How to Pick the Best Curtains for the Living Room

Curtains are a crucial part of any interior. Their color, patterns, length, as well as how they interact with the light all contribute to the vibe and atmosphere of your room. They are even more important in the living room, where getting the atmosphere just right is the difference between comfortable living space and one that just feels off. 

Curtain selection for the living room may seem easy at first, but once you consider all the options and every detail you need to take into account, the task becomes slightly harder to pull off. Luckily, there are a ton of lace and drapes to pick from, so knowing what curtain designs you’re working with can help you come to a decision much faster.

Dark Curtains for Lounging

How to Use Dark Curtains In Living Rooms

If you plan to use your living room mostly for lounging around, then you need to find curtains that are not too visually complex and create a more somber atmosphere. In addition to that, you must also find the kind of curtains that will help you control the amount of light that pierces through them effectively, so when you want to dose off a little, you can close them and no amount of sunlight will bother you.

Pick out darker colors (though try to avoid completely black curtains) that will prevent too much sunlight from getting through. This way, whenever you feel like taking a quick nap, you won’t have to avoid facing the windows with the fear of being woken up by directly gazing into the bright light. 

Contrasting Colors

Playing with the Colors of Your Living Room Curtains

Visual complexity can be an excellent way to bring a lot of character into your living room. Sure, you can opt for a color that works with the rest of the interior and matches the most vibrant hues of your living room, but creating a bit of contrast can go a long way in spicing up the scenery. Look for a color that complements all the other colors in your living room, but is not conflicting. 

For example, if you have light blue walls, pink curtains are a great match for the living room. They create a bit of controlled chaos in the interior, with a unique visual flair and style that will surely catch the eye of your guests. This small addition also creates a unique style in your living room, opening up even more opportunities to get creative by adding more vibrant accents. 

Earth Hues

How Earthy Hues Create a Serene Living Room Interior

Eathy colors have been proven to help relax and are very effective in creating a serene environment. This is true in a variety of design mentalities, from contemporary design trends to Feng Shui. Luckily, there are a lot of colors you can work with that are considered earthy. One of the most common ones you will find in living rooms is beige.

Some homeowners are put off by beige as they feel it lacks character and personality. But that’s not the point of why people opt for beige curtains. Beige is a subdued earthy color that will emulate the hues found in nature without being too distracting. It’s a subtle, yet very effective addition to a relaxing living room interior. Pick earthy tones if you’re going for transitional living room curtains as they are just subtle enough to appear modern, but still have a dash of vibrancy that spices up the interior as well. 

Bright Whites

Brightening Up Interiors with White Curtains

Many homeowners are put off by completely black curtains as it is a very bold color. The same notion is not present with the opposite side of the spectrum, however, as many homeowners love decorating their Scandinavian or Japandi interiors with bright white curtains.

Before installing white linen curtains, however, you should consider the fact, that they do allow tons of light to get through, even if they are made of thick material. So, if you don’t mind having a very bright living room throughout most parts of the day, white curtains can work quite well in your interior. Their brightness may make it a little hard to lounge in, but there are plenty of people who find the light relaxing.

Neutral Grey 

Calm and Relaxing Neutral Grey Living Room Curtains

One of the biggest advantages of using neutral-colored curtains such as grey is that they can work in just about any interior. Grey is another earthy color, but it is even more subtle than beige. This makes it a wonderful modern curtain design for the living room as it is not very bold but still stands out, doing more with less both in terms of color and the amount of light it allows to come into the room.

Since it sits right between white and black, grey allows for a limited amount of sunlight to protrude throughout the day, without completely dimming the room when the curtains are closed. Subtle, yet very elegant, the neutral grey modern curtains for the living room are a very relaxing addition to any interior. 

Zig Zags

Working In Unique Patterns for Your Living Room Curtains

A much more eye-catching curtain option is the zig-zag curtain pattern. You will find a lot of curtains with unique patterns, but one of the most common ones is the zig-zag. They have a very unique look to them, especially with their contrasting color combinations.

Look at them long enough and they turn into an optical illusion. Paired with the changing light throughout the day, your curtains will look a little different every time you look at them, creating a refreshing visual aesthetic that never gets tiring. 

Bright Coral Blue

The Vibrant Blue Curtains for Coastal Living Rooms

When interiors lack color and don’t pop out, they can become somewhat drab and boring to look at. Luckily, curtains give you the perfect opportunity to bring a little extra personality and charm into the mix. Even if your walls, floor, ceiling, and furniture are all neutral or very subtle, your curtains can pop out and create some much-needed visual complexity.

Bright coral blue curtains are a perfect example of this. Even if the rest of the interior is neutral and subdued, these bright curtains will surely add gorgeous visual variety into the mix. The coral blue hue of the curtains will subtly replicate the serenity of sitting on the coast and watching the blue waves caress the sands of the beach. 

Matching the Surroundings

Using Uniformity to Completement the Living Room with the Right Curtains

Sure, visual complexity and a little bit of controlled chaos can add a lot of character to your interior, but this doesn’t mean that uniformity is something you should avoid. It’s good to have some semblance of a motif in your living room and a very effective way to establish that is by matching the curtains with the walls.

This does eliminate the option of experimenting with the colors of your interior, but it does give your living room a unique style and consistency. So, don’t be afraid to use a few of the same colors, but do make sure that you have a few accent pieces in the living room, such as upholstery, furniture, or anything else that could lightly contrast the main colors of the interior.  

Going Regal

Appreciating The Luxury of Regal Curtains In Living Rooms

Just because modern interiors tend to be more minimalistic and do more with less does not mean regality and complex ornamentation are out of style. Certainly not with drapes, which you will find still come with plenty of decorative features that make them perfect additions to Victorian or Gothic interiors.

Cupped curtains with ornate bands spanning the base of the fabric are great examples of how regality can have a modern application. You can even install those classy metal curtain tie backs to the walls and accentuate the regality of your interior even further. The drapery you use says a lot about how much you appreciate the luxury you have at home. So, if you want to flaunt a bit of prestige, these curtains are a great option.