NY Good Questions: Will Rice Paper Blinds Block The Sun?

6.4window.jpg Dear AT,

After months of delay, I finally purchased my first real bed, upholstered in a gorgeous gray cotton-blend fabric.

It's set to arrive tomorrow, and while I'm thrilled, I'm also a little worried.

I have a wall of windows, and no window treatments.

I'm scared that the upholstery will fade over time as a result of too much sunlight.

I was going to buy some rice paper blinds from Pearl River, but here's my question: will they be enough to protect my furniture from the sun?

Thanks! Rina

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Comments (9)

A single pane of standard window glass blocks about 30% UV, the rice paper will block much more than that, but some small percentage will still get through. Unless you have valuable artwork I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If you really want close to 100% UV protection without a loss of light, there are UV blocking films you can apply to the window pane.

I use mesh fabric blinds from a great company called Sunproject which block around 95% UV. Like rice paper, they give a nice diffuse glow of light and protect my artwork.

'f you really want close to 100% UV protection without a loss of light, there are UV blocking films you can apply to the window pane.'

YUP. Then again, you've to remember that some UV ray exposure is actually needed for a healthy life and that some things don't last forever (fancy bed included). Just make sure you enjoy your space for as long as YOU need, anything more than that might turn dangerous.

Rina, paper blinds will help a little, but any light will fade fabric after a certain amount of time. What gets me is the short amount of time that is involved in the testing for fading of fabrics. Here's the description of the test, courtesy of the Association for Contract Textiles' website.

TEST METHOD
AATCC 16 Option 1 or 3 â€“ 2003*
The AATCC 16 Option 1 and 3 are test methods of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC). ACT recognizes both methods where the only difference is the light source being used. In AATCC 16 Option 1 a Carbon-Arc lamp is used as the light source and in AATCC 16 Option 3 a Xenon-Arc lamp is used. Under both methods a strip of fabric (part of which is protected by a special paper card) is placed in a fadometer and exposed to 40 hours hours of accelerated fading units (AFU). After the exposure the difference in color between the exposed and protected parts of the fabric are compared to the AATCC gray scale and the degree of fading is rated.

Grade 5 = no fading
Grade 4 = slight fading
Grade 1 = high degree of fading

Maybe its the european in me - but over time everything fades, and sometimes acquires a new beauty with age.

That said I have burgundy velvet drapes in my window, and the ends that are exposed to the sun (all day) have faded to dusty light pink colour in 3-4 years....so do try to protect. I was going to suggest UV film also (if you can find one that isnt that shiny yellow you sometimes see in the windows of old stores in the countryside!

We have them, and they block quite a bit of light.

I'm a textile collector and lived with rice paper shades for years. I get sun only in the morning - but I also don't have museum pieces to worry about. If I did, I'd need to live in the dark.

You'll be fine.

Hurrah! I have to admit that I was scared that I'd get a bunch of people telling me that it was an awful idea, etc. etc. But your encouragement means that I'll be running to Pearl River this weekend for some rice paper shades. As always, a huge thank you to the AT community!