Your house is not just any other space, it’s the place you call home. It’s the place where you seek comfort after rough days and where you have celebrations after successes.
The way your home looks plays a big role in how you feel. That’s precisely why you should make an informed decision on the colors of your walls.
Let’s face it, choosing the right color can be a tough decision. All of those paint manufacturers don’t make the decision easier either. After all, each of them has over 100 color options.
What you need to take into consideration is the color of your wooden floor. After all, it’s the second biggest surface in the room!
Now you might think I’ve complicated the situation by adding those floors to the equation, but it’s simpler than you can imagine. Just sit back and keep reading as I break down all the possible combinations for you. By the end of it, you’ll get the best color on your walls for your wooden floor.
- Know your Undertones
- Matching Wood Floors to Walls
- Other Approaches to Matching Wooden Floors to Walls
- Tips and Combinations
- The Conclusion
Know your Undertones
Now, I can’t teach you the art of combinations if you don’t know the basics, which in this case are the wooden floor undertones. So to start, there are 2 types of undertones: Warm undertones and cool undertones.
To keep it simple, warm undertones are more along the lines of brown, orange, yellow, and red. A good way to remember this is to think of sunsets.
As for cool undertones, they resemble black, blue, gray, and silver. The easy way to remember these is to think of rocks by the river bank where some might be wet and dark gray while others are dry and light gray.
Based on their intensity, both warm and cool undertones can have light and dark colors.
By now you’re probably tempted to check your floor undertone, so here’s a tip: try picking up items that are similar in color to your floor. This could be a pebble, a gray shirt, black jeans, or even brown shoes. This will help you out in distinguishing whether the floor has a warm or cool undertone.
Oh, and if you happen to see a stain on your floor, don’t rub it off immediately with some detergent. Check out our guide on cleaning wooden floors with the right chemical.
Matching Wood Floors to Walls
Remember the golden rule, contrast always wins! At least that’s my take on matching wood floors to walls. It simply means that you have to pair up your warm undertone wood floor with a cool undertone wall paint.
As you’ve already figured out, if you have a cool undertone floor, stick with a warm undertone wall paint.
If you give it a thought, it makes sense. Having the same colored wall and floor is sure to be dull. Remember what I said about the look of your house impacting your mood? No one wants to feel uninspired because of a flat-looking room.
Just imagine standing in a white-colored room with a white floor. You’d probably feel like you’re outside the doctor’s office in a hospital!
The contrast rule seeks harmony between the intensity of your warm undertone floor and cool undertone walls, or vice versa, to set your mood to whatever you want to feel like.
Another consideration to keep in mind here is to make a match according to the type of room you’re planning for. Different rooms require different moods (for example, a kids’ playroom should be light and airy, while a formal dining room could be dark and moody) so there are always a lot of combinations for you to play with in your home.
Other Approaches to Matching Wooden Floors to Walls
While I’d always advocate for the contrast rule, I’ve found other approaches to help you out. Not everyone’s tastes are the same; however, these approaches are sure to suit all tastes.
Neutrals
Neutrals are probably the safest way to go as they compliment most wood floor undertones and furniture colors. A great way to set your room with these walls is to use bold colors in your curtains and your sofa/chair colors. That way the room won’t look bland.
Light and Dark
Now, here’s a great way to match those 2 surfaces. It’s like a new way to look at the contrast rule. The approach is simple, you use the same or different undertones but keep contrast in their intensities (e.g light blue walls with a dark gray wood floor).
Another thing to note is the fact that there are medium wood floors as well. These colors are neither too light nor too dark. Hence they provide great flexibility in choosing your wall color.
Tips and Combinations
Now that we’ve established the basics and know our approaches, let’s look at some combinations that work well together and some you should avoid. Maybe you’ll find a great combination for your wood floor down here.
A word to the wise, if you’re the type to consider resale price then you might want to learn what color of hardwood floor is best for resale before proceeding.
Dark Hardwood Floor Combinations
Dark hardwood floors are a popular choice in modern homes. It won’t be wrong to say that it’s been brought back into recent trends as dark wood floors can be found in old age homes dating back 200 years.
These floors will have a cool undertone and it is wise to bring some degree of warmth to your room by balancing it out with warm undertone walls and vice versa. A word of caution for all dark wood lovers; scratches tend to stand out. Hence, be extra careful in shifting furniture and when pets are around.
Dark Brown Floors with Warm Neutrals
Here’s a great example of mixing dark brown wood floors with a light warm cream-colored wall. See how it complements and balances the heaviness of the floor with its light touch?. Furthermore, the furniture follows the same pattern with its covers.
Dark Gray / Black Floors with Neutrals
Picking neutral colors to go with your dark gray or nearly black wood floors is a great idea. The bright walls will reflect the light in the room while the dark floor will absorb it, preserving the right balance of brightness for your eye.
Light Wood Floor Combinations
You’d probably find most houses these days with light hardwood combinations, which can either be light gray in color (cool undertone) or light brown (warm undertone). It’s the safer choice if you have pets or move heavy things around the house often as scratches tend to blend in with the colors.
Gray Walls and Light Brown Floors
Gray walls with light brown floors are a great way to go. Notice how one color is light and the other is dark, though not too dark. A medium-intensity wall fits well into the room.
Blue Walls with Light Brown or Light Gray Floors
Another interesting combination is that of blue walls and light brown floors. Overall the room tends to have a cool aura that can be balanced out with some warm-colored furniture like in the picture above.
Medium Color Floor Combinations
Probably the most versatile ones of the group. The medium colors tend to go with a variety of combinations. Probably the only thing to look out for is wall colors of the same intensity.
Medium Floors with Beige Walls
This style tends to sit well with the slight warmth provided by the floors. Notice how the curtains also add a different color to the mix to balance out the room temperature. Beige walls are an increasingly popular choice these days as well.
Medium Floors and Green Walls
A few years ago no one would’ve thought to ever paint their walls green. In more recent times, however, it has proven to be quite an interesting color in combination with medium, dark, as well as light hardwood floors.
Cherry Wood Floor Combinations
A timeless favorite, cherry wood floors truly give the warmth and heaviness that anyone can accept. Though a bit tricky to pull off and prone to visible scratches, cherry wood floors truly stand out from the rest.
Cherry Wood Floors and Beige / Light Blue Walls
A perfect combination to go with light blue or beige walls, the cherry wood floor has the right warmth to give out to the room without the need for the help of furniture or curtains.
Cherry Wood Floors and Gray Walls
I think this sets the right mood for any bedroom. A gray back wall surrounded by 3 light gray walls and a cherry floor underneath is a clear winner!
A Match Made in Heaven
I hope you enjoyed this guide and discovered combinations you’ve never heard of or seen before. By now I’m sure you can map out a stepwise plan to choose the right wall for your wooden floor to set a great mood. I’d love to know more about the match you’ve made so don’t forget to let me know down below!
