What Color Curtains Go With White Walls? (Find Out Now!)

Ossiana Tepfenhart
by Ossiana Tepfenhart

White is considered to be the ultimate neutral color. It goes with every style, every color, and every possible concept that you can get into a home’s design. That’s why it is still the most popular wall color among homes today. Even landlords choose to stick to white walls because it’s so darn popular. We all know white works with everything, but are there actually some curtain colors that tend to go better with white than others?

While any curtain color can work with white walls, there are some colors that are notably more popular than others. These include white, beige, bright red, blue, turquoise, grey, and orange. With that said, it’s impossible to find a curtain color that doesn’t mesh with white.

Having white walls means that the possibilities are truly endless. Let’s take a look at some of the easier possibilities to explore.

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Is White A Good Wall Paint Color?

White is one of the best wall colors that money can buy. In fact, it’s the most commonly requested paint color by both landlords and home flippers. It’s easy to see why. White walls are a literal blank slate. This is a color (or lack thereof) that works with any color scheme you could want. It also works with your personal style and helps brighten up a room.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you aren’t 100 percent sure how you want to decorate a room, stick to white paint. It’s the easiest way to layout a foundation for a beautiful home, and it can work in virtually any room in any house. What more could you want?

The Best Curtain Colors For Rooms With White Walls

When you have a room with white walls, it’s always best to go with a style and color palette you enjoy. Thankfully, these top picks below make it easy to work with any palette you might have in mind.

White

White is the ultimate chameleon color, which is why having white curtains on white walls is a smart way to go. Like, really smart. White curtains let light in and help make a room look larger. They also can help reflect light inside the room, giving the place a brighter experience. Of course, there is another perk to this worth noting, too.

White goes with everything, which means that white on white makes it possible to choose any color scheme you want for the interior portion of your home. It’ll look classy, and it’ll look bright. What’s not to love?

Beige

Beige is another great pick for people who have a room with white walls, especially if it is a golden-toned beige like the curtains here. As this look shows, beige can help a room feel warmer. In this scene, we see orange flooring, beige-gold curtains, and a white wall. The end result is a very beachy, tropical look.

When paired with more grey undertones, beige works as a way of adding softness and warmth to a more Scandinavian-looking home. It also can act as a perfect backdrop for a home with warmer undertones. If you want to add a touch of welcoming ambiance, the softness of beige will work well.

Bright Red

Bright red is one of the hardest colors to match with, but not if you have white walls! When paired with white, bright red gives you a bold, daring contrast that demands attention. It’s ideal for people who want to have a room that’s a little sexy without keeping things too wild. This is a great pick for people who love modern looks, as well as people who want to have a statement about the color they adore.

If you have red curtains, don’t be surprised if the light from outside helps give your room a rosy, warm glow. It’s amazing how much it can enhance what you have. The warmth gets so inviting!

Blue

Blue and white go together like PB&J. They are a classic combination that gives a home an airy and open feeling. Unsurprisingly, most people adore this color combination because of how strikingly pretty is. Some even argue that white helps flaunt the pretty, sometimes surreal look that blue gives a room.

This combination is an excellent choice for bedrooms, since blue is a calming color. However, people also tend to enjoy this color in sunrooms, children’s rooms, as well as offices. Oh, and bathrooms? A great choice, indeed! Adding additional white accent curtains can help bring out the ethereal charm of blue.

Turquoise

Turquoise is just a smidge of green away from blue, but what a difference it makes! When paired with white walls, turquoise curtains give a room a tropical feeling. Much like with blue, turquoise curtains can be a great focal point for a room with white walls and can also be instrumental in setting the tone of a room.

If you have a room that you want to add a touch of the tropics, then turquoise is a great choice for you to have. Much like with blue and red, turquoise tends to have light bleed through the curtains, giving your room an instant upgrade in ambient lighting. This makes it a great pick for rooms where you need to relax.

Grey

Grey is a neutral color that has become synonymous with the word “modern.” Much like white, it’s a color that tends to go with everything. That includes other neutrals like white. In recent years, adding a touch of grey has turned into a major trend. If you go for a light grey, you’ll be able to get an airy look that helps make your room look bigger.

While most people might not think of it this way, grey adds a certain edginess to a room that’s hard to ignore. This makes it a good choice for people who want to have a room that flaunts their inner style.

Orange

Bold and fiery, orange is often a color that seems to be too “loud” for most home setups. But then, you take a look at a photo like the one above, and you’ll understand why it’s a pairing we want to raise awareness towards. Orange curtains, particularly sheer curtains, look incredible in a white room because of how the light tends to filter through curtains.

Orange is always going to be a spicy color, which means that this is a good option for homes that want to add an autumnal, cozy twist to a house. If you want to have a more modern look, then orange can offer up a way to add action to a room. After all, orange might be a loud color, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have something to say!

Are There Any Colors That Don’t Work With White Walls?

Technically, no. White can work with virtually any color as long as it’s stylized well—even brown. The problem is that there are some colors that tend to be harder to style than others. Dark brown curtains against a white wall, for example, might be hard for a typical person to work with.

If you tend to have difficulties putting together a visually appealing room, then there are tricks you can use with white paint to make it easier. A good rule of thumb is that white walls are the easiest to pair with lighter colors. So, sticking to pastels is a smart idea when you find yourself out of ideas.

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Related Questions

What is the best type of white paint for a house?

There are a lot of different types of white, including hard whites (white with slight a blue tone) and soft whites (whites that have yellow undertones). Most of the time, hard whites tend to be too harsh for a room with typical lighting. Soft whites, on the other hand, add an element of coziness to a room that’s highly desirable.While soft whites are the most common choice, they are not the only choice. It’s best to take multiple white swatches to your home to see how each shade will look on your wall in the light that it will have.


Should you paint your trim white?

White acts as a universal brightener and lightener. This means that adding a touch of white to the trim in your home (or furniture) is a smart idea. It can help your home look cleaner, and can also work to help add a lighter ambiance. White trim is traditional and homey, which is why it remains a mainstay in the world of interior design.


Can you paint walls and trim the same shade of white?

It depends on what you’re trying to do. Painting walls one color while adding white trim is a good way to make sure your wall color stands out. If your goal is to have the walls and trim blend together seamlessly, then you should paint the two the same color. Otherwise, it’s better to add two different shades of color to help enhance the contrast in your room.

Ossiana Tepfenhart
Ossiana Tepfenhart

Ossiana Tepfenhart is an expert writer, focusing on interior design and general home tips. Writing is her life, and it's what she does best. Her interests include art and real estate investments.

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