Visual Choices in Curtain Selection – Color
Color
Of course we must think of our surrounding influences but we also must be aware of where the windows are, do they have a lot of sunlight, will the fabric fade? I.e. which side of the house – North or South? In the Northern Hemisphere – the South side is sunny and lighter cool colors tend to balance the room. The North side is darker therefore warmer more intense colors bring the room to life. In the Southern Hemisphere it is the reverse of above, North is sunny and South is cooler.
This is one way to think about the color for the fabric. Another is that synthetic fabrics tend to withstand UV light better than natural fabrics – this will also influence you choice of fabric type as well as the color.
Taking it simple with the same color for the curtains as the walls, then adding a touch of color as a decorative feature.
The darker the color the more sunlight it attracts, speeding up the fading process.
A safe way to select a fabric color if you have a single colored room is to take a tone either side of that color. You can’t go wrong. Then you can add more excitement into the room with cushions, throws, rugs etc.
To use some skills that we have learnt about color and the use of the color wheel we could take our wall color, as this is what is seen directly beside the fabric, and create a complementary color scheme using the color opposing it on the color wheel. Or a triadic – using two colors – one either side of its complementary. This could be achieved by using a border around the curtain or having a patterned fabric. There are obviously more factors to take into consideration like pattern and texture.
To read on about pattern and texture
Interested in taking your love of fabrics and curtains further? Only watch if you are ready for change!
