Choosing and painting the suitable color to your walls and wood floors not only open up the area of your house but also dilate the pupil your eyes and widen your heart. The best colors and their contrast can value your house and make it worth-living.
To cope up such problems people often wonder in the search how to match wall color with wood floor and whether the walls should be of lighter tone or darker tone than wood floor. All it needs a best match, if it works it may give you an aesthetic appeal. If you paint your house with mismatched colors it may close the area and the odd look may increase your discomfort.
There is no such rule or formula but some choices and tricks may work effectively, this article discusses all the possible matching of your wall and wood floor color.
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Table of Contents
Understanding Basic Terminologies
The article will use some terminologies like tone, undertone, overtone and hue that would be better to know before going in the depth of the matching wall color with wood floor. Tone is often misunderstood and interchangeably used with different things but in its very nature, it is the lightness of a color.
It is inevitable to give and get the appropriate tone and you can achieve it by mixing one neutral color to another. As the names indicate Overtone is the dominancy of paint when two are mixed, the suppressive one is undertone. If you give a try to mix blue and green, the former will be seen very easily while the later will be invisible. The prominent visibility of the blue is overtone while the dim visibility or all most invisibility of green is undertone.
Color, Shades & Hues
Another important thing is hue that is the color or shade, primary colors like blue, yellow, orange and green is hues. If you mix green and blue colors it will make turquoise which is hue of both the colors. There are also some undertones namely cool, warm and neutral.
If a color appears as blue, green or purple it can assumed as cool undertone. Warm undertone includes colors like yellow, orange and red. The neutral is the moderate and can be achieved by mixing the warm and cool. The neutral undertone is like the color of skin.
Matching Wall Color with Wood floor - Ideal Contrasts
The one inevitable and widely accepted contrast is that of light and dark, the dark color appears as if the room or the house is a little bit of smaller than light color. Lights color is more eye-catching and opens up the area of the house. If you have a room of wide area and are directly exposed to the natural light then you can go for the dark color.
But the contrast we are talking about is that of black and white, more strictly speaking dark and light. This will give a classy and everlasting look to your house. If you are interested in medium-tone floors then the best options for your walls must be white and neutral color. The pale green or coral like colors may complement cherry floors.
Considerations For Paints - How to Match Wall Color with Wood Floor
Buying paints are very much expensive now a day and may cost more than you think and choosing the inappropriate colors that do not complement each other may lead to discomfort and disturbance. Thus, the questions of how to match wall color with wood floor has gained significance.
The first and foremost thing is asking yourself for your desirous feel and look which are modern, historic, classic and traditional. Then pick colors that complement the wood undertones, check the wall color whether it works with the furniture or not and test a little bit of color on a wall before painting the house. These basics considerations with details are the following:-
i). Pick colors that Complement the Wood Undertones
After deciding which look fascinates you now choose the colors that match the wood undertones. If the wood floor is desired to give warm undertones then you can go for red, orange, brown or yellow. If it is expected to be cool undertones then colors must be blue, purple or sometimes grey.
For cohesive-look choose the same color paints while for high-contrast the walls should be undertone with the floor. Always remember a general rule that opt the paint that is 3 shades lighter than the floor.
ii). Matching Wall Color Works with Furniture
People often ignore the furniture color and paint the walls which look odd and then they face difficulty in changing the color. Always take into consideration the color of your bed, table, shelves, etc. and pick the one that complement each other.
Place a swatch of color and match with that of furniture is quite simple logic. For instance, If the furniture of your house is of dark color then the walls must be painted with light color.
iii). Testing Colors before Painting the entire wall
There are two methods of checking or testing the color to observe the contrast before purchasing paints.
The first one is visit a paint store and fetch some color swatches, put it on the wall and observe either it works or not.
The second one is get a little bit of color and paint a small area of a wall and check the results, for the better results apply twice the color to ensure the contrast.
The later method is the most appropriate and should be privileged over the former.
Light Colored Wall Match Will Light Wood Floors
The significance of matching the light color for walls to the light wood floors is inevitable, to look the area more wide and bright. Experts often recommend the light walls and light wood floors for libraries, school and college classrooms, religious places, living rooms of elder and children, courts, offices, hospitals, secretariats and many more.
Matching Wall Colors with Wood Floor
While matching the color of walls with that of the floor is one the toughest task to do but once you master the following tricks and method it will a piece of cake for you. There are only two widely accepted basics tricks; balance light and dark and try opposite undertones.
Always try light and dark hues but they must differ in tones and apply this trick to the whole room and match the hue of wood floor with the overall color scheme to achieve cohesive look.
