Curtain/decorating Question

Can you paint the walls? Maybe A. icy blue and get a couple cream throws and pillows to bring everything together and soften things up. You could sew or have the drycleaners sew a contrasting banding along the sides and bottom of the curtains to customize them.

Can you paint the wall cream?

You could sew a colorful or patterned panel onto the bottom of the curtain. You could also dye them or paint them.

I like brown, cream and a soft green as a color combo.

big lots! wal mart, ross dress for less, dollar stores have curtians that are kinda ok ...you might have to dig. i usually like the curtian rods and hard ware. a friend of mine had a very lovely house which looked like she got everything from dillards. when i asked her where she got a chandle holder i was expecting she would say pier one imports but she said big lots. the majority of her decor came from big lots. if you know what your doing you can pick out and put together some great finds. i am not good at that. good luck.

Sounds like you could use a little color in there.
What about teal and brown patterned sheer panels?
I live teal and chocolate brown and the black sofa will be totally fine.
Definitely check Burlington--they have a HUGE selection and are really reasonable.
Cheaper than target even.
ETA: sorry. I would return it. A pattern of some sort (with cream IN it) will be more pleasing than solid cream on white!

Penneys used to have some brown, cream, teal checked curtains that were not too expensive and something like that would give you colors and design and that would help so much. You need a pattern and color. I would take the plain ones back if it was me. Pick a color ( colors ) that you like and then pick up cheap pictures as you see them in that color scheme.

The curtains should go!! Your best chance to perk up your room is in the window treatments as well as pillows and art. Target, Walmart, pier one all have fun drapery. Go to a paint store and look at pallettes that contain black and brown to get ideas of colors that combine well with them.

A pattern would be good to tie in the colors you have. If you want something "funky", a pattern would definetely help with that. Look at Target for inexpensive pattern curtains and then pick a color out of those for throw pillows. For some added pop of color on your walls, hang the pictures you painted or pick up some pre-wrapped art canvas at the store and paint to coordinate with the curtains.

What are your favorite colors? You have a lot of neutrals going on so pick one of your favorites to add some spice.

Good luck!

What is your favorite color? You have a very neutral back ground right now with the white and brown and black, so you can pretty much get away with anything. Just stay away from blacks & browns & beiges & whites - unless you are going for that monochromatic look. Doesn't sound like you are though. You might try a rich red curtain for a bold look. Buy A. extra valance and cover some throw pillows with it. If your art work doesn't coordinate,put something new in the frames. I've seem graphic fabrics stretched right over the top of existing pictures & reframed for some really cool looking art work. Cheap too - 3-4 bucks per yard.

Or, go with my favorite - blue! I have a chocolate colored rug with blue-gray circular desgins in it, blue-gray couch & loveseat, and black & white photography in thick black frames. I have a black desk in the corner and some dark brown side chairs. The blue really adds a luxurious pop to the room. My floors are a neutral blonde wood. Without the blue in the room it would be soooo dull. You will have black furniture, so you can add in the soft blue accents (think more of a dusty blue, or blueish grey. not powder blue!) Black & white photography sets it all off very nicely. Or you can find tons of black & white graphic fabric at the store to frame up. Go for large frames that fit the wall, not drown on it. Hit up Goodwill for some old crappy frames and paint them with black matte spray paint. You could even buy some old white sheets and use common household items or leaves to create a stencil, using the left over spray paint.

Think creatively!

I love simple cream curtains. Its okay to do tone on tone (a light shade of one color with darker shades the same color) I assume your walls aren't stark white, nobody uses stark white for walls. It may work just fine and have a tone on tone effect or a white on white effect. But it really depends how much yellow is in your cream, or if its more of A. off white vs. a cream. But here is the truth: nobody on this site can answer your question because they have not seen the space. You are asking questions that deal with nuance and that means we need to see the actual shade of wall compared to the actual shade of cream. If the shade of cream has a lot of yellow in it, I would not do it. No I don't' think a sheer over the top your drape will be a good look. Bottom line, ask a friend who you think has A. eye for decorating don't ask people who like to spout opinions but have not seen your space. There's nothing wrong with using a lot of black and cream. You can add color with accessories or A. accent paint. And this is coming from A. N.C.I.D.Q certified and degreed interior designer.

Here's my philosophy: Get what you want or do without until you can afford or find what you want. Buy the best you can afford, then you only have to cry once instead of replacing it.

ETA: you know I did run into this exact trouble in my last rental. My cream silk drapes were just a tad too yellow to put next to my taupe wall. I used a double rod and did a dark brown velvet outside drape and used my cream drapes as the inner drape so it didn't set right next to the taupe paint. It totally worked out. In another room I used A. off white/ cream drape on my off white walls. It wasn't A. exact match but took on a great clean white on white cottage look.

A simple and inexpensive way to personalize your cream curtain is to go to the craft store, find a stencil that you like, choose a color of fabric paint and paint your curtains! Or create your own design if you are artistic. Just be sure to use a hot iron on the back of the fabric, after the paint has dried, to seal the paint and make the curtain washable. This is such a fun and easy way to customize your decor.

The curtains are fine if you want to keep them. You could always get some fabric to add the them or use some kind of thick ribbon to tie them back which would also add color.

If you sew, flat sheets make awesome curtains. It is just a matter of sewing two stiches at the top for the pocket or you could just get those clips which clip onto the fabric put attach to the rod.

I like the idea of adding fabric to those boring curtains and spicing them up.

You may also want to go to other places to get your curtains. We have tons of discount stores that would surprise you with their selection and quality. I've gotten some nice finds at Target and also at JC Penny.

just hotglue or sew on a little bit of color to those curtains...personalize them, let them speak to you! Rickrack, appliques, beads, buttons, a simple ribbon or multiple colors of ribbon....the possibilities are phenomenal!

My great room window treatments are simple muslin sheets, hung on decorative metal rods. I used my GrGpa's antq buttons to create a rod pocket on the "top" of the sheet. Looks fantastic, washes easily, & requires little ironing if I remember to pull them from the dryer!

EDIT: for easy artwork...find some cheap frames. Buy some fabric which will tie in with your furnishings. Paint the frames to go with it all, & mount the fabric in the frames. Use a little bit more of the fabric (or coordinating solids/prints) for throw pillows. & you have a room that's decorated!