How to Match Wood Flooring with Wall Colors

The floors and the wall color are the two parts of any room that act as the foundation for the overall color scheme. Wood flooring is one of the most traditional options. It comes in light, medium, and dark tones. Some wood floors are sleek and smooth with little colour variation while others are matte and textured with distressing that gives them a lot of variation. Picking the right wood tone to match wood flooring with wall color can seem like an overwhelming task unless you have a couple of tricks at your disposal.

Tips for Matching Wood Flooring with Wall Colors

When building or redecorating a space, you have the option of choosing the wood items in the space and the wall colors at the same time. If the flooring or wall color is already set, those become the starting parameters for the rest of your choices. Sometimes it can be easier to choose a favorite wood or wall color and then find a counterpart that brings out all the beauty of the item you initially fell in love with.

Light and Dark Contrast

When you are looking to make visual impact in a space, there’s no better way than to match wood flooring with wall tones in a light and dark contrast. Dark floors stand out against a light wall white light wood floors brighten up a room with a darker wall color. Walls and floors that are very different in tone have a tendency of highlighting both as separate features of the space. When walls are dark, it tends to make a room feel smaller and bring down the ceiling height for a cozy effect. When wall colors are light they seem more expansive and roomy. Keep in mind that very light and very dark flooring both tend to show dirt and dust easier than mid-tone wood floors.

Choosing Something Neutral

Neutral wall colors are not just a seamless backdrop for any type of decor, they are also a perfect pairing for virtually any flooring finish. Gray, taupe, cream, and white are just a few of the most popular neutral wall colors. Neutral colors with warm undertones look better with warm wood floors. Neutral colors with cool undertones look better with cool wood floors. Use natural walls as a backdrop to display artwork, home furnishings, and accessories with more flair.

Select Complementary Tones

The color wheel makes it easy to find a wall color and flooring color that will look fantastic with one another. When you look at the color wheel, colors arranged directly across from one another are considered complementary. Floors with an orange undertone look pleasing to the eye paired with wall colors in the blue family. Floors with a red undertone, such as cherry, look pleasing with green wall colors. Light floors with a yellow undertone are a great pairing for purples. This makes for a fun and modern way to match wood flooring with wall coverings.

Display Analogous Shades

Just as colors opposite one another on the color wheel are pleasing to the eye, so are colors next to each other on the color wheel. These colors are referred to as analogous colors. Reds, yellows, and oranges are considered warm color tones. Greens, blues, and purples are considered cool color tones. Choose wood and wall colors next to each other or close to each other on the color wheel. Pair a golden floor with a red wall or a floor with red undertones with a yellow wall.

Consider Existing Furniture

The artwork and furniture that is already in the space can be a great inspiration for choosing a color scheme. Look at the wood tones featured on the furniture. Choose similar wood tones for the floor. If you have a piece that combines wood tones with paint or upholstery you already know that they go together. Use the pieces you already love and pull colors out of those pieces to use as the foundation of the room design.

Try Wall Colors and Flooring Samples Together

Even when you know some tricks that make pairing wood and floor colors easier, there’s no substitute for seeing both in the same space. Select a few flooring samples and a few color samples for the wall. Paint some patches in various rooms near the baseboard. Lay your flooring samples up against the baseboard as well. Look at the wall colors and flooring samples together. The colors you might have initially chosen together may not be the ones you like the most when they are in the space.

Don’t be afraid to branch out with your samples and try out a couple that are initially outside of your comfort zone. Samples can look very different in natural light and artificial light. Look at them over the course of 24 hours in many different lighting combinations to make sure they always complement the space. While you have the samples in the space, don’t be afraid to test their durability to make sure they will hold up to everything life offers.

The floor and the walls are two of the biggest surface areas in the room. Make them an eye-catching addition to the space by choosing colors that look appealing against one another. Analogous colors, complementary colors, and neutral colors are all reliable approaches to creating an inviting space. With the right floor and wall colors in place, any room is ready to receive layers of texture and style with furniture, accessories, and area rugs. Hardwood flooring, though there are many great options ranging from the temperate chestnut to the tropical and exotic hardwoods like mahogany and  teak isn’t the only way to showcase wood tones in your space. Wood-look tile and luxury vinyl plank flooring and snap-together wood laminate flooring offer the same look at a fraction of the cost.