In addition to it, the dark color appears as if the room or the house is a little bit of smaller than light color. Lights color is more eye-catching and opens up the area of the house. If you have a room of wide area and are directly exposed to the natural light then you can go for the dark color. To match light, dark, medium tone and cherry floor the recommended wall color are the discussed below.
A). Wall Colors for Light Wood Floors
As mentioned two or three times that light color has the capacity to show the owner of a property more wide than usual, it is because its unique property. In this era people tend more to make their floors light colored, particularly the trend is increasing in the US. If your floor is light colored it is easy to match with the wall color.
Exterior designers and design experts are the view that the most suitable wall colors for the light colored floor are white, grey and off white. The warm neutrals are also opted like yellow, brown, beige etc. The benefits of light floor are the ease in cleaning, if you rearing any pet in your house like cat or dog and experiencing hairs in the floor, then light color is best for you. Also if the paws of the pets scratch the floor, these will be not prominently visible.
i). White or Cream to Match Wall Color
The first option to paint your wall if you have light wood floor is the white, it will give the most classic and everlasting look to your home. To get the not the pure warm but rather a slight warm, use blindly Decorator's White. The pure white will give you the cooler blue undertone.
Cream has the property of softening the pallet and will give natural feel. White and grey can help you in giving the more unified look to your house, if you need somehow deeper tone with a vibrant look then use the above blue or green with the white, cream and grey.
ii). Use of Neutrals to Match Wall Color with Wood Floor
The neutral colors are very effective in giving you the natural feel and a heaven-like look. If you paint the walls of your rooms with the neutral colors and the floor is already light colored it will feel you sophisticated. If you are fond of the cohesive tone never ever skip the neutrals to match your light floors, it will avoid the discomfort and odd feelings.
For instance, the Alexandra Beige and Winter Solstice grey are effective for the cool undertones. The agreeable Gray is particularly for the creating the warm undertone.
iii). Matching of Muted Colors with Wood Floor
The paints with dulled color effects are the muted, also known as of low de-saturated colors. These colors are of less saturation and their brightness intensity is declined by mixing the grey colors with the. Vivid colors which are saturated colors are their opposite.
You can use Sage Wisdom to achieve the cool green undertone, to get the orange use Cavern clay and for the blue opt for Slate Blue.
iv). Use of Dark Blue or Charcoal to Match with Wood Floor
Dark blue or Charcoal colors are also matched with the light color floors, people of the modern era use this combination for modernity. Wall of malls, shops etc. are painted with such colors Dark blue and charcoal to get the vibrant feel.
The Indigo Batik gives cool undertones, Peppercorn is used to get the warmer the undertones while for the cool grey effect Graphic Charcoal is applied to the walls in contrast of light wood floors.
B). Wall Colors for Medium Wood Floors
The medium wood floors are a little bit darker than the light wood floors, the color of these floors resembles with the rich walnut. The best match for such floors are again the white color or the lighter colors, give the versatile feel with eye-catching environment.
The colors like dusty green, cool blues, and white with neutrals are recommended. The colors to avoid and are not appropriate for the medium wood floors are all type of beige colors and are not the best match.
i. Use of White or Neutral Grey to Match with Wood Floor
The White or Neutral Grey with the medium wood floor creates the warm undertones. For instance, the Westhgh land White gives the warm cream tone, to get a slight warm not deep go for Agreeable Gray. If you are desirous of the cool or warm undertones the only choose the Alabaster.
ii. Use of Warm Yellows for Matching
For warm undertones Yellow family is always ready, here the scenario is also the same. But this time the medium wood floor is just a made in heaven match for the warm undertones created by yellow. To get slight warm undertones the Hawthorne Yellow is the only option, warmer undertones is brought by Fun yellow and the cool undertone can be expected from Lighthouse Landing yellow only.
iii. Pastels and Matching of Color Scheme
If you are new to colors, must be wondering about the pastel colors that what these are. The pastels is a unique family and have enough white to give the soft texture. The famous among them are the millennial pink, mint, whimsy etc. but the matching colors of them with the medium wood floors are the Icy Mint which creates the cool green undertones, the warm will be obtained from the Gentle Gray while the cooler purple undertone can be observed with the Inspired lilac.
iv. Matching with Cool Blues & Greens
The blues and greens are used mostly in studios and coffee shops to get the vintage feelings. These were outdated but in this modern world people have started using it again. For the blue undertones the Aleutian is recommended, the pale earthy green can be expected from Liberty Park and the cool green with the blue undertones can be obtained from the Spring Mint.
