Which colours for dark wood flooring in your living room?

Dark wood flooring brings instant luxury and elegance to any room in the home. It’s increasingly used in living rooms, where it warms the room and gives it an authentic and refined feel. If you want to go for it in your living room, we'll explain which colours to prefer for dark floors.

What are the advantages of dark flooring? 

Although it has long been neglected in favour of lighter colours, dark flooring is coming back into fashion. And it has a lot to offer:

• It adds a lot of character and refinement to a home;
• It isn’t only for old and classic style interiors. Having dark wood flooring in a more modern style home is perfectly possible;
• It’s available in a range of colours from brown to charcoal grey, depending on personal taste. Dark brown wood flooring is often the most common flooring in living rooms.

>> See our elegant brown wood floors <<

Which colours for the walls with dark wood flooring in the living room? 

Contrary to popular belief, dark flooring doesn’t make rooms smaller, as long as it’s combined with the right colours. To counterbalance the darkness of the wood floor, and to keep the living room bright and spacious, light colours should be used on the walls. In concrete terms, which colours should be used in a living room with dark wood flooring?

• All varieties of white (off-white, ivory, linen, etc.) to enhance the room and give an impression of volume;
• Bright pastel shades such as light pink, water green, eggshell or cyan blue to contrast with the dark floor;
• Bright colours such as mustard yellow, fuchsia and orange will give the living room a boost. Yellow is an excellent match for charcoal grey flooring, and duck blue with brown flooring. It’s best to paint just one wall in one of these bright colours, to light up the room while keeping the spaciousness.

Which colours should be used with dark wood flooring depending on the living room style? 

Dark wood flooring lends itself equally well to modern, classic, rustic or even industrial interiors. The colours to prefer differ depending on the style.

For an industrial style

Choose a dark charcoal grey wood floor and then use contrasts: modern pearl grey rugs on the floor for brightness, wall paint in shades of grey or white, imitation natural stone wallpaper or red or white brick on a section of wall, furniture of a lighter grey than the wood floor, ...

For a modern style   

Dark, almost black wood flooring is ideal for modern and elegant living rooms. Here everything is based on colour contrasts: beige, white and light grey on the walls and for the decorative elements. You can also use touches of very bright colours, such as flashy pink or sunny yellow here and there to contrast with your dark floor by painting a wall or putting up floral or art deco design wallpaper for an original touch.

For older and rustic styles

The authenticity and warmth of dark wood flooring blends in perfectly with more rustic interiors. For a warm effect, combine your floor with wooden furniture, a chocolate-coloured sofa or warm, brightly coloured rugs to liven up the living room. On the walls, light colours are the order of the day to soften the overall effect and not create a stifling sensation with the dark floor.

Still not sure of what colours to use with the dark flooring in your living room? Feel free to get in touch with one of our dealers for personal advice.