How To Choose The Perfect Hardwood Floor Colour For Your Home

If you’ve committed to hardwood flooring, the next biggest decision you’ll make is deciding which colour is best for your space. As flooring contractors, we can’t overstate the importance of choosing the right colour, as it will set the mood of your space. For instance, if you have dark walls, unless you want to create a moody ambiance, you should balance the room with light floors.

Make sure you consider these 5 factors before you commit to buying hardwood floors, so your floors will stand out for all the right reasons!

How To Choose The Right Hardwood Floor Colour

These are the 5 factors that will help you decide which colour hardwood to buy for your space.

Room Type

Which room are you installing hardwood floors in? Hardwood is an excellent choice for most rooms in your house, such as the bedroom, hallway, living room, or dining room. 

However, using hardwood exclusively for the bathroom floor is not ideal due to high moisture levels. But hardwood can be used on an accent wall or in areas that don’t surround the tub or shower. Or you can use wood-look flooring for moisture-rich spaces, like wood-look vinyl plank.

Thus, your room dictates whether hardwood is right for your space, or if wood-look is a better alternative.

Lighting

What kind of lighting does your room have? If your room has northern exposure, it receives less natural light, so you may want lighter or white floors to brighten the space.

For rooms with a lot of natural light, you can balance it with mid- to dark-coloured hardwood. However, for bright spaces, UV rays can bleach dark floors. To prevent UV ray damage, you can use a hardwood stain finish. Conversely, you can use lighter floors in bright spaces to achieve a minimalist look.

So, for darker rooms, use lighter floors. For bright spaces, if you’re going to use darker floors, ensure they have UV-resistant stain protection, or opt for light ones for a Scandinavian feel.

Room Size

Another consideration is the size of your room. Flooring colour can make it feel bigger or smaller. Using lighter flooring is an excellent choice for small spaces, as it can make them feel bigger. 

In contrast, darker floors will make your room feel smaller and more intimate. This means it’s ideal if you want your living room to be cozy and inviting.

Design Style

What’s your design inspiration for your space? 

Your flooring colour should match your trim, furnishings, and overall design. For instance, if you have darker stylings, this does not mean you need matching dark flooring; instead, you can opt for a complementary light-to-mid hue. As experienced flooring contractors, we suggest that the flooring’s undertone match the room’s colour scheme. So, for a rustic modern design, look for a flooring with a brown or red undertone that matches the rest of your space.

Lifestyle

The final consideration that we recommend you think about is your lifestyle. For instance, if you own pets or have children, then dark floors are great at hiding dust, dirt, and pet hair. This means lighter floors require more frequent cleaning. However, lighter floors are better at hiding scratches.

There are pros and cons to each flooring colour. Hence, there is no wrong choice; you just have to decide whether you’re okay with frequent cleaning or if you’d prefer a hardwood that hides blemishes better.

Final Thoughts On Picking The Best Hardwood Colour

As flooring contractors, we install many hardwood floors because they make homeowners happy. But we want homeowners to be more than just happy; we want them to be in love with their new hardwood floors, and the best way to achieve this is by choosing the right colour for their unique space.

The secret to the perfect colour depends on the room. For instance, bright, naturally lit rooms do well with a mid-to-dark flooring colour, as they balance the room while also providing a focal point. Conversely, you can use light floors, but they will blend in rather than stand out.

If you want to explore your hardwood flooring colour choices, but you need a second opinion, then give us, the Brother’s Flooring, a call today for a free consultation. We’d be happy to help offer advice on when to use light, mid, or hard flooring!