Dear Danica, What Color Of Wood Floors Would Look Best With My Wood Walls?

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Dear danica,

I have some paneling on two walls of the interior. I’m having a hard time deciding which color of wood floor tile I should pick.

– Abigail

I would just like to go on record and say that I will never get tired of vertical planks. Wood or painted…it’s an instant yes in my book. Your home is beautiful and even without furniture or flooring, it exudes character and charm. 10/10.

Let me offer some options and food for thought before I get to my personal opinion of a wood floor color.

I don’t know what your interior style is, but what you have done so far would allow you to go a number of directions in terms of overall style. Modern, 70’s, rustic, California casual…the paneling would work for all of those. The color of the flooring you choose for your home will potentially steer your home style in one direction. But more on that later…

What color of wood floors look best with wood walls?

Generally I prefer to mix light, medium, and dark wood when there are multiple shades of wood in the home. It creates a level of division between the floors, walls and furniture. For example, pairing light wood floors with medium wood walls and dark wood furniture allows each color to shine. (I would consider your wood walls a medium shade.)

That being said, you don’t have to follow that rule. You could absolutely pair medium wood floors with medium wood walls if you have a rug and furniture to break up the continuation of the same wood color.

The one thing you should do is make sure you’re keeping with one tone in every shade of wood you use. All wood in your home should either have warm undertones (yellow, orange, and red) or cool undertones (gray, blue, black, or green). For example, your walls have warm undertones so all additional wood you add to your home should also have warm undertones.

HOW THE COLOR OF WOOD FLOORS CAN DICTATE THE STYLE OF YOUR HOME

As I mentioned above, I don’t know what direction you want to go in terms of overall design style, but the flooring color you choose can steer your home in one direction or the other.

Light wood flooring generally brings a modern touch to a home. Medium wood can lean really any direction – traditional, rustic, modern, etc. And dark wood floors bring a rustic or traditional style to the home. Which style would you like to lean into?

Of course your furniture, lighting, and fabric choices will be the ultimate deciding factor for your interior style, but the flooring can either align with your design style or branch from it to introduce a second or third style.

SHOULD THE COLOR OF YOUR WOOD FLOORS MATCH THE CEILING BEAMS?

The third thing to consider is your wood beams. I noticed in the first photo that you have dark ceiling beams and they compliment your walls well.

Often, I like to mimic the same or similar color from the ceiling beams to the floor. Medium wood beams with medium wood floors. Dark wood beams with dark wood floors. Again, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, and it doesn’t have to be a perfect match, but this is a way of providing balance within a space.

HERE’S WHAT I WOULD DO

Ok now for my personal opinion. I really love the color of your medium wood walls and if you were to go with dark wood floors, it could make the whole space feel really dark…too dark in my opinion. Light wood floors would pair well with your walls, but with the modern bones that your home already has, it might be nice to introduce a secondary style.

I would lean towards a medium colored wood floor with warm undertones that has plenty of knots and grains. Something that has character built in. It’s the unexpected choice that would keep you on your toes…which I love! And best of all, it still allows you to go any direction you want for the interior style.

Those are my thoughts, but of course I encourage you to do what you feel is best!

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