Choosing the Best Color for Your Hardwood Floors

One of the best investments you can make in your home is to install hardwood floors. They add beauty to a house while increasing the value. With the wide variety of options available, you may have a difficult time deciding on the color.

Top Trends in Floor Colors

You may notice that one of two extremes is usually in style: either dark or light wood tones. Right now, it is dark that captures more people's attention. Dark ebony and Jacobean colors are two of the top picks. They add a rich, warm tone to rooms and offer a touch of elegance to any space.

Another popular trend is mixed floor colors. These variations are ideal if you are trying to match furniture or other design elements. Because they offer a wide range of tones, they match almost any design style.

No matter how dark or light you want your floors to be, the trend is to select floors with brown or gold tones instead of red and orange. The brown and gold shades are easier to work with when decorating since they match more colors.

Care Required

You may think all wood floors are the same regardless of the color. This is not always the case. In fact, dark wood floors require more maintenance than lighter tones. They often show dirt more, which means more frequent cleaning. In addition, they show scratches more easily than lighter shades. You may end up sanding and re-staining your dark floors more often than if you had a lighter floor.

Another issue with dark floors is that they show the oils from your feet. If you have a dark floor, you may want to wear socks instead of running around in bare feet.

Your Home

When selecting the best color for your wood floor, consider the rest of your home. If it is a period home, choose a shade and color that would have been used in the original architecture to maintain its authenticity. You also want to match it to the style of the home and other colors.

If you are only installing or replacing the floor in one room, think about how it blends with the floors it borders, especially if they are also wood.

Consider the following elements when making your decision.

• Woodwork and molding
• Wall color
• Size of room – dark floors can make a room feel smaller
• Amount of light that comes in the room

As with any design element, you cannot make the decision on the item alone. You must consider how it works as part of the complete design. It should make the entire room feel warm and welcoming instead of standing out on its own. While it can be the focal point of a room, the floor should provide harmony with the rest of the design.

Perhaps the most important aspect of choosing the right color for your hardwood floors is selecting something you like. You are going to be looking at it every day for several years. Since this can be a costly investment, you want it to be something you will enjoy for many years to come.

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