Enhance the natural beauty of your wood floors with these design tricks and decorating ideas.

Wood floorswhether hardwood, laminate or wood-looks such as luxury vinyl planksare a popular choice acrosshomes of all styles.

You don’t have to match every element exactly to achieve a cohesive look.

white a frame living room

Credit: Edmund Barr

Use these decorating ideas for wood floors to play up this sought-after feature.

Choose a complementary color palette.

One of the trickiest parts of decorating with wood floors is selecting the right color scheme.

farmhouse style room modern furniture

Credit: Nathan Schroder Photography

The best way to determinewhich colors go with your wood flooringis to look at the material’s undertone.

Wood often features subtle hints of yellow, orange, red, gray, or brown within the finish.

Vary materials across furniture and accessories.

open dining room

Credit: Edmund Barr Photography

A room with wood flooring and wood furnishings might appear too cold for most people’s tastes.

Balance the look by incorporating a variety of materials within your furniture and accessories.

Continue wood floors throughout rooms.

bedroom fur rug blue bedspread

Credit: Edmund Barr

In homesdesigned with open floor plans, the flooring choice should typically remain constant between rooms.

Avoid seams between spaces by installing planks that naturally flow from room to room without awkward dividers.

Consistency in flooring makes for an appealing aesthetic andeasier cleaning in the long run.

stainless steel white kitchen wood flooring

Credit: Lauren Rubinstein

Soften wood floors with rugs.

Wood lacks the softness of carpet but is not nearly as hard as tile underfoot.

A house full of hard surfaces can also be loud.

retro kitchen table and hutch

Credit: Anthony Masterson

Rugs can reduce the extra noise.

Accentuate modern wood floors.

Wood flooring is a natural material that goes with all styles of interiors.

various textured accents wood flooring bedroom

Credit: Kim Cornelison

It provides a welcome juxtaposition against sleek modern elements.

you could add visual texture and warmth with a rustic wood species in a honey finish.

Or go sleek with a hardwood with a tight grain and refined finish that minimizes grain lines.

white and green decor wood flooring kitchen

Credit: Kim Cornelison

Mix wood tones between floors and furniture.

Ignore any notion that requires wood tones to match.

Use texture to balance wood floors.

neutral toned dining area wood flooring

Credit: Edmund Barr

Balance the visual weight and firmness of wood with softer fabrics andarea rugs.

To contrast the hard surface, consider natural linen, wool, or nubby cotton to add softness.

It’s all part of making a roomfeel layered and cozy.

yellow and teal decor wood flooring kitchen

Credit: John Granen

Lighten up dark wood floors.

Light orwhite painted wallscan brighten a room with dark floors.

Consider wood flooring as a neutral.

Treat wood floors that lack intense yellow or red undertones as a neutral.

Bring in bright colors.

Take the spotlight away from wood floors by layering in painted pieces.

This brings the focus to the colorful accents.

Work around unattractive or damaged floors you might have inherited by employing the same tactics of artful distraction.

How to Refinish Old Wood floors

Wood floors require maintenance.

They scratch and show stains with use and time.

If you’re looking at your floors thinking,It’s time,then let’s figure it out.

If refinishing hardwood floors is in your future, there’s a lot to consider.

Should you hire a professional or DIY?

Do you have the tool IQ and experience to do a competent job?

And if you hire help, just how much will itcost to refinish those hardood floors?

Skill and budget are always part of the decision process.

You canapply fresh stainor vanish, followed by a coat of sealant.