C). Wall Colors for Matching with Dark Wood Floors
The Crisp Whites and lighter neutral shades of walls are the perfect match for the dark wood floors. The dark wood floor are vintage and gives the classic feel if perfectly match with the right and appropriate colors of the walls, the beauty and feel of this combination would be inevitable.
The colors to be avoided with the dark wood floor are the dark ones on account of the closing effect, the area will look so close. You can do it only in the case if the walls to be painted with the dark color in contrast of the dark floor are directly exposed to the natural light.
i. Use of White or Cream for the Matching
As mentioned earlier that the white cream will the perfect match if the wood floor is dark in color, the contrast would be an ideal. To get the slight and bright warm undertone the Decorator’s White is the best fit, the warm neutral undertones would be possible with Alabaster, and the agreeable Gray will give the neutral shades.
ii. Matching with Pastels
The pastels as defined in the previous section, is a unique family and have enough white to give the soft texture. Here we have Faraway Blue to give us pale cool undertones, Hawthorne Yellow to show the warm and sunny undertones and the Inner Peach is used to obtain the undertones which will be warm and cool light pink.
iii. Dark Blue or Gray to Match with Wood Floor
My favorite the dark blue or grey would be a vintage effect if used with the dark wood floors. In order to avoid the issue of lightening and the openness of the area it is often avoided but could be a best option for malls, coffee shops, and the room in which arts are exhibited.
To get the cool gray undertones the Mysterious will be chosen. The deep cool blue tone would be obtained with the Victory blue and if you need to experience the slightly warmer undertones then go for Slate Tile.
D). Wall Colors to Match with Cherry Hardwood Floors
The cherry wooden Floor is used to add warmth and brightness to the area. If the wood of cherry is polished it turn red and give a worth seeing effect to the observer. The best match for such floors is the cool undertones with light blue and grey.
The other matches are the neutral colors, cool blues and greens, pale yellows and the corals. All of these will brighten up the room if the wood Is cherry and will polished.
i. Matching with the Help of Neutral Colors
The neutrals colors like Chantilly Lace, Pashmina and Swiss Coffee give the pair undertone, warm cream undertones and the yellow undertone respectively. The neutral colors are mostly preferred over other with the cherry reddish wood floor.
ii. Cool Blues and Greens for the Matching
The cool blues and green are unique but not liked by everyone. The blues and greens are used mostly in studios and coffee shops to get the vintage feelings. These were outdated but in this modern world people have started using it again. To get the green cool tone use Greenfield and Misty blue. The warmer the most liked tone would be obtained with the Stargazer.
iii. Use of Pale Yellows and Corals for Matching
The Pale Yellows and Corals are the sometimes opted and are the best fit for the Cherry wood floor. The cherry wood floors are vintage and gives the classic feel if perfectly match with the right and appropriate colors of the walls, the beauty and feel of this combination would be inevitable.
Pale Coral will give the cool undertones, with Pineapple Cream the warm and yellow undertones can be obtained and the Firefly increases the undertones with the pale yellow effect.
Conclusion
To sum up, choosing and painting the suitable color to your walls and wood floors not only open up the area of your house but also dilate the pupil your eyes and widen your heart. In response to the question How to match wall color with wood floor; largely there are only two widely accepted basics tricks; balance light and dark and try opposite undertones.
Always try light and dark hues but they must differ in tones and apply this trick to the whole room and match the hue of wood floor with the overall color scheme to achieve cohesive look. Lights color is more eye-catching and opens up the area of the house. If you have a room of wide area and are directly exposed to the natural light then you can go for the dark color.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best color combination for floors and walls?
The best color combination for floors and the walls is that of light and dark. If one is dark the other must be light and vice versa. Lights color is more eye-catching and opens up the area of the house. If you have a room of wide area and are directly exposed to the natural light then you can go for the dark color.
Should wood floors be darker than walls?
Yes, the wood floor may be darker, but the walls should be necessarily light colored. The dark wood floor are vintage and gives the classic feel if perfectly match with the right and appropriate colors of the walls, the beauty and feel of this combination would be inevitable. The colors to be avoided with the dark wood floor are the dark ones on account of the closing effect.
What wall color goes good with dark wood floors?
The Crisp Whites and lighter neutral shades of walls are the perfect match for the dark wood floors. White cream, pastels, dark blue or grey, and light blue and grey will the perfect match if the wood floor is dark in color. The colors to be avoided with the dark wood floor are the dark ones on account of the closing effect, the area will look so close.
What colors go best with wooden floors?
There are only two widely accepted basics rules; balance light and dark and try opposite undertones. This will give a classy and everlasting look to your house. If you are interested in medium-tone floors then the best options for your walls must be white and neutral color. The pale green or coral like colors may complement cherry floors.
