If so, here's some good news. You don't have to match all the wood furniture in a room. In fact, your design may actually look much better if you throw away this old rule and go with pieces you love in the finishes you love.
With a few easy “rules,” you can have it all. Let me start by saying — Using the same wood tone in a space can make everything look flat. Instead, go for a layered, lived-in look, with wood tones that both compliment and contrast. As you decorate your home over time, you pick up pieces along the way.
While wood finishes don't need to match, they should complement each other, Goerg says. Look at the color bias of each wood to see if it is warm or cool, then make sure their undertones match, regardless of finish.
Mixing light and dark wood, combining different pieces, and playing with furniture can make a room uniquely your own. It gives your house that bespoke feeling that feels like home. Your bedroom should be your sanctuary from the world, but it should also be a place where you feel at home and most like yourself.
For the most cohesive look, choose two to three different finishes that repeat in the space. When you limit the number of different tones of wood within the space and repeat them in smaller doses, your final look will be warm, easy on the eye.
Shades of Light
Light wood finishes are trending all over the place and look exceptional when teamed up with darker colors like black and navy. We love the stylish golden wood finish on this table by Tiffany Duckenfield who paired it the stark black chairs giving it a sleek modern sophisticated look.
The key to mixing woods is keeping the undertones consistent. Woods with warm undertones will look yellow or red - think Cherry, Mahogany, and Hickory. These woods will work well together, even if they vary in darkness and grain. Cool-toned woods will look a little bit grey, like Ash, Maple, Poplar, or Pine.
Light-colored furniture can help a small room feel bigger and more airy because it doesn't stand out in the way that dark furniture does. It brings more light into the space. But furniture in light tones may not work as well in a large room, because the space may feel too open.
Generally speaking, lighter colors work best for modern designs while darker colors complement traditional and rustic atmospheres. However, you can always mix and match your wood color to achieve the perfect design. Keep in mind that undertones also influence the feel of a room.
Combining mixed wood types – such as oak, walnut, ash – has become increasingly popular over the last few years thanks to the laid-back, 'lived-in' trend sweeping the interior world. Contrasting woods create interest, insight personality and add depth to any living space – exuberating a warm and sleek aesthetic.
The short answer is no, you don't need to match your furniture in your living room, and matching it all won't necessarily make it better. Want the long answer? Then keep reading! By the end of this article, you'll know how to create a cohesive space in your living room.
You don't really want to match all your furniture – dull, dull, dull. Try to harmonize the different pieces so they blend together as if a first-rate eye has selected them over a period of time. Such matching mismatched furnishings is a hot trend now and it's getting more and more popularity.
Especially with dark finishes such as cherry or walnut, using too many wood pieces can give the space a heavy, overcrowded look. If you inherited an entire bedroom set of wood furniture, choose one standout piece—such as the bed or dresser—to keep in the room and ditch the rest.
'What's old is new again,' agrees Etsy's 2023 collections curator, Martha Stewart, adding that 'brown furniture is alive and well'. But while dark wood appears to be on the up, Etsy has observed a 24 per cent decrease in searches for Scandinavian decor, raw or light wood (14 per cent) and beige decor (29 per cent).
'A light-toned sofa in neutral colors, such as beige, cream, light gray, or white, can create a sense of openness in any room.
Is Dark Wood Furniture Out of Style? While recent trends have steered towards light and bright rooms, dark wood furniture still has its place in modern design. The key is to balance dark furniture with contrasting flooring, bright colors, and plenty of light fixtures to keep your room from feeling dark or crowded.
While darker stains feel more traditional, lighter woods definitely have a more modern feel. It's clear that natural woods are becoming the new neutral in interior design, and this design trend isn't going anywhere as people embrace cozier spaces.
Although it's true that dark wood has a heavier visual look, that mostly just means it's bolder and more imposing, not that it actually makes the space look smaller. The key is you have to do it right. If you have too much dark going on in a space, yes, it will make the room look smaller.
A Different Shade of the Same Color
Painting your walls the same color as your furniture, but using a darker or lighter shade, is a great way to pull a room together. For example, if you had a navy-blue couch, you could paint your walls a pale blue; it would look very coordinated while not being all one shade.
1. Lighter, Brighter Wood Finishes. Wood flooring with character-rich, lighter stains shows no sign of waning in popularity, says Margaret Donaldson, founder of Margaret Donaldson Interiors. “Homeowners are primarily using white oak, but walnut is starting to surface more, especially with lighter finishes,” she says.
With the softness of grey and the richness of brown, you have all the right components for an inviting and cozy space. This color combination provides plenty of room for style despite your aesthetic and could be the answer to the new look you've been searching for.