Lime Green & Orange Window Treatments

Balance

• Orange and lime green are balanced out by neutral colors like gray, white, cream and black. In fact, when placed against a neutral wall, such brilliantly colored window treatments will appear especially vibrant. Too many bright colors not balanced out by neutrals can overwhelm the eye. Instead of making a big visual impact, orange and lime green curtains could be lost in the chaos of too many bold or competing colors.

Proportion

• While decorating rules are meant to be broken to suit your own personal taste, it's helpful to have some guidelines to follow, especially in using bold colors in proportion. There are two basic guidelines you can follow, depending on how much additional color you want to incorporate in the room. Use the bold colors at least three times throughout the space and make them only 10 percent of the total color in the room. Neutrals should make up the biggest proportion of color at 70 percent, while the next lightest color should make up about 20 percent of the color. This could be orange, depending on the shade, if you choose to use the colors separately rather than as a combined accent.

Accessories

• Accessories are a good way to incorporate the orange and lime green of the window treatments into the rest of the room while allowing freedom to easily change proportions and patterns. Throw pillows, wall art, vases, picture frames, bowls, throw blankets, ottomans, candle holders and small sculptures in lime green and orange are all inexpensive and simple ways to incorporate the colors of the valance or curtains. To get an exact color match, have paint mixed based on the color of the window treatments and use it to decorate accessories.

Hues

• If placing bright color against neutrals doesn't create the look you want, use shades of orange and green to brighten up the room. For example, paint a focal wall a muted shade of orange, and add artwork that has touches of green in the same hue as the window treatment. Add complementary or contrasting colors using a color wheel to find the shade that works best with the brightly colored curtains. Experiment with patterns that combine several tones of orange and green, like a multicolor stripe or plaid.