Stoneside Custom Drapery and Roman Shades

Get the Layered Look at Home: Mismatching Your Shades and Blinds Like a Pro

By: Natalie Elmhurst

Updated: 4/11/2023

How to get designer looks with thoughtfully mismatched window treatments

Let’s get right down to it:

Do your window treatments have to match?

Absolutely not. But it is entirely dependent on the type of room or rooms that are involved. Oftentimes, matching adjacent window treatments on the same wall ensures the room looks put together and cohesive. But that doesn’t mean every single shade or drape needs to be the same.

In fact, when you look at spaces designed by professional interior designers, most often window treatments don’t repeat throughout the house — even in open concept homes. To get that designer look, you’ll want to carefully mismatch your window treatments.

Why would you mismatch your window treatments?

Complementary, non-matching window treatments:

Give you an elevated designer feel
Ensure each window and room gets the function it needs from the window treatments
Add character (even in an open concept space)

So how, and when, should you be mismatching your blinds and shades?

Can you have different window treatments in the same room?

Yes, you can, but it should be noted that if windows are right next to each other on the same wall, you’re better off matching the two of them and choosing a different window treatment for windows on adjacent walls or separated in some way.

For example, the separation could be a small inset or crown molding. An alcove or a statement window works well with its own window treatment as well.

Stoneside Custom Drapery and Roller Shades

Do dining and living room curtains need to match?

Your living and dining room curtains don’t need to match, and most likely, you won’t want them to. But it does depend on the space.

But box store curtains may not be the best option for your home. When it comes to quality, we love to recommend trading in box store curtains with higher end drapes for a sophisticated look. These tend to go really well in open concept areas where living rooms and dining rooms are open to one another.

Even in an open concept home you don’t have to match your window treatments if they’re in different areas unless there’s no separation — if it’s one wall that is shared from the dining room to the living but there’s nothing to indicate a change in the room… don’t mismatch.

(Pssst! Keep reading for a sneak peek at a designer’s look with mismatched window treatments!)

How to use different window treatments to highlight design (and add more interior designer style)

The easiest way to use different window treatments is to keep your window treatments the same color. Subtle differences in texture work well if the overall color is the same, and if you choose completely different styles, you can still have a cohesive space.

When you match color but use different window treatments, you create a high end look that will have your friends asking — “Who designed your space?”

To mix it up… repeat colors, but add a pattern.

Anyone else excited about choosing a new palette for their home upgrade? We don’t blame you. Start with one color you’d like to repeat and for a bit of fun, add a simple pattern to an adjacent window. If the majority of your window treatments are solid color, you can add that patterned piece that will bring more character and pizazz.

How do you choose drapery for an open concept room?

Drapes are eye-catching, great for larger and adjacent windows, and because they have a striking appearance you can use them to anchor your room. Custom drapes are an excellent window treatment for open concept spaces as they naturally draw attention, anchoring and bringing balance to large open spaces. When you choose custom drapes, you create more freedom to use other types of window treatments on other windows.

To choose the right drapery, decide which windows will best benefit from having drapes for their window covering, and figure out which other window treatments you may want to pair with them.

From there you can choose:

A hanging style
Color scheme
Weight
Length

When you consider your color palette, go for neutral rather than bold. (The exception? Moody spaces where the most natural looking color is of a darker palette.) This provides a bit more freedom to alter decor on a whim or seasonally.

*If you’re still unsure and the answers aren’t coming easily, consider chatting with one of our professional design experts, who can help you determine the best drapes for your open concept. (And which window treatments to (mis)match and coordinate with them.)

Designer highlight: Yond Interiors

We LOVE this design by Yond Interiors. Mismatched window treatments create a designer look, adding artistic, intentional layers to a space.

In the above design by Yond Interiors, each room has a different window treatment that goes the best with the space. In the formal dining room, light filtering drapes keeps the sun from creating too much harsh light. The sitting room features a delectable roman shade, still soft and similar in palette to the drapes, but more convenient for tight spaces with furniture close to the windows. At the far end of the space, cafe curtains in a complementary color add a pop of interest. Their red-orange hue is repeated in the flowers on the coffee table, tying the spaces together across the entire home.

Photo Credit: Yond Interiors

Can you mismatch any window treatment?

When you’re mismatching your window treatments, embrace differences in the type of window treatment. If you don’t want to mismatch your window treatment by type, you can choose different palettes and colors with the same style of window treatment.

While we would say that most window treatments can be mismatched to create a cohesive and balanced look, you’ll need to carefully consider your options. Not all window treatments can automatically mix effortlessly with any other shade or blind.

Our favorite pairing this season? Roman Shades and Drapery.

The soft quality of the two window treatments go extremely well together, and are similar enough to go in the same room (but maybe not on the same exact wall).

If you’re concerned about mismatching your window treatments while keeping aesthetics in mind, reach out to our design experts, who can help you find the perfect solution for your space.

Mismatch your shades for functionality…

But get style in return.

It’s always beneficial to focus on your window treatment functions. You never want to choose a style just because it’s pretty — it should always accomplish what you need it to.

When you decide to mismatch your window treatments, you maximize your function in each space. And when you choose the right mismatch, you also get jaw-dropping style.