Picture a living room with a wide window and a pair of French doors looking out on the same garden. Floor-length curtains would frame the view beautifully. The doors call for something you can lower over the glass when the lamps come on. Should the two fabrics match?
If you want the garden to catch your eye first, carry one fabric from the window to the doors. If you love the dark wood of your dining table and wish the room had a little more of it, keep the curtains light and borrow that deeper color for the shade. Here’s how both ideas look with the same pair of ivory curtains.
Pair curtains and Roman shades in the same color
Start with Florence linen-blend drapes in Ivory White (898-2) with a double pinch pleat. Pair them with a Florence Roman shade in the same Ivory White. The pleats cast long, narrow shadows down the curtains. Raise the Roman shade halfway and the same fabric gathers into soft horizontal folds. Even with a single color, the window has depth.
For the closest match, choose the same fabric collection and color code. Keep in mind where each piece will hang. A shade lit from behind can look lighter than a curtain gathered against the wall, even when both are made from the same fabric.
Pair light curtains with a darker shade
A darker shade changes the room as it moves. Raised for breakfast, it leaves a narrow band of color above the glass. Lowered for dinner, it fills the space between the curtain panels. Think about which view you’ll see most often when you choose the shade.
Ivory White curtains with a Light Brown Roman shade
In this sunlit living room, the caramel Roman shade echoes the warm wood of the round coffee table. The floor-length ivory curtains pick up the soft cream of the curved sofa. With the shade partly lowered, its horizontal folds sit just above the garden view, framed on either side by long ivory pleats.
To try this palette at home, start with a wood finish you love. Hold a warm brown swatch beside it, then take it to the window to see how the color changes in daylight. For a similar LuxDrape pairing, try Florence Ivory White (898-2) for the curtains and Breeza Cotton Roman Shade Light Brown (899-13) for the Roman shade.
Ivory White curtains with a Beige Brown bamboo shade
For a breakfast nook with an oak bench or cane chairs, pair the same ivory drapes with the LuxDrape Beige Brown bamboo woven shade (B1-3/9). Light and dark strands run through the bamboo, picking up both the honey tone of the seat and the deeper grain of the wood. This gives you a gentler contrast than a solid brown shade, with more texture visible across the window.
If the window faces a neighbor, compare liner options for evening privacy. An unlined weave can still be easy to see through once the lights are on, even when the fibers themselves are dark.
Try the colors at your own window.
Hold the curtain swatch in a loose fold against the wall and the shade sample flat against the glass. Look at them from the seat where you spend the most time. Check them once in daylight and again with your usual lamps on. That small test makes it easier to tell whether you love the quiet of ivory on ivory or prefer a little more definition around the glass.
Still deciding? Send us a straight-on photo of your window and the names of your favorite swatches. Our Free Design team can help you picture the pairing in your own room. Order fabric and woven shade samples · Request your free design plan