Decorating your house is fun and exciting, and is a time of major change. When you’re painting your house you have a chance to express yourself and do what you want with your space. But if you have wooden floors, it can be difficult to coordinate your wall colors. And with the limited range of colors that wood offers, you might struggle to find colors that match.
But don’t worry! This article will not only help you figure out what colors go best with different types of wooden flooring, but also guide you through choosing the best color for you. So whether you’re redecorating your house or getting a new property ready to live in, we’ve got you covered. Let’s get started!
What Wood Floor Do You Have?
Before you can look at what color you should get for your walls, you need to know what will suit your floor. There are several different kinds of wood floor, with a range of colors, shades, and styles. Not every type of wooden floor will match a particular color, so the first thing you need to do is examine your floor. There are a few things you need to pay attention to.
The main difference that affects your choice of color is the type of wood your floor uses. Not every wood has the same color, and a pale wood won’t match the same color walls as a darker wood. Oak is the most commonly used wood for flooring, but maple and cherry are also popular choices. Maple is a lighter wood than oak, but cherry is much darker.
Other woods like ash and walnut also have different shades, so it’s important to know which wood your floors are made out of.
If you aren’t entirely sure what type of wood you have and can’t check, don’t worry. Simply looking at the shades of the wood is useful and helps narrow down what color walls to have.
The color of the wood is also important – most woods are various shades of brown, but some can be closer to yellow, orange, or red. You need to know the color as it will stop your walls from clashing.
Something else to consider, while not as important, is the finish. Most wood floors will be either hardwood or laminate, though you can occasionally get floors made of natural wood. While laminate floors are supposed to look like authentic wood, the finish can affect its appearance. Laminate floors also tend to be paler and modeled after a lighter wood such as oak.
Different Color Matchups
Now that you’ve figured out what wood you have, let’s take a look at the best color matches.
In terms of shade, you typically want the walls to be lighter than the floor. Rooms with light walls and dark floors seem more spacious. Therefore, darker woods work better with pale colors like white, or lighter shades.
You also need to consider the warmth of your color choice. Warmer tones can make for a more comfortable room, while cold colors may be uninviting.
If you’re choosing a color for a living room or somewhere you want to relax, a warmer color is definitely the way to go. And that doesn’t just mean something bright – colors like a soft red or pale magnolia will pair great with wood floors, particularly darker ones.
Darker woods tend to suit a wider range of wall colors, and can match stronger shades. Warm colors like a deep red or a rich green will work well depending on the shade of the wood. You can also use darker colors like slate or blue to great effect, and without making the room feel cold or small.
However, some woods are much lighter than others. Here, your choices are a bit more limited. Nonetheless, there are still plenty of great options available to you. Pale woods like ash or maple pair well with whites and light grays, as well as pale yellow or blue.
Most wooden floors are one or several shades of brown, and as such not every color will match. It’s important to use a complementary color for your wall so it doesn’t clash with the floor.
Complementary colors are colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel, and pair well together. Brown’s complementary colors are blues and greens, so darker browns will work well with these colors. However, many shades will also work with reds, yellows, and even some light shades of purple.
Something to bear in mind is that you shouldn’t have your walls be the same color or a similar color to your floor. This goes especially for lighter woods – matching a pale wood with white or light gray walls makes a room feel flat and uncomfortable.
Make sure you have some variation between the walls and the floor, and consider using a different color on highlighting walls if you have any.
Overall, there are a few things you need to bear in mind when choosing a wall color. Generally, the walls need to be lighter than the floor. You should also aim for a complementary color for the wall, and a warmer tone if possible. Lighter woods are harder to match but work well with whites, creams, and light grays. If you happen to have an accident during redecorating, then you might want to check out this article on how to remove paint from painted hardwood, just in case you’ve had a paint spillage.
What Wall Color Is Best For You?
To figure out what color to choose for your wall, you need to account for all the previously mentioned factors. Once you’ve identified the type of wood you have and the color of it, you need to consider the best color and shade wall to compliment it.
The most common wood used for flooring is oak, which is a more neutral shade that suits several colors. Oak floors work well with lighter shades of green, gray, or blue. You can also use some deeper shades of blue or red, as long as they are lighter than the wood.
If your floor is a darker wood like walnut or cherry, you can use a much wider range of colors. Various shades of blue and green (like turquoise or forest green) are great for darker floors, while stronger shades of red and yellow can also make a good choice. Not only that, but dark wood floors are also perfect for darker highlight colors.
Contrastingly, lighter floors have a more limited range of suitable matches. Your best bet is something like white, cream, or magnolia. However, you can also get away with a pale green or yellow.
Finally, some things may need a bit of extra consideration. If you’re using multiple colors of paint or patterned wallpaper, there are more colors that may clash with the floor. This goes for highlighting walls as well – in most cases, using a darker shade of the same color for these walls will keep things consistent.
Now you know how to match your wall color to your wooden floor, the only thing left to do now is get to decorating. Good luck!