I have dark brown block out curtains because the whole wall behind my machine is windows. I love all the natural light during the day and watching the neighborhood. At night I like my privacy, I sew a lot at night and can just pull my curtains closed. I also use my sewing room as a guest room at times so it keeps the room darker in the early morning. I didn't want to loose a lot of space for a bed so I put in a murphy bed so I can have my floor space the rest of the time.