How To Choose the Right Drapery or Curtain Color for any Room

More than ever, homeowners are looking to color for inspiration to make their homes more inviting and cheerful. They're tired of living in dull interiors, and the color is seeing a remarkable revival. Splashes of saturated color and bold prints in draperies and curtains are now being showcased against neutrals.

That's great news, but what does it mean to the homeowner? 

Color is the first thing we notice, followed by shape. We can actually “feel” specific colors and experience an emotional reaction to them. When you combine pattern, texture, and color and mix the three artfully, the result is both satisfying and fabulous.

Selecting the perfect colors for your draperies can be a daunting and very personal task. When you add the risk of bold colors and patterns into the mix, the stakes feel even higher. Will the splashes of color work the way you envisioned or end up clashing with the room? 

A professional window treatment designer helps you make confident decisions and choose colors that work best in your space. 

This article gives you insight into how we approach color choice as professionals. In addition, it will strengthen your dialogue with your designer when discussing the options for your home. 

First, Understand the Basics of Curtain Color

Colors have three fundamental characteristics. 

· "Hue" is the classification of the color and the families to which it belongs. For example, red and orange are hue families.

· "Value" ranges from high to low. Value refers to how light or dark your colors are. Higher values reflect light and are nearly white, while low values absorb light and are almost black.

· "Chroma" is the amount of pure pigment in a hue. Therefore, chroma determines how strong your color appears. A high chroma has a lot of pigment and is vivid, while low chroma has only a touch of pigment and is grayish. 

You will start to understand your preferences when looking at fabrics for draperies or shades. For example, a pattern with high chroma may be too intense for your preferences. Instead, you should find a design with lower chroma or a hue with more gray undertones.

Understanding these three basics helps you be super specific with a designer about your preferences. Now you're speaking their language! 

Understand Your Personal Style Before Choosing a Curtain Color for Your Space

What are your basic color preferences? 

When working on a new room, I start by asking clients what their preference for color tones is, either cooler tones such as blues and greens or warmer tones like blush, terra-cotta, or magenta. Starting with your natural, instinctive favorite colors is an excellent foundation for a personalized design. 

 What are your favorite design styles?

What interior design styles are you drawn to? A quick Google search introduces you to options like Mid-century, Farmhouse, Traditional, or Contemporary. Each design style speaks to the typical hues, values, and chroma aspects of colors commonly found in the genre.

Or maybe you know already. You may have a well-established style in your home. Often, most elements in a room, like furnishings and wall colors, are set, so our task is to find the draperies or curtains that best complement the room. 

In any case, your overall design style will bring focus to your color choices. 

Are you a texture person? 

Color is only part of the equation. Colors take on a brand-new feel when placed within a texture or pattern. Do you prefer textures with subtle color variations or big, bold, dramatic contrasts? 

What are your long-term plans for the home? 

It is a significant aspect and is easy to overlook! If you're planning to move in a few years, a neutral color palette makes it easier to sell the home. You probably don't want to be in a place where a realtor asks you to replace your bold, colored window treatments to help sell the house. 

But if this is your "forever home," go for it! The sky's the limit on your expression of color and emotion. 

What colors and styles are most common in your region? 

Living here in The Great Northwest with its laidback vibe, we always see the use of neutral textured woven materials in fabrics and shades that mimic nature. Pair a woven wood shade with silk or faux silk side panels in an unexpected color, and you will turn a room into a casual but elegant showstopper! 

 Also, consider personalizing the drapery panels with a playful trim to add character and uniqueness. Our clients with homes on the Oregon coast often prefer drapery fabric in tones of blue that remind them of the Pacific Ocean sitting right outside their windows. 

Choose Colors through Custom Fabric Printing! 

Color selection has become a very personal choice, and the ability to express oneself is more important than ever. 

And here's the fantastic news about that. You're no longer limited to someone else's inventory or imagination. Digital capabilities allow us to design, order and print one yard or as many yards as we need of a custom fabric in the exact colors and patterns we want at an affordable price. 

You can now have nearly any fabric you can imagine and create a one-of-a-kind custom window treatment through technology. It is possible for us to design brand-new images or to recreate a close likeness of lost, out-of-print, or historical patterns. 

Today's Popular Curtain Colors and How They Make Us Feel

Colors have a powerful emotional effect. They truly define the feel of a room, and the bolder a color you choose, the more potent the result is. 

Understanding color theory in your design and how it creates (or works against) your vision for the space is essential. 

Think about how you want your room to feel. Is it a place of energy and excitement? Is it formal? Playful? Is it meant to be a refuge and place of rest? What is your vision for how you will use the room? Your answers to these questions will help you find the right color to craft the right experience. 

Green – symbolizes health and wealth. It also makes us feel refreshed and relaxed. 

Shades of green complement every design style and create balance. Greens will remain popular in the foreseeable future because they are, pardon the pun, "evergreen." Greens from chartreuse to dark emerald fill our senses with well-being and impart the calming effect of nature and forests. 

