I already have a light cream colored curtain up at the window and behind it the standard rental blinds, but we needed a black out on it as those layers did not block much light at all. I got the older style, as it was cheaper, and went with black, as that has the best blocking capability (from what I researched). It is fantastic! Put it up straight away, and last night the room was very dark - just the edges, but then we had a blanket up before that and had edges too - so that is no big deal forSee full review