Darker floors are better suited for larger rooms and open floor plans. Another seemingly unrelated factor to consider is how often you clean your floors. Light hardwood flooring can hide small flaws, dirt, and debris, but anything larger will be very noticeable.
Greige and white oak are two of the most popular choices for hardwood flooring when it comes to house resale. They provide timeless elegance and neutrality, making them ideal for any home. Greige is a mixture of gray and beige, creating a subtle tone that can fit into any color palette or design style.
Light floors can hide small flaws, dirt, and debris, but anything larger will be very noticeable. Dark floors, on the other hand, can require less maintenance since dirt tends to blend in more –but keep in mind they will still need to be swept often as dust and pet hair shows up easily on dark floors.
Best known as the traditional color of hardwood flooring, shades of brown are still as popular as ever. Much like tan-toned hardwood, brown flooring is suited for any aesthetic. Lighter tones can set the basis of a neutral design, while deeper tones have the power to convey depth and luxury.
There are certain colors of hardwood floor that never go out of style. Neutral shades such as light brown, gray, and black are timeless classics that will look good for years to come.
Even when the dark hardwood trend ends, dark hardwood flooring never goes out of style and is considered a timeless classic. Dark hardwood floors also hardly show dirt or scratches. This is ideal for families with children who might track in dirt from time to time or pets that might scratch up the floors.
Are Light Wood Floors in Style? The truth is that light hardwood floors will never go out of style. However, some shades are more popular than others. One reason is that they are neutral, offering decorators more options when finishing a room.
Neutral tones like honey, cream, and white will be top choices in 2023. These colors will work well with almost any decor style.
A good rule of thumb is that more delicate pieces of furniture go well with lighter floors, while heavier pieces match better with dark woods. This will help you preserve balance in the room so that everything gets its chance to shine within the space.
If so, you might be wondering, Should wood floors be lighter or darker than cabinets? Luckily, there is no right or wrong answer here. Light-color hardwoods look excellent with dark wood cabinets, and vice versa. On the other hand, matching the colors isn't out of the question, either.
Floors with a white finish go with almost everything. A light burlap-like color is a great choice because you still get a light floor, without installing a truly “white” floor.
1) Light and dark flooring
Choosing lighter coloured flooring to compliment your furniture can expand the perceived size of any room and can open the space right up. Think cream carpets, natural and neutral toned tiles and whitewashed wood flooring.
Light color flooring tends to brighten up a space and make it feel larger. Bright and creamy floor tones can help modernize a small room, adding an element of airiness. Be sure to snag as much natural light as you can or install warm artificial lights to make your small space as attractive and inviting as possible.
You may have already guessed it, but the floor with the highest resale value is hardwood. Since hardwood is always in demand, it is an easy choice to up level your home.
We often work with homeowners who feel the urge to pick a different flooring for every room of their home, but there is absolutely no need to do this. Your home will look best if you create one consistent look that travels from room to room. Avoid contrast.
Best stain colors for wood floors…if you're about to sell your home. If you're selling your home, you want to go with the most popular colors, and those would be very dark browns, followed by very light shades (i.e. natural).
Dark hardwood floors also tend to show less dirt than lighter hardwood floors, making them a great choice for high-traffic areas or homes with pets and children. However, they can also make a room feel smaller and more closed in, which can be a drawback for those who want to create a more open and airy space.
It's a misconception that dark wood floors constrict our sense of space. Paired with the right combination of wall color, trim, and molding, darker species like walnut and exotic Brazilian cherry can, in fact, make a room look bigger.
There are no hard or fast rules when it comes to whether your floor should be lighter or darker than your cabinets, but as a general rule of thumb, use darker floors with light cabinetry and vice versa. When it comes to striking the right balance between your kitchen cabinets and your floor, contrast is a useful tool.
ARE GRAY-WASH WOOD OR WOOD-LOOK FLOORS STILL TRENDY? Heck no. The gray trend started about eight-ten years ago, and while it's had a GREAT run, its time is up. These days, instead of gray-wash floors, my clients are leaning into more natural woods in light to medium depths.
It's unsurprising to us that the most popular color for floors is grey, and in particular, grey wood, like that shown above. Grey flooring is the ultimate neutral – easy to co-ordinate and color scheme around, dark enough not to show the dirt, and yet pale enough to reflect light.
The satin sheen is the most popular finish for hardwood floors. This hardwood floor sheen has about 40% luster and is easy to keep clean. This level of sheen disperses light and doesn't show all of the imperfections or dirt.
According to design experts, the best wall colors for light hardwood flooring are cooler white, neutral off-whites, and soft grays. Avoid warm neutrals with yellow or brown pastel undertones that clash with warmer light flooring tones.
We often recommend light colors to give the room an airy feel. For example, blonde, light brown, or whitewashed hardwood can make the room seem more open. Tiles and laminate in lighter neutral colors like light gray can also create that airy and bright feeling as they reflect rather than absorb light.
Choose Light Colored Flooring
A light hardwood like pine or oak will add plenty of appeal to a darker room and expand the space to feel more open. Many homeowners feel that lighter hard surface flooring coordinates with a more contemporary design, but it can also work with a traditional look.