How to Choose Rugs to Match Your Curtains and Upholstery

When designing a home, the balance of rugs, curtains and upholstery can make or break the look. You have spent hours finding that perfect sofa, you've chosen your ideal curtains; now it is time to find that rug that will really tie everything together. But how do you know your rug will match? The whole process of mixing up the patterns, textures, and colours isn't as daunting as one may imagine. We'll take you through on how to choose the perfect rug that sits with your curtains and upholstery.

1. Know What a Rug Does for Your Room

Other than the floor, a rug actually secures your room's decoration and can either make a statement or blend in with the background. The trick to choosing the right rug is actually knowing how well it'll fit with the other elements like curtains and upholstery. The rug would be, in a sense, the "third piece" of the trio. Most decorating trios include curtains and upholstery as the dominating eye level, while rugs tie everything together at ground level.

For this reason, it's important you think about textures, patterns, and colours used for your curtains and furniture when choosing a rug.

• Does the rug have to be an exact match to the curtains? Absolutely not, but it needs to coordinate in harmony.
• Should you go with bold patterns, or should you keep it neutral? Well, that of course depends on how bold your existing elements are!

2. Coordinating Colours with Curtains and Upholstery

A commonly asked question by people is, "How do I choose a rug colour based on my curtain and upholstery colour?" An easy place to begin is in finding common colour tones in your current decor. Where the colours of either your curtains or sofa predominate, a rug with subtle hints of that colour can help tie it all together.

There are two common approaches:

• Match with existing colours: Curtains of a rich navy want a rug with similar deep tones for cohesion.
• Contrast for Balance: Neutral upholstery (think beige or grey) wants a bolder rug to add some interest. This contrast can easily breathe life into the room without clashing.

One good tip is to always have a colour palette in your head. In general, you stick to 2-3 colours across your room, so it doesn't look too overwhelmed. You can have one primary colour, another secondary colour for accent pieces, and a third one just as a subtle highlight through the rug.

3. What Curtain Colour Goes With Your Carpet

This is the question we get asked most often in the showrooms, and it is almost always asked the other way round to how decorating guides answer it. The floor is already down. The curtains are the decision still to make. So here is the answer by carpet colour.

What colour curtains go with a blue carpet?

Cream, warm white and oatmeal are the safest curtains, and they work because blue is a cool colour that needs something warm beside it. Pure brilliant white is the common mistake: against a mid blue it reads cold and slightly clinical. If you want more depth than cream, a soft dove grey works. Avoid navy curtains over a blue carpet unless the two are clearly different shades, because two close blues flatten a room rather than layering it.

What colour curtains go with a grey carpet?

Check whether your grey is cool or warm before you choose anything, because the two take opposite directions. A cool blue-grey carpet suits white, charcoal, dusty blue or blush. A warm greige carpet suits cream, oatmeal, sage or soft caramel. Hold a cream swatch and a white swatch against the carpet in daylight and the undertone shows itself immediately.

What colour curtains go with a beige or cream carpet?

The most forgiving floor there is. Warm whites and oatmeal keep it calm, while olive, terracotta, navy or deep green give you a feature wall of fabric without fighting the floor. Because the carpet is doing nothing loud, this is the one case where patterned curtains are an easy yes.

What colour curtains go with a red or brown carpet?

Stay in the warm family: cream, oatmeal, soft gold, or a deep chocolate a few shades off the floor. Pinks and purples are the ones to avoid, because they pull the red in the carpet forward and the room starts to feel heavy.

What colour curtains go with a green carpet?

Cream, warm white and unbleached linen let the green be the feature. Brass curtain hardware is worth the small extra cost here, more than with any other floor colour.

What colour curtains go with a charcoal carpet?

Go pale and keep the fabric light. Dark floor with dark curtains closes a room in fast, particularly in a south-facing room that never gets direct sun.

One rule cuts across all of them. In a small room, keep the curtains lighter than the floor. The eye reads a light top and a heavier base as a taller room, and the reverse as a lower one.

If you are matching to a rug rather than wall-to-wall carpet, the same colour logic holds, but you have more freedom, because a rug sits against the floor colour as well and you can use it to bridge the two.

