One of our favourite reasons for choosing traditional wood flooring – aside from the value for money and easy maintenance – is the versatility.
There are many different decorating styles that go fantastically well with wooden floorboards, and it’s easy to make your room feel modern or more rustic, depending on what you prefer.
We hope that this list will show you just how easy it is to make wooden flooring one of the primary features of your home, and to bring a splash of your own personality into the room. If you’re not lucky enough to live in a home with this feature already, then you can also take the opportunity to consider which type of wooden floor may be best for you, with options including engineered or solid wood as well as parquet wood flooring.
Choosing your colours
Wooden floorboards can be as varied as the people who live with them, coming in many different colours and shades. This means that there’s no hard and fast rule for picking the right colour. Instead, it’s about matching the tones. If you already have wood flooring in your property, consider whether its undertones are more yellowish, red, grey or brown.
You can then use colours that either match or complement the existing tones of your floor. Blue colour schemes tend to work well with grey, yellow or orange undertones, for instance. Look at a basic colour wheel online if you’re not sure where to start.
For those of you choosing new wood flooring, it helps to think about your colour scheme at the start so that you can find a floor that matches.
Of course, white is always a safe option too, and white walls can look very fresh and contemporary when set against a wooden floor. If you are opting for white, think about other ways to bring pops of colour into the room.
Matching materials
We all know that double denim is a bad idea, but luckily wood is a little more forgiving – it’s fine to match different types of wood throughout the room. The trick here is to pick different types of wood that are complementary in tone, but not exactly the same. Using the same type of timber for every piece of furniture as well as the flooring can create an oppressive feeling. Far better to use separate materials that look good together.
You could also consider using a particular finish to bring together the different types of wood. For instance, using a distressed effect across different parts of the room could help create a feeling of cohesion and balance.
Amplifying the natural tones
One of the things that makes wood flooring so appealing is its natural look, and we think that many of the most stylish spaces really lean into this aspect. One obvious option is to bring succulents and other house plants into the room – or perhaps a herb garden if you’re developing your kitchen.
You can also think about bringing earthy colours into the room. Deep greens and subtle browns can really bring a wooden floor to life. These don’t have to dominate the room, but can be brought in through soft furnishings, prints and wall art.
Experimenting with fabrics and textures
If you have lots of wooden furniture as well as wood flooring, you might worry that the room begins to look a bit samey. This is where smaller items – cushions, throws and objects like lamps and mirrors – really come into their own. They give you an opportunity to add some texture to the room without overwhelming it.
Bringing too many colours into a room can quickly become distracting, so you might want to think about experimenting with fabrics instead. Having rugs, cushions and throws in similar shades but different types of material will make your space feel cohesive but not monotonous.
Focusing on maintenance
Your flooring will look its best if you take care of it, so our final styling tip is to make sure you understand how to clean and maintain the wood properly.
You’ll actually find that it’s surprisingly easy to take care of. Using the right cleaning products, sweeping regularly and sanding/refinishing the wood every couple of years will keep things looking fresh and attractive, and can make wood one of the most enduring materials to use for your flooring.
