Colors that go with Black for curtains
Black · #1C1C1C
Black (#1C1C1C) — a near-black neutral — pairs best with terracotta & clay, green, muted red, and teal. For curtains, choose terracotta & clay, drawn from 8 historically-grounded combinations below.
Curtains frame a room and filter its light, so the partners that work read cleanly against both the wall behind them and the daylight through them.
About black
Black is a near-black neutral — a nearly neutral, neutral colour that reads as deep and grounding. As a neutral tone it looks most resolved next to one accent with real hue, plus quiet tonal neighbours, and it needs lighter shades nearby for the value contrast the eye reads as finished. That balance is what makes it feel refined in curtains.
- HEX
- #1C1C1C
- RGB
- 28, 28, 28
- HSL
- 0°, 0%, 11%
- CMYK
- 0, 0, 0, 89
Accessibility: put light text on black for AAA legibility (contrast 16.3:1 against off-white).
Why black pairs with terracotta & clay, green, muted red, and teal
Across the 8 historical combinations below, black sits most often beside terracotta & clay, green, muted red, and teal. That tracks with colour theory: a neutral, deep tone like this one wants one accent with real hue, plus quiet tonal neighbours so the scheme feels intentional rather than flat, and lighter partners supply the light-to-dark range the eye needs. Curtains frame a room and filter its light, so the partners that work read cleanly against both the wall behind them and the daylight through them.
- terracotta & clay
- green
- muted red
- teal
Using black in curtains
For curtains, choose terracotta & clay and green. Because black is deep and grounding, keep it to anchor pieces or a single feature area and let terracotta & clay carry the larger surfaces.
8 combinations with black, from the 1933 Dictionary
Spring Green & Ink
Young shoot green against sumi ink — the two extremes of the Japanese calligrapher's world.
#1C1C1C #A7C957 #F8F4E9
Ao & White
The classical Japanese 'ao' — an ambiguous blue-green — against pure white.
#1C1C1C #3A7D7B #FFFFFF
Rosolanc Purple & Orange +1
Plate 144 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Rosolanc Purple, Orange, Black.
#111314 #b73f74 #f37420
Ivory Buff & English Red +1
Plate 190 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Ivory Buff, English Red, Black.
#111314 #ebd3a2 #d96629
Sudan Brown & Glaucous Green +1
Plate 207 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sudan Brown, Glaucous Green, Black.
#111314 #a36752 #b4cdc2
Carmine Red & Neutral Gray +1
Plate 221 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Carmine Red, Neutral Gray, Black.
#111314 #a62c37 #b6bfc1
Eosine Pink & Burnt Sienna +2
Plate 242 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Eosine Pink, Burnt Sienna, Diamine Green, Black.
#111314 #f37f94 #ae5224 #1a7444
Raw Sienna & Pyrite Yellow +2
Plate 255 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Raw Sienna, Pyrite Yellow, Calamine BLue, Black.
#111314 #bb7125 #cab356 #78cdd0
Black in other settings
Other colors
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