When it’s time to redesign your home with hardwood flooring, you first have to take into account how the floor’s undertones will impact the room’s appearance and functionality. If you’re considering painting your walls a new color, how will you achieve the look you want, whether a dramatic contrast or a cohesive, subtle design? Here’s how you can choose the best paint colors for your new hardwood floors for that wow factor you’ve been looking for.
Tips to Keep in Mind
As you consider which paint colors to choose, here are some tips to guide you:
- Go neutral: Neutral-colored walls will match any wood flooring, as well as furniture and decor. You can’t go wrong with white, off-white, gray and cream. If you want to liven things up, add some bold curtains, bright furniture and vibrant throw pillows to give some pizzazz to the space.
- Use contrast: To achieve a bold, dramatic design, go with a wall color that’s on the opposite end of the color wheel. Tip: contrast cool tones with warmer ones.
- Select a matching shade: Consider the undertones in your hardwood flooring planks, choosing colors in the same palette for a warmer, more cohesive look.
- Think about your furniture and decor colors: Take a look at the color of your furniture and décor, selecting contrasting or complementary colors for your walls.
- Add an accent wall: It’s a good idea to paint an accent wall a different color than the other walls for a dramatic effect. Now you can be creative without having to commit to the entire room in a bold color.
Light Wood Floors
If you have light hardwood flooring, you don’t want to compromise the bright, inviting atmosphere they create. You want to keep that spacious feel, so go with neutral and light tones for both the walls and trim. Check out the colors that complement light hardwood floors the most:
- White/off-white: White walls are neat, clean and crisp, allowing you to easily match your floors, furniture and decor. If stark white is too glaring for you, go with an off-white for a touch of warmth and color.
- Gray: There are many tints of gray to choose from, with neutral gray being the perfect combination of black and white. This color matches everything, whether you’re going for warm or cool undertones.
- Beige: Light beige walls will highlight your floor color in a subtle way, blending well with warm-colored flooring.
- Taupe: A combo of brown and dark gray, taupe acts as the foundation for your entire design, making any room appear larger.
- Greige: This color combines gray and beige in a subtler tone than its taupe counterpart, resulting in a bright, tranquil atmosphere.
Dark Wood Floors
Dark hardwood flooring can be paired with light wall colors for a pleasant contrast. First, think about the room’s light source, as you’ll need lots of natural or artificial light to ensure the space doesn’t get too dark. The paint colors that go best with dark floors include:
- White, off-white, cream: Again, as with light wood floors, you can’t go wrong with neutral wall colors for the ultimate in sophistication and timelessness.
- Gray: Gray does a great job of complementing dark wood floors with black undertones.
- Greige: This is a universal color that matches all flooring hues.
- Bright colors: From blues to greens to red, go bold with a vibrant color to offset the rich tones of your dark wood floors.
Gray Wood Floors
Gray hardwood flooring is getting more and more popular in homes, so consider these colors for the walls:
- Blue: This color will help you achieve a relaxing, serene atmosphere, particularly with the cool tones of navy or ice blue.
- White: Pure white walls are refreshing, but try to stay away from off white, as the yellow undertones tend to clash with gray flooring.
- Dusty green: Sage and pale greens with gray undertones result in a calm atmosphere you can truly relax in.
Cherry Wood Floors
Cherry hardwood requires a bold wall color to complement its vibrancy. Here are some ideas:
- White or off-white: White is clean and crisp, resulting in a stark contrast between dark cherry floors and your walls. If you want a muted tone, go with off-white or cream.
- Green: You can’t go wrong with most shades of dark green but avoid those with yellow undertones.
- Blue: Blue walls lead to a sense of serenity and calm.
- Red or terracotta: These accent colors are warm and inviting, but consider they could close up a room due to the dark nature of flooring as well.
If you need help choosing a wall paint color, just ask your hardwood flooring designer for advice!
Contact Designer Wood Flooring
To get a quote and consultation on installing new hardwood floors, and which shades would best complement your home, contact us at 830-228-4866.
