Beige, tan and ivory work great with light and dark shades of wood.
Beige, tan and ivory work great with light and dark shades of wood. Notice the wood walls are a contrasting colour to the floor and ceiling. The contrast is nice with the trim, while the darker colours are highlighted again by the painted wall.
A lighter neutral like cream or beige can create a cosy space, while darker neutrals like wild mushroom and shades of grey bring with them a moodier atmosphere. The best way to ensure your wood tones in your furniture, flooring and accessories coordinate with your walls is to choose the right neutral paint.
'Olive greens or navys are easy to mix in with light woods,' says Amy Leferink, interior designer at Interior Impressions. 'We also love using black or charcoal paint colors in elements such as an island or beverage bar while keeping the rest of the paint choices more neutral.
The best paint colors to pair with light woods
Stained oak and wicker furnishings pair well with a soothing Green 01 or Green 09 and neutral Beige 02 or Beige 03. If you're working with walnut, let the wood's natural grain shine through and pair with barely-there White 01 or Beige 01.
Wood does not have to contrast with grey. This dining space shows how choosing timber in a similarly deep tone brings a beautifully sophisticated feel to a grey scheme. The dark wooden wine rack almost blends in against the charcoal brick wall, but helps bring variety of tone and texture to it.
For example, if we have a light oak piece or finish we want to contrast, we'll likely pair it with a dark wood like walnut or stained maple. Designer note: If the wood tones in your space seem overwhelming, try balancing them out with a neutral-stained wood piece in black, white, or even light grey.
A stark difference in the wood colors and paint and fabric hues in a room can make your wood furnishings or floors look even more distinct. Dark finishes, such as mahogany, walnut, or cherry, stand out in sharp relief against light colors, such as a pale green or blue or a hue from the sunny side of the color wheel.
Neutrals infused with earthy tones like green and brown work beautifully here. However, avoid overloading your interiors with too much walnut furniture, especially if it has a dark hardwood floor. Break things up with a neutral area rug or think about neutral upholstery.
Colours like cherry red, ochre yellow, lime green or rusty orange will bring out those warm hues in oak for a zesty palette that warms up a space. With cooler brights like vivid blue, deep teal or raspberry reds, oak will add warmth to these spaces, balancing out the cooler palette and grounding the overall look.
Off-White. When you have a lot of natural wood in your kitchen, pure white walls can feel too stark, especially if you're going for a rustic kitchen look. Instead, choose a warm white that has just a touch of gray in it for a color that complements wood tones and works well with other warm neutral colors.
True Blue and Natural Wood Tones
For medium- to dark-tone wood finishes, choose a strong shade of blue that won't pale in comparison. In this open kitchen, deep azure cabinetry contrasts with richly stained wood floors to create a cozy, modern cooking space.
Light colors go very well with dark flooring. Pale, cool blue walls work especially well in a dining room, if you're looking for a lively pop of color. Calming blue and blue gray shades can bring contrast to the dark wood to brighten your space.
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.
Do grey and brown go together? Of course, they do! It's one of the classic combos. Grey is neutral, steady, elegant, and sophisticated.
Warm and Cool Colors
If you love color, you can match earthy reds and oranges to the warm tones present in wood furniture. On the other hand, you can achieve high contrast by using blues, greens and cool neutrals to draw out the warm tones of the wood.
I really like Burnt Sienna, Light Tan and Ochre. Another paint color that looks like wood is Umber. You want to make sure you have a mixture of darker colors and lighter colors to create highlights and lowlights on the project.
One way to style your dark wood furniture is to contrast it with light colours. This doesn't have to be a stark black-and-white contrast, but making use of lighter-coloured neutrals is a good way to go. Warm neutrals such as soft greys, stone and beige variants will pair very nicely with dark wood.
Go high-contrast
Rather than layering wood pieces with a *very* similar finish (we see this “safe” approach all the time), do the polar opposite and embrace high-contrast wood tones. We're talking black stained chairs against a driftwood-hued table, or a rich ebony coffee table paired with sand-toned side tables.
Yes, it's ok to mix wood tones in your home decor. In fact, it's encouraged!
While mixing wood tones is perfectly acceptable—and in fact, we encourage it—it always helps to pick a dominant wood tone as a starting point to help you choose other pieces to bring in the room. If you have wood floors, your work here is done — those are your dominant wood tone.
Greige is a perfect choice to pair with wood trim because it looks fresh and organic but not stark, and keeps the wood trim from feeling too dark. Sherwin-Williams' Ice Cube (SW 6252) is a light gray with slightly cool undertones which looks lovely against dark wood trim.
Good options are Sherwin Williams Ice Cube (cool, slight blue undertone) and Sherwin Williams Aloof Gray (neutral). Sherwin Williams Repose Gray (slightly warm but quite neutral) is also a great paint choice to go with wood trim.
As the top two neutrals, white and grey make the perfect backdrop on which to introduce your favourite accent colour. They team equally well with warm-toned woods and stone for a natural feel or with cool metals and glass for a more elegant finish.