Colors that go with Red for curtains
Red · #C0392B
Red (#C0392B) — a clear, warm red — is best for curtains with terracotta & clay, muted red, deep charcoal, 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 red
Red is a clear, warm red — a saturated, warm colour that reads as mid-toned. As a warm tone it looks most resolved next to cool and neutral partners that temper its warmth, and it needs both lighter and deeper shades nearby for the value contrast the eye reads as finished. That balance is what makes it feel refined in curtains.
- HEX
- #C0392B
- RGB
- 192, 57, 43
- HSL
- 6°, 63%, 46%
- CMYK
- 0, 70, 78, 25
Accessibility: put light text on red for AA legibility (contrast 5.2:1 against off-white).
Why red pairs with terracotta & clay, muted red, deep charcoal, and teal
Across the 8 historical combinations below, red sits most often beside terracotta & clay, muted red, deep charcoal, and teal. That tracks with colour theory: a warm, mid-toned tone like this one wants cool and neutral partners that temper its warmth so the scheme feels intentional rather than flat, and both lighter and deeper 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
- muted red
- deep charcoal
- teal
Using red in curtains
For curtains, choose terracotta & clay and muted red. Because red is mid-toned, it can cover larger surfaces, with teal added for depth.
8 combinations with red, from the 1933 Dictionary
Scarlet & Dull Viridian Green +1
Plate 136 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Scarlet, Dull Viridian Green, Red Violet.
#cb2f43 #009465 #59256a
Fawn & Scarlet +2
Plate 308 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Fawn, Scarlet, English Red, Cobalt Green.
#cb2f43 #d1b0a7 #d96629 #96d1aa
Coral Red & Scarlet +2
Plate 332 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Coral Red, Scarlet, Deep Slate Olive, Dusky Green.
#cb2f43 #f58e84 #253122 #004f46
Corinthian Pink & Brick Red +2
Plate 246 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Corinthian Pink, Brick Red, Sulpher Yellow, Cinnamon Buff.
#a84222 #f8b6ba #f5ecc2 #fdc57e
Spectrum Red & Brick Red +2
Plate 322 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Spectrum Red, Brick Red, Eupatorium Purple, Blue Violet.
#a84222 #e31f26 #bf5892 #6450a1
Brick Red & Apricot Orange +2
Plate 328 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Brick Red, Apricot Orange, Vandyke Brown, Light Porcelain Green.
#a84222 #f68c50 #4b3317 #00908a
Red Orange & Orange Yellow +1
Plate 164 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Red Orange, Orange Yellow, Violet.
#dd4027 #fcb315 #4f4086
Red Orange & Golden Yellow +1
Plate 179 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Red Orange, Golden Yellow, Deep Lyons Blue.
#dd4027 #f3a257 #1c4286
Questions about Red for curtains
What colors go with red for curtains?
Red (#C0392B) — a clear, warm red — is best for curtains with terracotta & clay, muted red, deep charcoal, and teal. For curtains, choose terracotta & clay, drawn from 8 historically-grounded combinations below.
What is the hex code for red?
Red is #C0392B — a clear, warm red.
Does red go with white?
Yes. Red reads clean against soft white and cream; for contrast, add one of: terracotta & clay, muted red, deep charcoal, teal.
Red in other settings
Other colors
Studio
Work with this pairing
You have the hex codes for Red for curtains. These are the materials a colour study like this actually gets made with.
-
Pentel
Fude Touch brush sign pen
A felt brush tip for the labelling and linework around a swatch study — the annotation half of a colour notebook.
Listed on Amazon as Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen, Black, Felt Pen Like Brush Stroke (SES15C-A) 3 Pieces
View on Amazon -
When a palette leaves the screen, this is the shared vocabulary between you and the press. Coated and uncoated because the same ink is not the same colour on both.
Listed on Amazon as Pantone Formula Guide – Coated & Uncoated | Professional PMS Color Matching System for Print, Packaging & Graphic Design | GP1601B
View on Amazon
Amazon Associates affiliate links — your price is unchanged and a small commission keeps the archive free. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
From the archive
Support the archive The full catalog, on your disk, as a thank-you.
- All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
- Figma design tokens (W3C-spec JSON, drag into any file)
- Tailwind v4 + v3 configs — drop into any project
- CSS custom properties — every plate, one stylesheet
- 378 museum SVG plates — print-ready at any size
- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
Launching soon. The free archive stays free, always.
Library
Go deeper on colour
The colour-theory books behind pairings like Red — history, reference and the science of what works together.
Book links are Amazon Associates affiliate links. Your price is unchanged; a small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Torn between the two Wada dictionaries? Vol 1 vs Vol 2, compared plate by plate →
Book links are Amazon Associates affiliate links. Your price is unchanged; a small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.