When moving into a new home, flooring is one of the largest expenses you’ll have so therefore it is a decision that should be well considered. Make sure you invest in good-quality flooring that will stand the test of time. Choosing the right flooring for your home is important, but that’s only the first step.
A good guideline is that more delicate pieces of furniture go well with lighter floors, while heavier pieces match better with dark woods. This will help you preserve balance in the room so that everything gets its chance to shine within the space.
Every wood flooring choice opens the door to a range of design opportunities. Your warm-toned wood floor creates the perfect atmosphere to match with rugs, fireplaces, and other accessorised décor. On the other hand, cool-toned wood provides the perfect foundation for a sleek, modern design. No matter how you want to decorate, you can find a wood flooring option to match.
Make sure you end up with a room that looks and feels great with these tips for matching wood floors with furniture:
- Undertones – every wood floor has a warm, cool, or neutral undertone that defines the space. Warm tones (woods with yellow, orange, or red colourings) mix well with other warm-toned pieces. The same concept applies to cool-toned wood, which comes in various shades of grey. Neutral undertones, on the other hand, will match with both warm and cool tones.
- Floor Focus – your floor serves as the foundation of the room, which means it influences the look and feel of everything within that space. Design the room around the kind of atmosphere your floor creates. Warm-toned floors with visible grain patterns or bold character markings add a traditional, comfortable feel to your home. Bold textures and soft, plush pieces create a space that exudes warmth and cosiness.
- Industrial and metal looks – modern engineered wood flooring contrasts brilliantly with metal accents. You can create a unique industrial vibe with pieces that incorporate bronze, steel, or other raw materials. Lighter-coloured floors match well with dark furniture pieces, and vice versa. Glass pieces and other unique décor items also fit beautifully into a modern room.
- Contrast – this is one of the core rules of any style, 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 highly satisfying. Alternatively, lighter wood floors provide the perfect balance for darker furniture pieces. Without contrast, a room can appear monotonous, and smaller pieces easily become lost in the space. You can also use contrast to create a focal point in the room. For example, in a dining room, the table should be the centre of attention. You can make your focal point stand out by having it contrast with the flooring and other pieces in a room—such as having a dark wood table on lighter-coloured floors.
- Experiment with Matching – there are no hard and fast rules with home decoration. A choice that makes sense in one room may not work in another, so many factors to consider – lighting, size, use. If you don’t want to focus on creating contrast in a room, look for ways to match wood tones.
- Consider the Weight of the Room – when you have lighter wood floors you don’t want larger sturdier furniture pieces to overpower them. Similarly darker floors can swallow slimmer furniture. A good guideline is that more delicate pieces of furniture go well with lighter floors, while heavier pieces match better with dark woods.
Armed with these tips view our full collection of floors here.