I am very impressive with the quality of these curtains.  The product picture made it look similar to cotton texture but it is in fact smooth and shiny. I hung up three pairs in my dining room and it completely changed the feel of the room, it allows just the right amount of sunlight to shine through so the room looks more alive during daytime . While these are not blackout curtains , I would say that it blocks out about 70% of the sunlight.