How I Choose Cozy Curtain Colors for My Living Room 

When I wanted to decorate my living room with curtains, it was a headache choosing colors that suit my furniture, living wall, living room color scheme, the mood I wanted to create, and the overall aesthetics I wanted to achieve. 

However, using my little knowledge and experience in interior design, I could choose suitable curtain colors that make sense in my living room. 

I understand you want the same for your living room, and that’s why I have put together this guide to show you how I did it myself without the help of anyone.

Curtain colors are essential in setting the style and mood of every living room. There are curtain colors that create a serene and airy atmosphere, make your living room look bigger, add a sense of sophistication, and create intimacy and dramatic effect.

Others can energize, add vibrancy and a touch of personality, harmonize the existing color scheme, or provide a sharp contrast that enhances the appeal of your living room. 

Let’s look at the step-by-step guide:

Assess The Existing Color Palette Of Your Living Room

The first step to choosing a curtain for your living room is assessing the existing color scheme and understanding the main colors. By this, I mean, identifying the color of your living room wall, furniture, rug, and other essential elements in your living room.

 For example, my living room wall is a mix of cream and light pink, the floor covering is light wood and my furniture is a mix of black and light yellow. So I considered these before I chose the patterned cream curtains I have in my living room.

Evaluate the undertone colors in the living room and observe how they interact with each other. This will help you pick a curtain color that will compliment them. My furniture is a mix of black and light yellow, complementing the light pink and cream wall and the light wood floor covering. 

Looking at it, my living room has signs of a warm undertone, creating a cozy, inviting, and warm atmosphere. Anything related to beige with a yellow or golden tint, warm reds and oranges, and earthy browns and tans means your living room has warm undertones.

Brown, cream, mustard yellow, terracotta, and rust curtain colors complement it while pale yellow, geometric patterns with warm tones, soft gold, and peach will harmonize it. 

Color combinations like beige and cream, terracotta and rust, mustard yellow, and taupe will also make sense for curtains that will fit into a warm undertone living room.

It can also be cool undertones that create a serene, calm, and refreshing ambiance. Examples can be cool green and blues, green tint and gray with blue, cool pinks, and soft lavender. Cool-shade curtains like blue, gray, and pink always maintain a cohesive look in a living room with cool undertones.

I have also seen people use color wheels to assess the existing color scheme of their living room. It’s a circular diagram of colors arranged in a specific order to show the relationship between two or more colors. If you’re color-blind and need assistance in accessing the current color scheme of your living room and how a particular color you have in mind for your curtains will suit it, a color wheel will help. 

The steps below show how you can identify complementary colors using the color wheel:

Identify the dominant color in your living room. Check the color of your furniture, wall, rug, and key decor elements to decide.

Locate the dominant color on the color wheel and find colors opposite to it.

The colors opposite to the dominant color on the wheel are perfect for your living curtain color based on the dominant color. 

Source

Let’s assume that the dominant color in your living room is green, looking at the color wheel above, a red curtain will complement it. 

The color wheel also shows you the analogous colors, which are colors next to each other on the wheel. They are similar and blend well to give a cohesive and unified look. 

Here is how to find them using the color wheel:

• Identify the dominant or main color of your living room
• Find the colors next to the dominant color on either side of the wheel
• Choose one of those colors next to the dominant color on the wheel as your living room curtain color to create a unified and homogeneous effect.

Let’s assume the main color in your living room is Yellow-orange. Looking at the color wheel, yellow, yellow-green, orange, and red-orange curtain colors will give a unified effect. 

Decide The Mood and Function

Consider the mood and function you want in your living when choosing a curtain color. Different colors create different moods in the living room. I wanted to create an inviting, warm, airy, elegant, and calm mood in my living room, so I decided to go for cream curtains.

Other colors have different moods they create in the living room. For example, blue creates calmness and tranquility, and red evokes passion, energy, and excitement.

Yellow creates a cheerful mood, green creates a natural and refreshing mood, purple creates a luxury, creativity, and mystery mood while neutral colors like white, beige, and gray create that peaceful and cheerful mood.

Light control and privacy needs are key factors to consider alongside mood. Sheer curtains allow light to enter your living, which makes it brighter and airier. Heavy curtains do the opposite. They block lights, making the living room darker, which is okay for intimate settings. 

And if you have privacy needs, the level of privacy you get depends on the opacity and fabric of the curtain. I wanted maximum privacy, so I bought curtains with linens because my living room faces a neighboring building. If you want less privacy, sheer curtains are ideal and are suitable for a living room where you want to keep an open feel. 

Choose Between Matching or Contrasting Colors

Decide if you want curtain colors that match or contrast with the existing color scheme of your living room. Both are good, depending on your personal preference.

In my case, I went for matching colors. I considered the color of my couch, pillow, floor tiles, wall paint, ceiling, TV console, and other living room elements before I settled for the pattern cream curtain.

If you want matching curtain colors like me, below are the tips that will help you:

• Match the color scheme by first identifying the main color of your living room. 
• Choose neutral complementary curtain colors like white, beige, and gray if your living has a bold dominant color. W B G colors match and complement the room without overwhelming
• Use coordinating hues to pick curtain colors that are a few shades, lighter and darker than your living room wall to create a unified and polished look. 
• Consider curtain texture. Linen curtains are cozy, and airy and also complement the texture of your room.
• Factor in your upholstery texture. If your sofa or couch has a fabric in it, a lighter or softer curtain will harmonize and blend well. 
• For a living room that has patterned rug, furniture, or wall paint, go for solid curtains that pick one of those colors.

