What Color Drapes With Navy Walls?

Transitional or Eclectic Design

• Homes designed with transitional or eclectic furniture – meaning you aren’t using an abundance of traditional or antique furniture, nor too much contemporary furniture – work well with navy blue walls. When pairing drapes with more transitional or eclectic furniture and navy blue walls, focus on colors that are neither too bright nor too dull. For example, light yellow and off white work particularly well in most settings, and allows you to add new pieces of furniture to your space without making major changes. If you prefer something slightly brighter, pastel colors work well, but should be avoided in very large rooms, as they tend to dominate the space.

Traditional or Antique Design

• If you use a lot of traditional or antique furniture, choose draperies in bolder, darker colors most of the time, as they pair well with natural wood and details found in traditional and antique furniture, along with your navy blue walls. Colors like deep burgundy red, rich saturated gold and deep brown will give your room a sophistication and elegance required in more traditional settings. If you prefer a brighter color, stick to cream or beige.

Contemporary Design

• Contemporary, modern homes are generally designed to be bright and feel spacious, often employing the use of glass and polished metals. If you have navy blue walls in a contemporary home, use bold and bright-colored curtains to add more light back into the room. Bright colors like silver, yellow, red and crisp white work particularly well in modern spaces, and can be paired with a variety of different pieces of furniture. Avoid patterns and prints in most cases, unless you use draperies with a nonlinear or geometric pattern to make a small room feel larger.

Considerations

• Know how much light is in the room and what type of draperies you plan on hanging. If you hang dark curtains in a room with dark navy blue walls, ensure you have ample lighting. The type of drapery you use will also make a difference. Ceiling-to floor-draperies, for example, tend to give a room a more elegant look, but they can also make the room feel smaller -- as do heavily pleated curtains. If you have a very small room, consider half-curtains if your windows don’t go all the way to the floor.