I think just about anything goes -- whatever looks good. In my dining room, the drapes are a green silk with a shimmer of yellow, and the walls are definitely yellow with a lot of green. It's a beautiful combo (IMO). In a previous LR, I had light cream walls. The draperies were a milk chocolate brown that picked up a minor color in my sofa and was close to the rug color. The fabric had two narrow lines of border fabric, in two colors that also matched the colors of pillows and small decorations I used in the room. You'll see every imaginable combination in pictures.

There is not really a rule of thumb, it depends upon the overall style of the room and the effect you are going for.

My preference is generally to coordinate somehow with the wall color--but this is more difficult and-usually--expensive to do a close match. Contrasting give you many more options.

I think it depends on if you prefer a more subtle just look to dress up the window or if you prefer some sort of pop of color or contrast (maybe if the rest of the room is very neutral or muted).

Totally up to preference! I was just looking at a magazine layout this morning and thought how wonderful the patteremed curtains looked in the room. The room was filled w/ patter on the chairs, curtains, pillows and ottoman all in different colors and pattern. I couldn't pull that off in a million yrs. though lol!

In my LR that has medium-darkish warm gray walls I went w/ a solid curtain panel that was a bit lighter than the walls and darker than my white sofa. I had tried the wall color at 50% and the curtains blended right into the walls - would hoave looked fine but I wanted more depth. I also didn't choose white or almost white curtains like my sofa because I didn't want a jarring contrast.

I am very much in the "if you love it, it will work" camp. I have pattern all over the place, just as TheFoxesPad mentioned. I love it and I think it looks chic. But you should do what you love. You can find a solid that works or a print. Up to you. I have used both for curtains - pattern in my living and dining rooms, pattern in my son's room and a solid in my room. Love them all.

OK, gives me something to think about. Thanks,

How much contrast or pattern in a room will affect the calmness or mood of the room. So think about what you are going for there, how lively you want the room to be. Other furnishings and feel of the room excluded, there really isn't a rule one way or the other for something that general, just as there isn't one for using patterned rugs or sofas.

Now when mixing patterns and colors, there are, of course, general guidelines to help people do that more easily and successfully.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 11:28

I'm a fabric person so tend to select the fabric first and then select the paint colors...this means that the drapes pretty much have a pattern or print to them.

Before you make any purchases, the questions you ask yourself will guide you to your desired results (confusious say) In your case it depends on what type of look you want. For a more dramatic look use a contrasting color on the walls. If you want more subtle go with a color that blends with the drapes.

Notice the differences in Annie's rooms, where in the bedroom she's used quiet colors, low contrast and subtle pattern for a restful environment (even used a low contrast trim color which most people would paint white) but in the breakfast area it's lively and cheerful with bold colors, strong contrast and a livelier pattern.

That's what you need to think about.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 18:00

It is hard to get identical matches. I never get the paint of the room to identically match the shutters and trim and if I need to paint the trim in one room (to freshen it up), I find that even though BM mixed the original paint and they have been mixing it through the years, it is never identical, so I have chosen to layer neutral colors, all whites with a little color in them. That way if it is not an identical match, it looks intentional.

That's true. Even the same color will look and reflect differently when on a different material or type of surface. Further, if you change the sheen to satin for your trim, but not the color, it will look lighter.

Kevin was very lucky the way his dining room drapes blended into the wall so nicely.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 15:31

snookums, that room is what made me doubt myself. While I didn't read the entire post for why he matched the drapes to the wall, I probably would have been inclined to do something lighter in color. Why do his drapes "work"?

I absolutely agree that it is up to you and what effect you are going for. I like low contrast, serene rooms as a general rule. I posted here once about buying pale yellow-gold drapes to go with what are currently cream walls and what I think will eventually be pale yellow-gold walls and got a negative comment about how that would be a "sea of yellow". Well, I like a sea of yellow so it works for me.

If you aren't sure, I suggest browsing a bunch of rooms at Houzz or eelsewhere and looking for which window treatments you like and how much contrast and pattern they have. I usually find a trend in what I like when I look at lots of images.

"he matched the drapes to the wall, I probably would have been inclined to do something lighter in color. Why do his drapes "work"?"

That would be the easier route, to go lighter or darker rather than try to match and end up with what looks like a close miss in a bad way. I remember him saying the fabric wasn't an exact match but I think he got really lucky that the color nuances of the two are so similar. Maybe grays are easier that way. It does look a little darker in some of the photos, like this one.

{{!gwi}}

What else might make them relate so well? There's a lot of light play on his walls (velvet sheen) and the drapes also have a lot of sheen with similar gray-blue highlights. That's a repetitious feature that might contribute to bridging them. Color gets obscured in highlights and shadow and if you look, those areas seem to be a good match. I think the high sheen on the drapes makes for many variations on its color which play around, become obscured or hit on the wall color, minimizing whatever difference there is. And certainly some of the wall color is bouncing off of them. You get the overall feel that they match when apparently they don't. It looks like they might have more blue in them than the photographs show, seen more clearly in the last photo. (This monitor is not very good so I might be seeing something quite different.)

couple others:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 20:10

Thanks so much everyone for your detailed replies. When I find something I'll bounce it off everyone here.

I was looking for a more cozy/intimate feel, and "matching" the panels to the wall color worked for that. I tried a few options, after spending several days with paint chips and rejecting other options. I didn't want to have a jarring drape/wall contrast like I had previously, and (to me) it worked out well. I'm not designer, so what do I know, but I think that, in the end, it's just a matter of personal preference. Snookums, thanks for picking up the slack for me.

These drapery panels had the same background color as the wall, but the contrast was in the pattern. It was actually a raised, cut velvet pattern on cotton. They were also trimmed in glass beads to catch some of the sun coming in from the patio.

I see Kevin is still here and answered your question! I was going to remove my brain fart, lol. I am so wrapped up in paint color and anomolies right now I think I have overdosed, lol. I guess it still serves some purpose, maybe I'll leave it, depending how embarrassed I am later on, lol.

I think your question was more why matching to the wall works rather than how a near match might when they often don't.

My answer would be that It still softens the windows but does not demand any attention, keeping the walls a simple, understated, elegant backdrop to the room.

Hope that is clearer and answers your question! Your response was very graceful and polite, gracie! lol

I want to make a large painting above the fireplace the focal point of my family room. In that situation, should the drapes match the wall color?

Depends...where are the windows in relation to the fireplace?

Well, the art is not over a fireplace, but here is an example of a Michael Smith room with large artworks and printed window treatments.