What Color Wall Would Go With Hardwood Flooring?

Oak

• Oak floors are warm and homey and glow next to the appropriate wall color. Keep things light with butter-cream paint that adds pale sunshine to the room. The light palette lets you go country, traditional, modern or antique for furnishings, providing a backdrop that won’t compete with your taste. If the oak floors are in a little girl’s room, think ballet studio. Paint her walls flat blush pink, add a mirror wall and a barre and watch her eyes light up at the pile of ballet slippers and dress-up tutus on the classic hardwood floor.

Ebony

• Don’t shy away from the drama of ebony hardwood floors. Black or dark brown stained wood can be attractive against deep pewter or pale, dove gray walls. Gray is a neutral color that adds a sophisticated note to a room, so fill the space with your modern art collection and mid-century modern furniture. Add a large, colorful abstract or color field painting and tailor the lighting to the amount of daylight and the night use of the room. A dining room needs adjustable light. A living room can use more ambient, mood lighting.

Cherry

• Cherry floors are a challenge. The wood is so beautiful it’s tempting to leave the room empty so you can enjoy its red hues. But that color advantage is also a color caution. The wrong shade of paint can make your lustrous floors look orange, and a competing paint color can draw attention away from the floor. Try a few samples to determine what works best, but consider a very pale acid green for walls that will bring out the richness of the floor. Add Asian antiques for an attractive décor. Paint the walls pale mushroom – a light brownish gray that adds tone but isn’t obtrusive. Fill that room with traditional furniture, but minimize your use of patterns so the room looks elegant, not busy. Linen or antique white will complement the floor while helping a room that is too dark to reflect more light. The very light walls and reddish floor can handle most furnishing design choices.

Bleached Wood

• Bleached wood floors are an almost white canvas underfoot that welcomes any wall treatment. Try different shades of rich white paint on walls and trim for a gallery look. Alternatively, use ice blue on the walls for Scandinavian or Nordic décor, and accent the light colors with some yellow in wall art or pillows. Dark gray may be an unexpected choice, but it highlights the pale floors and would accommodate minimalist décor seamlessly. Candy-colored walls, such as turquoise, lipstick-pink or lemon-drop yellow, complement eclectic décor and keep things bright and cheerful.