How to Match Curtains With Your Sofa

Treat the sofa the way you treat the carpet: it is the expensive piece already in the room, so the curtains take their lead from it.

• Grey sofa: white or soft grey curtains keep it calm, charcoal gives more contrast. A cool grey sofa suits cooler whites; a warm greige sofa suits cream.
• Navy or blue sofa: cream or warm white curtains. Navy curtains beside a navy sofa only work if the shades are clearly different.
• Brown leather sofa: oatmeal or natural linen curtains. They pick up the warmth of the leather without matching it.
• Patterned sofa: plain curtains in one of the pattern’s lighter colours, so the two fabrics are not competing.

Then bring the rug in as the link between them: one colour from the sofa or cushions and one from the curtains, and the three read as one scheme. Browse living room rugs by colour once you know which two you are working with.

4. Mixing Patterns Without Chaos

Can I mix patterns in my curtains, upholstery, and rug? The answer is simply yes. Mixing patterns can make a room dynamic and layered; however, there is a fine line between pulling off a stylish space and a chaotic one. The trick is to balance large and small-scale patterns.

• Large patterns in the rug, small ones elsewhere: In case you use bold patterned curtains or an intricate sofa design, then it will be advisable to use a rug that has a more subdued pattern. This prevents them from fighting each other.
• Small patterns in the rug, large ones elsewhere: This means that if the curtains and upholstery are simple, the rug must have a large, striking pattern to give the room life.

Feel free to play with patterns, but remember cohesion. For example, if your curtains are geometric, then the rug can be softer, flower-patterned to create a nice contrast without clutter.

5. Texture Matters More Than You Think

Texture is one of those elements that are often overlooked, but it matters as much as colour and pattern. Different textures on your curtains, upholstery, and rugs provide depth and richness to a room, so long as you balance them well so they are not competing with each other.

Smooth curtains and upholstery? A plush, high-pile rug can be just the thing to add in some softness and warmth.
Textured fabrics on the sofa or curtains? A flatweave or low-pile rug will help balance the room so that things don't get too "busy."

Textures can also be used to draw attention to focal points. If you want to draw the eye to your sofa, for instance, a soft rug beneath it serves the purpose of subtly anchoring the furniture and completing the room.

6. Size and Placement: Getting It Right

The size of the rug is very important for the perfect complementing of curtains and upholstery, as too much might make a room unpleasantly small. A rug that is too small will be out of proportion, and one that is too big will give an impression of congestion.

Here's a rough guide to follow:

Living room: A rug that's large enough for the front legs of your sofa and chairs to rest on can help anchor the seating area.
Dining room: The rug should extend 60cm beyond the edges of the dining table to allow chairs to stay on the rug even when pulled out.
Bedroom: Your rug should extend beyond the bed, if at all possible, and offer space to step onto the rug from either side.

Keep in mind that the rug is supposed to enhance the overall layout and create zones or define areas, especially for open-plan apartments.

7. Star or Supporting Cast: Where Does Your Rug Fit?

While choosing the rug that can complement your curtains and upholstery, the call to make is between whether it should be the prime element of decoration or more of a supporting one.

Rug the star: When your curtains and upholstery remain neutral, the rug can be bold with patterns and colours to take centre stage.
Rug as background: If your curtains and upholstery are already the room's focal point, a neutral or slightly patterned rug can help ground the room without competing for attention.
It's not right or wrong, but just be sure the rug's role makes sense as part of the overall look and feel of your room.

8. Bringing It All Together

But, more importantly, the most critical thing, however, to remember is your instincts. Home decor is supposed to be about your style, and yes, there may be rules of thumb, but the best rooms are those that feel like "you." Whether it's to a bold, patterned rug that draws attention or to a soft, neutral rug to tie everything together, the right rug will finish the room.

It is not as daunting as finding the perfect rug seems. Take a cue from your curtains, upholstery, or even the style of your room for finding a rug that will bring harmony and balance to your home. Take a cue here, and get ready to experience style with our array of chic options at Adore Rugs that complement any decor.

Follow these tips and the rug, the curtains and the sofa will read as one room rather than three separate purchases.