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.
If you have a dark brown sofa or other furniture, the best way to complement them is with mid-tone walls. Think warm golden yellow, soft medium blues, restful grayish-greens, creamy tans or soothing greys.
If you want your dark furniture to really pop against the color of the wall, then pure white paint is the color for you. On the other hand, if you want more of an enhancement of your dark furniture and less of a contrast, an off-white shade like a beige or cream is the better solution.
Making Dark Wood Trim a Feature Using Wall Paint Colors
Equally muddy colors will do the same thing. Stick to clean whites or creamy whites. If you select a cool paint colors it might conflict with your warm woodwork.
An amazing thing about grey wall paint, the hue can change when paired with light or dark wooden flooring. Grey brings an elegant and timeless charm to any room, and since it leans more toward cool than warm hues, it goes with most wooden floor colors.
With dark wood cabinets, white and light paint colours look fantastic. Choose countertops in white, brown, black, or grey. Dark oak cabinets look great with off-white walls, maple or oak floors, and stainless steel hardware. Choose a dark oak kitchen table and stainless steel appliances as a finishing touch.
Lay a brightly patterned runner across a wood dresser or table. Opt for bold bedding or wall art in a bedroom outfitted with wood furniture. Table lamps, vases, and planters in a rainbow of colors can also help cheer up dark wood furniture.
Embrace earth tones.
Lean into an organic look by pairing a brown sofa with earth tones. Colors like olive green, watery blue, terra-cotta, and rusty red all work well with brown because they're often seen together in nature.
Seriously — brown, no matter the shade, is considered a neutral, meaning it not only pairs well with other neutrals and earth tones, such as black, cream, white, and olive green, but works to balance out brighter statement colors, too.
Greens, grays, whites and beiges are no-brainers. Warmer colors, like orange, brown, rust and red, work too, but the deeper tones of these colors work best.
Earthy tones on both the red and green part of the spectrum can work really well with both light and dark oak furniture. Greens like sage or olive help to create a calm feel, perfect for a living room or study.
Hang floor-to-ceiling curtains in a fun pattern or a light color. No one has to know there are no windows behind them. Kinda like this, but maybe a smidge less stripey. Keep it affordable by using sheets instead of fabric, or just grabbing a ton of panels from Ikea.
'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).
Add Pops of Color
Even if the furniture in the room is dark, you can brighten things up with the addition of some vibrant colors. Add cheerful throw pillows in vivid hues like yellow and light blue to dark-colored sofas. A colorful area rug with a fun pattern will liven up a living space.
My first tip for working with dark wood furniture is to use tones (paint, bedding, pillows, artwork, curtains, etc.) that compliment the wood tone – usually warm, neutral colors. In this design, I painted the walls BM Revere Pewter – a warm gray.
How can I make my brown cabinets look good? Brown cabinets with cold undertones will complement cooler neutrals. You can include dark blue-grey, lavender-toned grey, tones of blue, and sage green hues into the wall colour and even on the counters.
If you want a high-contrast option but aren't a fan of white, try a bold, bright color for your kitchen walls! Sunny yellows, bright oranges, dazzling blues, and rich greens pair well with dark cabinets. A little color can go a long way.
Neon colors are becoming more popular in decorating, but yellow is the number one choice for kitchens with dark cabinets. The simple reason is because it lightens the room so well while adding a huge statement piece. Working best with black units, try using monochrome accents to add more depth to the room scheme.