What kind and color of curtains should I buy?

April 2, 2006 9:19 PM

Adventures in home decorating: what kind and color of curtains should I buy?

I just ordered a new sectional. I've never had nice furniture before, only Salvation Army and hand-me-downs. I'm worried about the fabric fading, so I'd like to get curtains for the windows in that room. Right now I have a permanently-closed cheap plastic windowshade in the North window, which looks out onto the street, and nothing in the East window, which is screened by landscaping. So privacy is a concern in one window, but not the other, and light coming in is a concern for the East window but not the North.

So what sort of curtains should I buy? I don't want to obscure my view out of the East window, so I was thinking about sheer, but that doesn't help me in the North window, where I need a privacy screen. Would it be ugly to just leave the windowshade there? Will sheer curtains be enough to block the sun and keep my new furniture from fading?

Also, color. The trim is white, the walls are blue, the new furniture is light brown. Do I match the trim, or the walls, or the furniture, or try to find a pattern with all the colors? Is there a rule, or anyone have strong opinions on what looks good? Thanks in advance for your advice.

posted by acridrabbit to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Anything that is lit by sunlight fades at some point. Personally, I love plantation shutters, in wood, but that's me. If fading is a huge concern, sheer drapes under curtains is probably the way to go - sheers are white, generally, and one rule of thumb (there are several) is that curtains are done several shades darker than the wall shade and in the same color family, or in the opposite color of the walls on the color wheel.

but also - its your house. If you like orange, go with orange. Whatever you like to look at is the way to go.
posted by sperare at 9:28 PM on April 2, 2006

There isn't a rule, but my tendency would be to match it to the color of the furniture (or throw pillows on the furniture).
posted by MegoSteve at 9:48 PM on April 2, 2006

You might not want to match-match the furniture, but go for a similar value or saturation. There are no hard and fast rules, though; go for what you like. You might look for paint swatches similar in color to your walls and couch to aid in finding colors that look good together when curtain shopping.
posted by MadamM at 10:35 PM on April 2, 2006