Wood floors come in so many different species, sizes, finishes, and shades that you could install different flooring in every room of your home. Many homes now create each room with a unique design. You might choose a clean (less natural character) floor or a rustic character floor to create the ambience of your room. However, your choices don’t end with the wood floor itself. If you want your flooring to accentuate the style and feel of each and every room, you should consider the visual impact of its natural color and variations as well the floor board size on its surroundings. Will it enhance the furniture, wall color, fabrics and cabinetry? Will all of the room’s contents work together to create a seamless and inviting space? Keep the following tips in mind as you decide how to furnish and finish the rooms that will have wood flooring.

Choose the right color shade

If you already have your furnishings — for example, a dining table or focus piece in the living room — then you’ll want to assure that the flooring in that room complements the anticipated décor and existing furnishings. If there’s any exposed wood in your furniture, determine the most dominant shade. You may decide to choose a natural floor color or stain a floor species that either blends or contrast the dominant shade. Note fabric colors and wall color, too. Your floor will reflect the predominate colors in your paint and fabric choices. As a general rule darker wood shades match natural colors like olive green, taupe and pale yellow, but you should choose a medium tone to accentuate lighter red shades or cream colors. Lighter specie colors or white washes can provide a dramatic contrast.

Avoid optical illusions

The size and color of your wood floor boards can affect how a room is perceived. Lighter wood floors accentuate the lines and unique character of a home. Generally, lighter wood tones make rooms feel more spacious and airy optically keeping the walls and ceiling at maximum distance. Dark tones, on the other hand, can make a large space feel more dramatic and intimate. However, the relationship between furnishings and flooring also changes the visual impact and emotional mood of a room. Open, airy, minimalist decor is made up visit web of similar varied shades but similar textures and shapes. For a truly modern effect, pick a room with plenty of natural light and choose one wood species — maple or Southern pine, for example — in everything from the flooring to all exposed furniture wood and tabletops.

Capitalize on contrast

Have you chosen a dark, deep shade for a common area, such as the natural color of wenge or black walnut for a dining or family room? A darker wood floor is a sophisticated element that gets even more powerful alongside white or lighter accents. Choose cabinetry and furniture in lighter finishes to take advantage of this dramatic contrast and counteract the darkness of the space. Certainly the reverse can be true, a natural ash, maple, or hickory floor contrast well with darker furnishings and accents. Contrast can provide sharper focus to room accents and furnishings.

Don’t match your cabinetry

The final rule of thumb when it comes to styling each room is to avoid the urge to match all wood cabinetry and case goods. From kitchen cupboards to medicine cabinets and built-in bookshelves, many homeowners are tempted to find doors and shelves that are the same stain or species as their wood floors. The effort to achieve this match is often not successful and results in the “almost but not quite” result. Visually matching wood flooring and cabinetry exactly the same color can blur the lines of where flooring stops and cabinet begins. Remember your perception of color – even on the same specie – changes from horizontal to vertical. Wood furnishings should be “complemented” but rarely matched with your wood flooring.

Complementing your cabinetry and furnishings with contrasting or graded shades of existing wood can accentuate the lines and angles of your room and highlight the room décor.