 "2012-06-05T21:42:49Z")
Oh god no - the blinds and curtains have to be closed so the serial killers and boogeymen cannot get in. Much like the magical iron curtain of the side of the bed, my blinds have special magical powers that keep the bad things at bay. At least that is what I am thinking when I close them. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/4 "2012-06-05T21:43:02Z")
Spain: google image persianas. In theory they’re blinds, but they’re built-in and a lot more solid than the versions I’ve seen in the US or the UK. When they’re available, I do lower them at night. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/5 "2012-06-05T21:48:32Z")
Our house can’t been seen from the street or another house. We don’t have blinds. So, I voted “leave them open.” I might close blinds after dark if I lived in a more traditional neighborhood ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/6 "2012-06-05T21:50:08Z")
© I always leave all the blinds closed. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/7 "2012-06-05T21:53:05Z")
I prefer them closed at all times, day and night. I don’t like people looking in. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/8 "2012-06-05T21:53:19Z")
Closed in the living areas when it gets dark, because previous neighbours have been obnoxiously nosy. Also for heat retention in the cooler months. Also, the kid’s room can be seen from the street aound the corner (through a different neighbour’s back yard) and that’s ‘the bad side’ of the neighbourhood. If it’s a particulary hot evening, we’ll open the curtains again once the lights are off. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/9 "2012-06-05T21:55:04Z")
What blinds or drapes? There aren’t any in my house. Of course, you can’t see another house at all from any of my windows… ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/10 "2012-06-05T21:56:15Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > (c) I always leave all the blinds closed. This. I’m indecent far too often to want the blinds open. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/11 "2012-06-05T22:22:20Z")
Saw a Peeping Tom’ watching me in my bedroom window many years ago (police arrested him). Blinds closed at night! ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/12 "2012-06-05T22:22:47Z")
There isn’t anywhere a person could casually see into my apartment. I close the curtains in my bedroom as part of my bedtime routine to make the room dark, not to keep people from seeing. This is a recent development. My sister came to take care of me while I was off my feet for a bit. The first night when sleepy time rolled around she came in and checked the status of my covers, my water glass, and then started closing the curtains. I told her she didn’t need to go to all that trouble. She acted as if I had lost my marbles. “What to you mean you don’t close them? How do you sleep with THAT!?” she said, pointing out the window to the neighbors’ yard lit brightly enough to land a plane, and finished closing them. Really? It’s that simple? It makes a tremendous difference in the quality of my sleep. That was in January. I’ve kept it up, but some nights I fall asleep reading and don’t bother. I notice the difference. But I don’t close them until it’s time to sleep. I feel closed in to be in there with the curtains closed before lights out. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/13 "2012-06-05T22:26:22Z")
Another sunlight-hater here: closed at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/14 "2012-06-05T22:36:55Z")
I like the blinds shut in our front room when it gets dark because you can see right into the house from the street. We have wooden blinds and we can leave them so the slats let the breeze in, but not let people see in. The curtains/blinds on the sides and back of the house stay open most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/15 "2012-06-05T23:02:48Z")
Curtains and blinds must be drawn, all lights must be off. I’ve read about studies showing that any amount of light while you’re sleeping increases your stress and harms your vision. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/16 "2012-06-05T23:11:53Z")
Not as soon as it gets dark, no. But I need good darkness to sleep, so bedroom blinds (and curtains, if I have them) are pulled before bed. I usually remember to open them again in the morning, but I don’t typically spend much time in the bedroom other than sleeping anyway. I pull the blinds in the living room in the afternoon if I’m working at home, because they’re west facing and you wouldn’t believe how much the temp drops inside just from not letting the full force of the sun in. Other than that, the blinds are always open. (Then again, I’ve lived in a third floor apartment for the last 10 years, so I’m not exactly worried about peeping toms.) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/17 "2012-06-05T23:14:27Z")
I want it to be as dark as possible when I sleep. Closed then. Wait. I keep them closed all the time. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/18 "2012-06-05T23:21:36Z")
Other. My blinds stay closed 24/7. My light comes from skylights. I _detest_ the idea that someone could peek into my house whether or not I am home at the time.:mad: I have issues. I know I have issues. I have to actually leave the house if someone that is a stranger is going to be coming inside my house. I really only like to meet new people away from my home until I get to know them enough to trust them. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/19 "2012-06-05T23:27:09Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I prefer them closed at all times, day and night. I don’t like people looking in. I have a double rod (for sheers in addition to regular curtains) or vertical or horizontal blinds on most windows, so I can still have light during the day without allowing people to see in. I have something like that covering the windows most of the time, because I don’t like the idea of people looking in. At night, though, they’re closed. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199/20 "2012-06-05T23:50:03Z")
The windows in the kitchen, dining room, and my bedroom don’t have blinds or shades or curtains. The spare bedroom doesn’t either but it would if it were used for anything because it faces the street. My living room has curtains and they are nearly always open. The positioning of our house, the trees on the lot, and the location of the windows leads to a very dark house (that and the fact that it’s a log cabin and the wood is already dark). Closing the curtains makes it way too dark in here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-the-drapes-open-or-closed-at-night/624199.md?page=2)