Earth tones of Brown and Gold also tie nicely into a nature theme. 

Brown – grounds a room and adds a sense of stability.

Red – is the most dynamic and dramatic color. It's associated with passion, love, anger, and danger. So use red in moderation as an accent color. 

Pink, terracotta, and magenta – are favorites for adding pops of color. 

Pink makes us feel playful and romantic. Terracotta can be relaxing. Magenta is exciting and bold. 

Orange – in a soft sunset hue - can make you feel enthusiastic, happy, and energetic. 

Blue – can make us feel relaxed and is associated with calmness and safety. 

Purple – is a powerful color. A light shade stands for romance and a dark shade for luxury.

Yellow – is a joyful and energetic color that makes us think of summer, the sun, and laughter. It can also make a small space seem larger! 

Black – feels sophisticated and elegant. It is bold and powerful and evokes mystery. 

White – is the most neutral color and stands for purity and minimalism. 

Choosing Curtain Color for Specific Rooms

Every room uses color in different ways. A significant factor in this is light! The difference between a great room with grand windows and a smaller, enclosed study is enormous. Likewise, light makes a big difference when choosing a color for curtains or shades, as do the factors below. 

After living in the Pacific Northwest for over 30 years, we've experienced what colors work well here and want to share several suggestions. 

How to choose curtain colors for bedrooms

Bedrooms are our sanctuary from the outside world. Draperies for bedrooms are usually best kept in cool or soft tones, as warmer tones, such as reds and oranges, can give a room a restless feel. 

If you prefer a warmer color tone, try a soft rose. Or, if you want to try orange, be sure it has a cooler undertone like a terra-cotta. In fact, we are noticing a dramatic increase in hues of pink, terra-cotta, and magenta textiles. 

When looking for the perfect fabric color for a bedroom, pay close attention to the wood tone in the furniture and woodwork. A cooler color tone is likely the best compliment if the wood tone is warm. 

How to choose drapery colors for the living room

Frequently, clients have a living room that is already complete with all the furnishings, from an area rug to freshly painted walls.

For example, a beautiful rug or carpet may have been a significant investment or passed down from a family member. So we may pull colors from it for draperies, shades, pillows, or cushions. 

Or, if starting with a blank slate, a client may want to find a drapery fabric in a unique color that they really like and that speaks to them. This fabric becomes the room's focal point, allowing the homeowner to select furniture and rugs more easily.

How to choose colors for dining room draperies

Drapery fabric with large, colorful prints adds drama to a plain room that needs livening up. But, again, we can use an existing rug to pull colors from. 

Always pay close attention to the wood tones in the room and choose the fabric colors accordingly. For example, lighter wood tones with an unexpected, bright pumpkin drapery can look stunning.

How to choose colors for curtains or shades in dens, home offices, or studies

You can have a lot of fun in these areas, and the choice depends on your personal color preference. Some folks prefer cooler tones to have a more calming effect, and others might select a drapery in a strong and contrasting pattern that energizes the room and keeps them awake. 

With frequent use of the home office for video calls, colorful or neutral draperies can eliminate unsightly background views, absorb outside noise, improve acoustics, and make you the envy of your audience.

What about curtain color in a laundry room? 

From bright and cheery to toned-down mustard yellows, a yellow hue adds a bit of sunshine to your life when folding the clothes!

How to Pick a Curtain Color with Confidence

Make sure you ask for a large fabric sample and test different conditions in the room! 

One of the most important recommendations that I give to my clients is to make sure they live with a large enough piece of fabric they are considering. 

Sit with it for a couple of days. Tape the fabric sample to the wall where the drapery panels will be hanging, and pay attention to how light interplays with it and how you react to it when you walk into the room. At night, the colors in a textile can have a completely different appearance than in daylight. 

It is also essential to see how a color looks up close compared to how it looks from a distance.

Carefully consider your drapery linings.

The color of the drapery lining is also important. First, take a look at your chosen fabric with the lining you are considering using. Then, hold it in the window with daylight streaming in to see its most dramatic effect and how the color changes. 

Pay close attention to how the colors play off each other. It is incredible how different a curtain fabric can look against the subtle differences between a "cool white" or a "warm ivory" lining.

Remember this about large prints.

When selecting a large print for draperies, it is essential to have a large enough piece of fabric to show a full repeat. This way, you can avoid unwanted surprises, such as a colorful tropical bird showing up in the finished window treatment that was not showing in the smaller memo sample you received. 

Work with a professional custom window treatment designer.

Working with a designer is about many things. First, it's convenient and saves you time, but mostly it's about assurance. A professional helps you find and name your unique style's best colors, textures, and patterns. 

Most of all, working with a professional gives you confidence throughout the journey. The partnership releases the stress you feel when left on your own and lets you focus on the joyful discovery of a stunning design. 

Click here to get an estimate for your next project. There's nothing we love more than helping you find the perfect colors which bring you joy every time you walk into your home.