Contrast is one of the core rules of any style or décor, making it one of the most important tips for matching wood floors with furniture. Darker wood floors can make lighter wood furniture pop and look extremely satisfying. Alternatively, lighter wood floors provide the perfect balance for darker furniture pieces.
Alternatively, darker colors like dark woods, gray and black can also work well with dark wood floors. These deeper tones can add warmth and richness to your space, while still highlighting the natural beauty of the dark hardwood flooring.
Because having the same look on both the floor and furniture can leave a room looking too uniform, giving it a “flat” look. The best way to go is to pick contrasting pieces - furniture pieces that may reflect what is in the floor but do not match it completely.
The Golden Rule.
If you want one simple rule to follow, here's an easy one to remember: match delicate furniture with light woods and heavier furniture with dark woods. Light wood floors can be overpowered by heavy pieces of furniture, while dark floors can swallow up more delicate chairs and tables.
For the most harmonious look, choose wood furniture that matches the warmth of your floors but is a few shades lighter. For instance, pair grayish or black wood floors with pale, weathered woods, and pair warm, rich floors (like the ones shown here) with warm medium- to light-toned woods like cherry or maple.
Lighter-colored floors match well with dark furniture pieces, and vice versa. Glass pieces and other unique décor items also fit beautifully into a modern room. No matter what kind of style you build in a room, make sure you can match your flooring and furniture to the look.
Use Contrast to Create a Focal Point
You might choose a dark dining room table to contrast with light wood floors, for instance. The contrast doesn't have to be too strong. You can pair a light tone with a medium tone featuring the same undertones, for example.
1) Don't Match Furniture and Floor
If all the wood in a room is the same color, it can make the space look boring because the furniture and floor will blend together too much. While you can use rugs to help the wood furniture stand out from the floor, it's still more visually interesting to mix-and-match wood types.
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.
Red oak flooring typically matches up with red furniture or at least furniture that has red undertones. Golden oak goes well with furniture that has a yellow undertone…or red or orange. Cool undertones, like ash-colored wood flooring, goes with furniture in shades of gray.
Will they be able to find all the pieces they want in the finish they ultimately decide to go with? If so, here's some good news. You don't have to match all the wood furniture in a room.
Oak Furniture with an Oak Floor
There are ways of breaking up the intensity of consistent oak so that it doesn't become too much, and it can be as simple as a rug underneath a table so that the eye doesn't run from one oak piece onto another without a little bit of separation.
While most traditionalists prefer the aforementioned darker brown hues, lighter colors of wood furniture are what's most appealing to those who prefer a more modern vibe and brighter décor colors. If you're looking to create a clean, bright look to a living area or bedroom, Natural Maple is the way to go.
No, wood furniture does not need to match wood floors. Mixing different woods is perfectly acceptable in the home, however, always make sure the undertones of the wood you're using are the same. The idea is to use contrasting wood pieces that work in harmony together, rather than looking completely mismatched.
Do grey and brown go together? Of course, they do! It's one of the classic combos.
Is dark wood making a comeback? 'After many years of lighter-coloured, Scandinavian-inspired woods dominating home trends, darker, more traditional woods – like teak, walnut, and mahogany – have fallen back in favour,' says Etsy's trend expert, Dayna Isom Johnson.
Warm and Calming Neutrals
“In the living room, we are seeing warm, calming blues, peach-pinks, and sophisticated neutrals like sable, mushroom, and ecru—these are really catching my eye for 2023,” she says.
Along with mid-century-inspired curved furniture, the brown tones of this period are also poised to make a major comeback in 2023. This natural color—particularly its darker varieties—creates a sense of earthy stability, says Claire Druga, an interior designer based in New York City.
If you want timeless furniture, go for a timeless color. Yes, a color! A blue, yellow, or black sofa will be a lot more timeless than the popular gray. The gray sofas of today are just the brown leather sofas of 10 years ago.
Home Decor Bliss notes that grey and black color schemes work particularly well with light hardwood flooring. Dark colors contrast perfectly with the lighter tones on the hardwood floor. This contrast makes for a unique tonal diversion that produces a striking visual effect.
You might think “gym floor” or the strip oak floors that graced so many homes over the last 30 years. Floors with a white finish go with almost everything. A light burlap-like color is a great choice because you still get a light floor, without installing a truly “white” floor.
Exposed wooden floors, whether oak or even pine, will usually look great with your oak furniture, whichever room of the house you're looking at.
Color: when we think about a spacious room, blonde wood often comes to mind. Floor color plays a major role in making your small space seem larger. We often recommend light colors to give the room an airy feel. For example, blonde, light brown, or whitewashed hardwood can make the room seem more open.
Lighter colors help brighten up a room, making it feel bigger. The amount of natural light in the room: If you love natural light, and your home gets plenty of it, you may want to opt for a darker wood floor as it tends to fade less quickly than lighter flooring options.