All has gone well in redecorating your home thus far, well, that is, until you get to the living room. You’ve spent countless days agonizing over whether your curtains and rugs have to match or if they can complement each other but still be different. Which is it?
Your curtains and rugs don’t have to be a perfect color match. It’s best if they both are in a color family together, but they can also be complementary colors or share a neutral color palette. You can even choose a curtain/rug combo based on shared textures or patterns.
Still have more questions about pairing your curtains and rugs? For instance, perhaps you might be wondering if you have to match every curtain in your home. If so, then keep reading. In this article, we’ll provide all the information you need to decorate your home. We’ll even share some real examples of curtain/rug pairs!
Let’s get started.
How Do You Match A Rug To Curtains?
When you started your home redecorating project, you opted to keep your curtains. They’re still pretty new and in good condition, after all. Plus, it’s faster and easier to swap out rugs. Or you thought it would be, but you’re not sure how to match the rug to your curtains.
Here are some directions you can take your home renovation project.
Choose Complementary Colors
We’ll start with a bit of color theory. Complementary colors are two hues that oppose one another on the color wheel. For instance, green and yellow, purple and red, and green and red are all complementary colors.
While there’s no color matching here, the above hues naturally go well together. Try accenting a living room in these rainbow shades and see for yourself!
Stick To Neutrals
It’s hard to go wrong with neutrals. From white to brown, black, beige, and gray, it doesn’t matter which room you’re decorating, these colors always blend well together. Plus, they add a timeless appeal to any space.
If you feel like your living room, home office, or bedroom is a little one-dimensional in its neutral hues, then add pops of color with other decor. For instance, you could hang up a colorful art piece on the wall or put a vivid, eye-catching paperweight on an office desk.
Read more: 25 Wall Decor Ideas For Your Home Office
Stay Within The Same Color Family
Color families are huge and thus give you plenty of options. For instance, did you know there are upwards of 100 shades of blue? From the teal-like Tiffany Blue to deep, dark Oxford Blue, a soft, almost white Alice Blue, and a classic Dodger Blue, you have so much to explore.
By staying within a color family, you can ensure your home decorating always matches without being identical. For instance, let’s say you chose captivatingly elegant curtains in Robin Egg Blue, a bright teal. You could go for a lighter blue for your rug, such as Powder Blue or Alice Blue, or you can opt for darker hues like Indigo Blue or Oxford Blue, which is almost like blue-black.
That’s just if you had blue curtains and wanted a blue rug. There are close to 50 shades of red to work with, more than 20 colors in the green family, 50 varieties of yellow, over 50 shades of orange, and upwards of 25 different pink colors.
Focus On Textures
As we stated in the intro, you don’t have to exclusively play with colors if you want a similar look between your curtains and rug. Textures are something else you can have fun with.
If you have thicker, heavier curtains, then an equally thick rug would look right at home in your living room or den. Wispy, lightweight curtains call for an equally featherweight carpet. If you went for the shaggy look with your curtains, then a shaggy rug is your best bet.
Look For Like Patterns
Besides color and texture, matching by pattern is also a great idea. Like with everything else, you don’t need the patterns to be completely the same from the rug to the curtains or vice-versa. If they look well enough together, then you can move on with your redecorating project.
Do All Curtains In A Room Need to Match?
Let’s take a moment to talk solely about curtains. Perhaps you’re only looking to upgrade these, but you’re uncertain of how. If you have four windows in your living room, does each window need a curtain in the same color?
While a complete match is not required, sticking within the same color family or pattern is recommended. This brings cohesion to a room, even if it’s a particularly large one.
Also, you’re decorating in such a way that the curtains are in the background, which they’re supposed to be. If you had a green curtain on one side of the room and a red one on the other side, that would grab too much attention. Then the rest of your decor choices fall by the wayside, outshined by the curtains.
Do Curtains Have To Match An Open Floor Plan?
What if your home has an open floor plan instead? You may have many large spaces instead of enclaves, which makes your home feel spacious and comfortable. With less definition from one space to another, is it okay if your curtains don’t match?
It honestly depends on your tastes! For those who love the wide-open feel afforded to you by your floor plan, choose curtains that match throughout. Remember, being in the same color family is enough for the curtains to be considered matching.
In decorating this way, you’re adding to that open feel by blurring the lines between one space and another.
If you wish you could tighten the floor plan somewhat, then choose curtains in complementary colors. These differentiate zones or spaces, kind of closing things off without any doors.
5 Great Examples Of Curtain/Rug Pairs
To help you better visualize some of the decorating ideas we’ve explored so far, we thought we’d wrap up with a few real examples of matching curtains and rugs. Let these inspire you to make your best home!
White Curtains With A Patterned Rug
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This first example uses neutral hues to a fantastic degree. The homeowner paired their fluttery, lightweight white curtains with a carpet that’s black with white patterned detailing. Decorating the rest of the room in neutrals also adds to the sense of unity.
Shades Of Beige
Beige lends itself well to a natural-looking room such as this wood-paneled one. The darker beige curtains are quite heavy, so the home decorator did the right thing with a velvety beige carpet. The rug and the couch are the same hue as well, which, while not necessary, certainly looks fantastic.
More Beige Matchy-Matchiness
Here’s an even closer pair in terms of color and texture. These beige curtains, while tied very tightly, are paired with a large beige rug in the center of the living room. This homeowner also decided to decorate the rest of the room with this flattering hue, selecting chairs and ottomans in the same beige.
Color + Pattern
Here’s a great example come to life of how you can pair your curtains and rugs based on patterns. The dark blue curtains in this room are partnered with a rug that’s also dark blue but has a white pattern throughout. Even though the curtains are patternless, the room still flows well thanks to other dark blue accents and furniture.
White On White
If you still feel a bit of trepidation about accenting your curtains with your rug, then choose all-white everything like this home decorator did. It adds so much brightness to a room, but make sure you clean often to prevent the pristine white from becoming dingy.
Conclusion
The quest for perfectly matching curtains and rugs can end here. You can pair these two decor items together through complementary colors, similar patterns or textures, or even by picking two hues in the same color family. All will beautify your home!
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