Choosing the right kitchen cabinet and wood floor color combinations can make or break the look and feel of your home. It's a challenge for experienced designers to lock down clients on a specific color combination. Luckily we've broken down the process into a few simple steps so you can find a combo you love. We have a classic combination like white cabinets with brown wood flooring on display as well as more adventurous combinations. I will guide you through the key aspects of choosing harmonious color schemes for your space, and give you some examples of popular combinations. By understanding a few simple rules to follow, you can create a kitchen that reflects your personal style while also being in vogue. If you'd like additional kitchen designs an interior designer can approve of email us about this blog post and mention the color cabinets, kitchen color, and wood colors to include.
Table Of Contents:
- Understanding Undertones: The Foundation of Harmonious Color Schemes
- Contrasting for Impact
- Real-World Combinations and What Makes Them Work
- FAQs about kitchen cabinet and wood floor color combinations
- Conclusion
Understanding Undertones: The Foundation of Harmonious Color Schemes
Picking out kitchen cabinet and wood floor color combinations goes beyond simply matching shades. Instead, it involves finding a combination that complements each other's undertones overall paint color and pair light contrasts together. An undertone is the subtle hue that lies beneath the main color of both the warm wood and the natural wood finish.
Warm undertones have a reddish, orange, or yellow base, whereas cooler undertones lean toward blue, green, or grey. For instance, even though a wood floor might look brown at first glance, it will always either lean warm or cool. By looking at the wood's natural undertones and matching them to your cabinet color, you'll achieve a natural harmony.
Contrasting for Impact
Choosing a kitchen cabinet design and matching wood flooring combinations is all about contrast. Contrast is a popular choice that can add a dramatic effect and visually expand your space, especially when you contrast dark colors with a bright light color. Combining light cabinets with dark wood floors creates a timeless look that many homeowners enjoy, such as white or cream cabinets with rich, dark hardwood floors in species like walnut or mahogany.
You could even choose a light wood floor, like white oak, ash, or maple, with a light cabinet. This technique can actually make the space seem bigger than it is. On the other hand, if you are aiming to create a warm and inviting kitchen ambiance, you should go with kitchen cabinet and wood floor color combinations that complement one another, rather than contrast dramatically. Opt for warm colors that share similar undertones.
Real-World Combinations and What Makes Them Work
Navy Blue and Light Oak Flooring
Navy blue kitchen cabinets have become increasingly popular in recent years, and for good reason. This deep hue is bold without being overpowering and provides an excellent contrast against light oak flooring, which is also enjoying a resurgence in popularity. This pairing brings together cool and warm tones, as seen in stunning Chelsea apartment renovations where designers use Benjamin Moore Stonecutter products on the cabinet doors.
Soft Green Cabinets with Distressed or Knotty Medium-Brown Flooring
Green cabinets work well paired with floors in medium brown shades, which provide a neutral backdrop and prevent the green from overwhelming the eye, particularly if the wood has some variation to it. Distressed or knotty floors add visual interest, ensuring the combination is exciting, especially in larger kitchens where lighter wood can make the room appear larger. An example of this style is evident in this redesigned 1960’s ranch-style kitchen.
Crisp White Cabinets With Light Brown Floors
This classic color combination has graced homes for generations and creates a timeless and clean look that never goes out of style. Opt for a floor in a species such as hickory, maple, or oak with a medium-toned stain to add warmth. If your style leans towards a more rustic look, you could choose distressed or hand-scraped flooring.
This option offers ultimate design flexibility; white cabinets pair beautifully with any countertop. If you want something more modern, consider this example using white shaker cabinets: Benjamin Moore Polo Blue (2062-10).
Black Cabinets With Blonde or Honey Flooring
The bold contrast between black and a color like honey or blonde will create a dramatic statement, making this the perfect pairing for homeowners that love an edgy, modern aesthetic. Adding elements like a light backsplash and countertops in shades of white will amplify the contrast even further and contribute to an airy atmosphere.
Selecting dark countertops will create a moody ambiance. Check out this example from Lorla Studios for inspiration, and think about what undertones are most prominent in both your cabinet and your flooring choice to make this combo work for your home.
FAQs about kitchen cabinet and wood floor color combinations
FAQ 1: What color kitchen cabinets go with hardwood floors?
The answer to this question relies on personal preference; however, the most important rule to consider when choosing is undertones. Warm-toned woods such as oak or hickory with reddish undertones generally pair well with cabinets in shades like warm whites, creams, browns, and greens, as these colors generally have similar undertones to the wood.
Cool-toned wood with grayish or beige undertones such as maple or ash often look best with similarly cool-toned cabinets in shades of blues, greens, grays, and even black. Ultimately, you should create contrast through your color choices without letting any one shade become overpowering in natural light.
FAQ 2: Should wood floors be lighter or darker than cabinets?
Again, it’s completely a matter of preference and either choice can look great if done properly. Consider the overall look you’re aiming to create and the level of contrast you prefer. Lighter cabinets paired with darker floors lend a more spacious feel to a room, especially when combined with light countertops, but if the light wood has cool undertones, it may clash with certain cabinet colors.
Dark cabinets tend to create a luxurious look when paired with a lighter-toned flooring color. However, if this combination isn’t well balanced, it can cause the room to feel smaller and darker.
FAQ 3: Do hardwood floors need to match kitchen cabinets?
There’s no hard and fast rule about this. While matching hardwoods to your kitchen cabinets can sometimes look a bit too matchy-matchy for modern tastes, and even run the risk of the undertones clashing in an unappealing way, the choice ultimately comes down to the overall style of the home, your design sensibility, and the specific wood tones being considered. Ultimately, the key is to consider if your chosen combination creates balance and harmony or if it is too overpowering to be easy on the eye.
FAQ 4: How do you match wood cabinets to flooring?
Matching wood cabinets to your flooring successfully largely depends on paying close attention to the wood species and their undertones. Remember the general rule that warm tones often look best together, as do cool tones. If you’re working with warm-toned flooring, you should choose cabinets that have similar red, orange, or yellow undertones.
On the other hand, cool-toned flooring, with hints of blue, grey, or green, often looks best with gray cabinets or a color palette with matching undertones.
Conclusion
Picking out the right kitchen cabinet and wood floor color combinations can seem challenging at first. However, by understanding a few basic principles, like how to spot undertones in both the wood and finish of your cabinets and flooring, you can pick winning combinations that reflect your style and preferences. The key is to select pairings that result in a balanced look with just the right amount of contrast. If you aren’t sure where to start, keep in mind that you can always look to designers and architects for inspiration and ideas on how they paired colors and wood types in their projects.
Successfully combining a kitchen cabinet and solid hardwood flooring color combinations can dramatically enhance your home’s overall aesthetic. Remember that that by understanding undertones, you can choose kitchen cabinet and wood floor color combinations that are harmonious. Good luck, and most importantly, enjoy creating a space you love.
