How to Choose Wood Flooring Colors

by jessica ackerman

Now that you know that wood flooring is a trendy choice for remodeling your home, you need to know how to choose wood flooring colors that work throughout each room. This guide to choosing wood flooring will help you eliminate wood finishes that would clash with your decor otherwise. It will also offer guidance for narrowing down your choices if you are having trouble in that area.

how to choose wood flooring

1. Dark and light woods rarely coordinate. Stay away from blending light and dark wood finishes that touch each other, such as baseboards and flooring. They do not coordinate, and the color shift is too drastic when wood is the focal point in the room. In fact, the aesthetic value becomes so low that it takes away from the value of your house to mix woods within the same space when the colors are not the same or very similar.

2. Dark woods look great with light color palettes. To break up a very light decor style, dark wood flooring is a very good choice. Choose your wood flooring based on the room’s decor, and the most important choice is whether to go with the flow, such as light with light colors, or go against the grain, dark with light or light with dark. As long as you are not mixing the wood finishes, you can do a lot with colors against your wood flooring.

3. Light woods and contemporary decor are difficult to match. Many top designers recommend pairing dark woods with contemporary design styles or avoiding wood flooring altogether in favor of laminate, slate, tile, or other modern options. Wood and metal are rarely a good combination, although wood and glass or wood and fabrics are very easy to coordinate. The lighter woods tend to clash with the cool color palette of the contemporary design style, but the darker ones are manageable with the right shades.

4. Stay away from light colors if you have small children or pets. Light wood finishes show dirt and other debris very easily, and although dark can show it too, most experts agree that dark works better than light in this case. As a matter of fact, many decor experts say that real hardwoods are not a good idea at all when you have small children or indoor pets, so avoid them altogether in these cases. Instead, choose a laminate that looks like wood flooring with a color you love instead of real hardwood since it is far more durable and easier to clean and maintain.

5. Use a color wheel if you have any doubts. Many home improvement stores offer color strips that feature dark, medium, and light versions of most colors, and some even have wood samples to compare. Do not take the risk of colors and textures that do not coordinate, choose your colors with a lot of research and some expert advice when necessary. This can be a great way to save time and money as you renovate your home, making sure that you get the biggest return possible on your investment.

Professional designer Jessica Ackerman, writes for WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, and specializes in decorating with contemporary metal wall art and large wood wall art.