Most styles go in and out of popularity, but hardwood floors are perfectly timeless. From the incredible options of stains and textures, to the many ways you can match them with other patterns, fabrics, and materials, hardwood floors are king. View our signature Natural Face flooring options to enhance texture, depth and visual movement to your home's interior.
If you're new to this type of flooring: don't worry! There are tons of things you can do to style your home around it! These are some of the best ways.
1. Gorgeous Patterned Wallpaper
Patterned wallpaper is back in style, and with it comes the responsibility to know when it's too much clutter, and when it's perfect. When hardwood floors come into play, and you start looking at wallpaper for textured walls, you may be nervous about trying patterns, but don’t let this scare you away!
Muted patterns of no more than two colors and large print, can look amazing with wood floors. Too many intimate details above a floor with a clear intricate grain can be overwhelming, but large printed patterns can look fantastic.
2. Natural Lighting to Stun
Natural light is king, and it doesn't stop for hardwood flooring. In order to match the energy that hardwood puts out, consider adding more windows, or updating the ones you have. This could mean looking into bay window ideas for living rooms or considering cutting out larger windows in rooms that need more light. Natural light is fantastic at catching the grain in natural wood, which shows how beautiful it is and that it's real solid wood instead of laminated floors.
3. Well-Placed Thoughtful Rugs
One concern some people have about natural wood floors is that they can be cold at times. To counteract this, place rugs thoughtfully throughout your home. Please don't get a giant rug and place it in the center of the room, instead, treat each rug like a framed picture on a large wall. Place them in ways that make sense, coordinating color and shape.
Choose rugs that have a soft fabric that's comfortable on your feet, and matches your aesthetics. Of course, if you're still uncomfortable with cold floors you can have in-floor heating installed to keep your feet toasty!
4. Beautiful Rich Stained Pieces
The rest of the furniture in your home that has wood doesn't have to match the floor's stain exactly, but it should be in a similar tone of warmth. This means that if you have cool-colored floors that look almost gray, it's important that you go for that with the rest of your furniture. Likewise, furniture wood stain colors matching the floor’s warmth is important to avoid it clashing and looking cluttered.
If you already have pieces that have wood, but they don't complement each other, consider stripping their stain and refinishing them! This process isn't as scary as it sounds, and if the piece isn't an antique it's painless to update a piece so that your home matches well and flows together!
5. Matching Color Schemes
Color changes a lot about how we experience the world around us. From the color red making us feel hungry to the color blue being calming and refreshing: consider how the colors in your home will play against the color of your hardwood floors.
You don't have to take a course in color theory to understand this; thankfully the basics are pretty easy to grasp. The most popular color schemes are complementary, where color is the near or complete opposite against the color of your floor- like a soft teal color against warm-toned wood floors, or monochromatic where you would include red and warm purples with those floors.
Think about what speaks to you, and if you're stumped, don't be afraid to take a picture of your living room and edit in furniture or edit the color of your furniture and floor until you find a combination that suits you. Of course, not everyone has to follow this rule, but it's a quick cheat to ensure your decor looks perfect against your floors.
6. Fantastic Trim and Design
The trim throughout your home will decide a lot about how others view it. For instance, wood doors with white trim make the doors stand out more, and pop against wood flooring. Every piece of your home is another puzzle piece that can decide how others will perceive it and how comfortable you are in it.
Matching your trim to the color of your floors or doors is something you can do if you like the look, but switching it up can make every room's entrance pop a little more and give it a fresh look that will stay stylish for years to come.
Hardwood Floors are a Dream Come True
Hardwood floors are one of the most timeless looks a home can have. Not only does it make a space feel more put together and luxurious, but it also offers the chance to have a unique spin on color and texture. Let your hardwood floors inspire you!
Natalie Akins is an editor for the Innovative Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. She is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.