Choosing the Best Sofa and Curtain Combination

If you recently bought a new high back chair chair or power recliner sofa, you probably spent a lot of time making sure you got the material just right. You may have taken colour, patterns and the maintenance of the fabric into account – and now you’ve got it home, you can’t wait to spend lots of comfy afternoons and evenings in it.

But what if you brought it home and realised that it doesn’t match your living room? Perhaps there are too many contrasting colours or patterns, or too much of the same? Or perhaps you’re just in the mood to redecorate? As you’ve just spent a lot of time getting your sofa just right – and re-doing the walls or floor can be expensive and time-consuming – the obvious thing to do is to update your curtains.

General tips

Changing your curtains can be a fun and easy way of giving a room an instant hit of style or pizazz, but you want to make sure they’re going to match the rest of the room – particularly your new sofa! To achieve the perfect sofa and curtain combination, start by asking yourself these questions:

• How do you want the room to feel? If your sofa is dark, match the curtains with another dark colour to keep the room feeling cosy, or choose a lighter shade to brighten it up. Similarly, if your sofa is light, choose a light colour for your curtains to keep that airy feeling, or a darker colour – perhaps in the same shade – to add some contrast.
• How big is the room? In a small room, matching the sofa with the curtains will draw the eye to the window, extending the view and making the room look bigger. If your sofa is dark, a lighter shade of the same colour will also make the room feel bigger. If it’s already a large room, a colour that contrasts with the sofa and wall will break up the room and give it structure.
• How many colours do you already have? If your sofa, walls and floor already match, choose a contrasting colour to create interest – ideally one that matches an accessory you already have, like a painting or lamp shade. If you already have contrasting colours, consider matching the curtains to the walls and using a liner in a lighter shade to create a border or frame for the curtains.

Choosing the right colour

A good rule of thumb for interior design is to pick one neutral colour as a base and then add one or two accent colours. If your sofa is a bold or bright colour, consider these tips on how to match your curtains with your sofa based on colour:

• Blue – Almost any shade of blue can be mixed and matched with other shades of blue, so if you have a blue sofa, it’s safe to choose blue curtains. Try mixing a bold with a pastel or match a bright blue sofa and curtains with a neutral grey or charcoal.
• Red – Red is a very intense colour and is better in small amounts, so if you already have a red sofa, it may be better to choose something else for your curtains. Creams, browns and oranges blend well, and red with navy is a well-established combination. Or if you want to go full contrast, try green or bright turquoise.
• Green – Green is the colour of nature, and therefore looks best with other natural shades like browns or pastels. It also looks good with other shades of green, so try mixing light and dark shades to add depth to the room.
• Browns and earthy colours – Too much brown can look tired and dated, so if you have a brown sofa try brightening things up with colourful curtains. Fuchsia pink, forest green or honey yellow all match well, or if you prefer to play it safe go for cream, beige or burgundy.
• Yellow or orange – These are bold sunlight colours and will brighten up any room no matter the shade. For a bold, modern contrast try black or navy curtains, or for a more seamless view go with earth tones like brown, beige or terracotta red.

What colour curtains go with a grey sofa?

Grey is one of the most popular choices for an upholstered chair or sofa, because it goes with almost any colour and can complement any style of room. If the general scheme of the room is grey, then a solid-coloured curtain, such as blue, green or pink, will look great and add instant interest. Navy or yellow curtains also match well with a grey sofa. Or you could choose a printed fabric and break up the room by matching sofa cushions with one of the colours in the curtains – or even use the same fabric if you can.

If your sofa is grey but your room also contains one other accent colour, try and match the curtains with the accent colour or pick a complementary colour from the colour wheel. If your sofa is light grey, pastel colours will keep the bright feeling of the room, especially if paired with a sheer lining. If your couch is a dark grey or charcoal shade then bright, vivid colours will add the wow factor, either as a block colour or patterned with white. Only match grey curtains with a grey sofa if you have another accent colour in the room, such as on the walls or carpet.

Creating a specific style for your room

Matching or coordinating your sofa and curtains can be a great way of giving your room a distinct style. Some of the most popular and easy-to-achieve styles include:

Country

For a cosy cottage feel, floral prints work well, but if your sofa already has a print then consider curtains in a light, earthy colour that matches an element of the print and perhaps add a lace lining or fringe.

Traditional

If your room looks and feels like an old library, with bookshelves, a fireplace and a leather recliner, then go for a heavy fabric like velvet or wool – you could even go for a plaid design to add to the warm and cosy feeling.

Modern

Modern design is all about minimalism and contrast. Choose a neutral colour scheme – such as grey, beige, brown, or ivory for most of the room, and then choose a bold, bright block colour like teal, magenta or mustard yellow for either your curtains or the sofa. You could choose a large print design or a bold pattern in two contrasting colours, but avoid fussy features like fringes, ties or valances.

Matching your curtain and sofa fabrics

It is not just colours you should consider when matching a sofa with your new curtains – you can also take the material into account. For example, if you have a leather sofa you could add a sheer curtain, which will let in light but protect the leather from the sun. You could even consider wooden blinds or shutters, which will look good with any colour of leather.

As leather has its own texture, you might prefer to contrast it with a smooth curtain fabric such as linen or wool, which would also match a sofa upholstered in a polyester or microfibre fabric. On the other hand, if your sofa is upholstered in a smooth fabric and your room is also lacking in texture, you could try curtains in velvet, which add a touch of luxury, or silk, which shows off the natural patterns in the weaving and will reflect light from the window.

Matching with accessories

Finally, you can harmonise your living room by matching the physical features of your sofa and curtains, to draw the eye more seamlessly across the room. For example:

• If your sofa has wooden or metal features, such as feet or armrests, choose wood or metal railings and fittings for your curtains.
• If your recliner chair has a tiered or waterfall back, choose a thick fabric such as wool, suede or tweed for your curtains that will form bigger folds when drawn back.
• If your sofa is a block colour but your curtains have a pattern, consider a pelmet or sashes in the same fabric as the sofa to bring the two together.
• If your sofa has a button back, fringes or tassels, add the same features to your curtains to make them look like a pair.

The bottom line

The most important thing about a recliner chair or sofa is that is suits the needs of your lifestyle and makes you feel good. It doesn’t have to match the curtains – but, of course, it is nice if it does. So if you’ve brought your new sofa home and discovered it doesn’t match the curtains, or you were thinking of redecorating anyway, there are plenty of ways to mix and match colours, styles and textures so that your sofa and curtains match each other as well as the room.

Ask an expert at the Mobility Furniture Company for a few samples to be posted to your home and be sure to look at how they work in your room at different times of day – in daylight as well as your evening lighting. That way you can be sure your room will look cohesive and pleasing to the eye, however – and whenever – you use it.