WHAT CURTAINS FOR WHAT SOFA COLOUR? DÉCOR TIPS!

If you had to pick just two design elements to define the appearance of your living room, it would be the choice of colour of your sofa and your curtains. Match them wrongly and it’s usually curtains on your living room’s style and vibe. We don’t want that now, do we!

At Abakus Direct, we aren’t just about bringing you great sofas at incredible prices. We want to do our bit in helping you pair your sofa with the right coloured drapes, to provide you with nothing but a gorgeous looking living room.

WHAT COLOUR CURTAINS WITH GREY SOFA?

Grey sofas are by far the most commonly chosen sofas in the UK. We actually wrote a post on grey sofa living room ideas last week, if you need more than just curtain colour inspirations to go along with your grey sofa.

SAFE CHOICES

White, light creams and curtains in the same grey colour as the sofa

BOLD CHOICES

Light yellow, light mustard and heavy greens or blues

When it comes to grey sofas, white, off-white or cream curtains work best. Such colours allow the living room to flow seamlessly around all its corners. If your home uses a contemporary décor, such a combination would work best as there’s no attention called out to anything in particular. The focus is on fluidity and consistency of style throughout the living space.

On the other hand, if your home is gifted with generous amounts of sun, you could experiment with bold colours such as light yellow. Light yellow curtains can really accentuate a living room, throwing off a halo like warming effect off your windows. A bold colour choice like yellow will however separate’s your living room’s space, clearly drawing attention to what lies outside. It can be a fantastic choice of curtain colour if your living room opens out to a garden, patio or other inviting outdoor space. If you are choosing a colour like yellow, pay close attention to the curtain’s material and how much light it will let pass through to your living room. Yellow or other bold colour curtains that block out too much light can conflict with a grey sofa.

WHAT COLOUR CURTAINS FOR RED SOFA?

A red sofa often takes center stage in a living room. It is importance to balance such a powerful colour out and a carefully chosen curtain colour is one of the easiest ways to do it.

SAFE CHOICES

White, Red

BOLD CHOICES

No curtains at all!

As you can see, there’s not a lot of complementing curtain colour choices for a striking red sofa. White works marvelously well though, providing a canvas like backdrop for a red sofa to grab the spotlight it deserves. If white can’t be a part of your décor, red curtains might actually work well against a red sofa. However, we would recommend red curtains only if your living room has only one or maybe two red sofas. Red curtains to go with a full ensemble of an entire sofa suite will leave your living room looking dingy and even a little tacky.

There’s not too many colours that are bolder than red. For a contrasting look, simply choose to go with no curtains at all. Allow sunlight to bask through and gloriously show off your red sofa.

OTHER TIPS ON HOW TO MATCH SOFAS WITH CURTAINS

HOW MUCH LIGHT TO LET THROUGH?

It’s not always about getting the colour of your curtains right. Sometimes, it’s about how much light you let through with your curtains. Bright colour sofas like red or yellow do well with curtains that let a lot of light in. On the other hand, grey or more neutral colour sofas do well when your curtains balance out light with just enough of a blackout. Sheer curtains are an excellent choice for homes with a modern or contemporary décor and neutrally coloured sofas, offering both privacy and complementing style.

Also, does your living room receive a lot of natural sunlight or is it just indirect sunlight? All these factors must be considered before you decide to pick out a curtain colour and how much light it will let through. If you really love a curtain but find that it allows too much light in, you can add a layer of blackout material, to try to control the light that it lets pass through it.

CURTAINS WITH PATTERNS

Patterns in your curtains can lend a lot of texture to your room. Choose curtains with patterns when your sofas have a solid colour of if they have textures and simple patterns themselves. It can help balance out the décor, with just enough playfulness.

Patterns have to be carefully chosen though. Curtains with too much going on them can make a living room look abrupt and chaotic, regardless of how good looking a sofa is.

MATCH CURTAINS TO AN INTERIOR DESIGN ELEMENT OTHER THAN YOUR SOFA

Your curtain colour doesn’t always have to be decided by the colour of your sofa. Do you have another interior design element that stands out in your living room? Wall art maybe? Perhaps a striking coffee table? Or, it could even be a bold choice of wall colour. Curtains that match such other power elements will also be a great way to decorate your living room, without having to work with the constraints of your sofa’s colour.

STYLE OF CURTAIN

There’s many styles of drapes for your living room. Tab top curtains, curtains with window scarves, café curtains and as many as 6 pleated curtain styles (pinch (most popular), goblet, pencil, box, cartridge and tuxedo pleats). Don’t just focus on the colour of your curtains but spend some time figuring out what pleat or drape style will best match your living room and sofa décor.

ACCENT PILLOWS

Is your sofa colour very hard to match? While you may not be able to change out the upholstery on your sofa, you can easily introduce a secondary colour with accent pillows you can throw on your sofa. Your curtains can then complement these accent pillows, giving you a lot more control over how you match your drapes with your furniture.

Now that you know how to match your sofa with your curtains, it's time to pick out a sofa, if you haven't already. Check out our range of affordable sofas here. We have sofas in all configurations you can imagine, from corner sofas to 3 and 2 seaters to armchairs and swivel chairs.