How to Pick Your Wood Flooring Color

If your home is due for an update, replacing your old flooring with beautiful hardwood floors will completely transform your living space, bringing richness to any room that never goes out of style. With endless colors to choose from, we know picking a floor can be overwhelming- Cali Bamboo alone has over 30+ flooring options! To help ease the process, we rounded up some common tips, tricks and theories behind picking the perfect floor color that matches your lifestyle.

Select Your Flooring Material

The first step to selecting the coloring of your new floor is to choose the material you’ll want in your home. Wood flooring options include Bamboo, Oak, Hickory, and Maple.

Bamboo Floor Colors

• Dark: Bordeaux, Vintage Java, and Vintage Port
• Medium: Antique Java, Cognac, Distressed Mocha, Savanna, Treehouse, and More
• Light: Antique Iron, Catalina, and Natural

Oak Floor Colors

• Dark: Russian River Oak, Syrah Oak, Ithaca Oak, and Athena Oak
• Medium: Sauvignon Oak, Knotty Barrel Oak, Mendocino Oak, Carmal Valley Oak, and Vinyard Oak
• Light: New World Oak, Santorini Oak, and Orion Oak

Hickory Floor Colors

• Dark: Delphi Hickory
• Medium:Corinth Hickory
• Light: Helios Hickory

Maple Floor Colors

• Dark: Mykonos Maple
• Medium:Calypso Maple
• Light:Apollo Maple and Spartan Maple

What Floor Color Works Best for Your Space and Décor?

-Picking similar tones for your walls and flooring will make the room appear flat, so be sure to choose a flooring that is at least two shades darker or lighter than your wall color. Go for a bolder look by contrasting the two.
-Pick a large architectural feature (such as kitchen cabinets or fireplace) to complement with your flooring. For example, you could complement the warmth of a brick fireplace with a neutral gray flooring, or bring out your natural kitchen cabinets with a darkerflooring hue.
-Darker flooring works best for large rooms with high ceiling and lots of natural light. Dark floors paired with dark walls will make the room look gloomy and small.
-Black floors work best with a simple palette of color and soft furnishings.
-Lighter flooring colors make rooms appear more spacious. Consider white or gray flooring for smaller spaces or rooms with low ceilings.
-If you have a busy, high-traffic household with dogs and children, you may want to opt for hand scraped flooring to blend inevitable scratches.Lighter colors are also good at concealing small scratches. Avoid dark, glossy colors as this will magnify your floor’s imperfections.
-Bold flooring colors such as eucalyptus flooring are great for larger spaces where flooring is essentially a central element of decor. Be sure to find a balance with your bold elements as not to overwhelm the space.

Know Your Style and Select Your Floor from There

-Darker shades of brown are popular among chic, modern interiors.
-Reds and browns add warmth and character, making a room feel instantly cozy- perfect for traditional homes.
-Very dark colored flooring creates a rich, elegant look and feel with a dramatic ambiance.
-White or light gray tones are great for breezy, contemporary spaces, and beach homes. Pair with green or blue furniture and accents for a clean, calm living environment.
-Go for a sleek, minimalistic look by matching your flooring to all your wood- such as the wood in your furniture, cabinets, etc. Be careful, however, and make sure the woods are an exact match. Offset the wood with unique patterns and colorful decor.
-Add a rustic touch with distressed, hand scraped flooring that exposes the wood’s natural grain. You may also want to consider flooring with a hard wax oil finish for a natural, unpolished look. Tan flooring also fits brilliantly with rustic decor.

Once you narrow down your flooring options, we recommend ordering multiple samples of each flooring color, as there will be slight variations and distressing throughout the plank. Place the samples near your walls and furniture to better visualize the floor’s effect. Be sure to look at your samples in daylight as well as nighttime under artificial light to ensure you have your desired color.

If none of these suggestions are helping you decide, when in doubt, choose a more conservative option for more versatility and greater resale value.

Still having a hard time choosing a color? Participate in My Cali Dream Floor to virtually visualize multiple flooring options.