 Let’s assume your sofa and rug have a green and light yellow pattern color, a green curtain will be a perfect match.

If you prefer contrasting colors that create dynamic and interesting visuals in your living room, follow the steps below:

• Identify the dominant color of your existing color scheme and also determine the undertone – warm or cool undertones 
• Use the color wheel as I showed you earlier to identify colors opposite to the dominant colors. A blend of vibrant and bold colors like yellow, red, or blue will make sense. 
• Choose bold curtain colors if your living room wall has neutral colors like beige, white, or gray.
• Consider the mood you want to create. Bold colors energize your space while contrasting colors like green and blue create a serene effect.
• You can also consider pattern curtains and incorporate them with contrasting colors. They add depth and interest without overpowering the space.

Below are instances of contrasting curtain options:

Light green living room walls + red curtains: This gives a bold contrast

Gray couch + yellow curtains: Enhances brightness and unifies the room when other living room accessories have a gray and yellow color.

Blue living room wall + orange curtains: This creates an energetic and vibrant look and blends with neutral furniture. 

Consider Size and Shape Of The Living Room

Keep in mind the size and shape of your living room when choosing a room. There are curtain colors that can make a small living room look larger. So if yours is small, you need these curtain colors to make it look larger.

Neutral colors like beige, white, and gray and soft pastels like light blue, pale pink, and mint green make small living rooms look bigger. To use them effectively, match curtains to the walls. It can be the same shade or lighter, or blended with neutral to avoid breaking up the space. 

Also, consider the shape of the living room. This is to ensure you choose curtain colors and patterns based on the ceiling heights, which also enhance the living room’s proportion.

Sample With Fabric Swatch

When you identify the curtain colors of your choice, use a fabric swatch to sample it in your living room to see how it will look. I used this when I wanted to choose curtain colors for my bedroom and also for my living room. And it helped me get a real feel of how the curtains will look in my living room and how they will complement other dominant colors. 

A fabric swatch is a small piece of fabric that represents the color, material, texture, and pattern of a large piece of curtain you want to buy. They give an accurate representation of color, texture, pattern, and compatibility with decor. 

Curtains are expensive, and it’s important you use a fabric swatch to test and see if it will give you the aesthetic you want. This will save you from buying a curtain whose color won’t meet the requirements of your living room. Some curtain stores can give you fabric swatch free for you to test in your living room. Some will ask you for a small fee, which they will also refund when you return to buy the curtain from them. 

Here is how to use them:

• Collect multiple samples in different colors, textures, patterns, and shades you are considering for your living room.
• Place them close to the window, near the wall, and furniture to see how they blend with the color scheme of your space.
• Test them under different lighting conditions, at different times of the day, to see how they are affected by light or darkness. 
• Switch on artificial lighting like fluorescent to test if the fabrics maintain their color in cooler light conditions, LED light to see how they appear in different light conditions, and incandescent lights to test how they appear in warm and cozy light.

Harmonize With Accents and Accessories 

When you have chosen a curtain color, ensure it harmonizes with accents and accessories in your living room. Use artwork, and cushion in contrasting colors to harmonize and create a cohesive look. Balance them by using accent pieces as a bridge so that contrasting curtain colors don’t clash with dominant furniture colors. 

What is the best color for living room curtains?

There’s no best color for a living room curtain. It all depends on the dominant color in your living room, the mood you want to create, and personal preference. All these factors will help you choose the best curtain color for your living room. 

Should living room curtains be lighter or darker? 

It depends on the mood you want to create. Lighter curtain colors are good if you want to attract light, and air, which will brighten up your room and make it look fuller. Darker curtains block light and create that intimate setting. 

What curtain colors go with everything in the living room?

From my observation and test with swatch fabrics, neutral colors like beige, white, and gray go with everything in the living room. They match any wall color, furniture color, rug color, and other elements in the living room. 

Should living room curtains match the walls?

Living room curtains don’t need to match the walls. Some people prefer contrasting curtain colors, and this also makes sense, especially if you choose pattern curtains. A color wheel which I added in this guide and instructions on how it works will help you see if matching or contrasting curtain colors will suit your living room based on the dominant colors. 

What curtain colors make living rooms look bigger?

Soft pastel colors like light blue, pale pink, and mint green and neutral colors like white, beige, and gray make small living rooms look bigger.

What curtain colors make a living room cooler?

Light blue, lavender, gray, green, and white are some of the curtain colors that make the room cooler. They have a soothing effect and give the living room that refreshing ambiance. 

What are the most relaxing curtain colors for a living room?

Red, soft blue, beige, light gray, soft white, and lavender, are the most relaxing curtain colors for a living room. They help create a serene and peaceful living room space.

Final thoughts 

The curtain color you choose for your living room can make or mar your decor efforts, and also impact the mood and overall aesthetic you want to create. I have shown you how I choose mine and I trust it will guide you towards making the best choice.

From assessing the existing color scheme of your living room, deciding the mood and function, choosing between matching and contrasting colors through harmonizing with accessories and accents, you have all the information you need to make an informed decision. And most importantly, you have the color wheel to guide you.