January 18, 2023

The Ultimate Guide to Pairing Your Hardwood Floors to Interior Styles

Empty living room with a fireplace, hardwood floor and sliding glass door exit to the deck

In recent years, hardwood floors have become one of the most worthwhile home improvement projects. Despite its costly installations and refinishing, these flooring options increase a home’s value by more than six percent, along with other perks. But choosing which hardwood plank to use for your home can be challenging. Wooden floors can dictate what interior design options homeowners can consider for newly-built homes. This may not work for old homes with remodeled hardwood flooring. In this guide, find out how to pair your hardwood floors with your chosen aesthetic.

Hardwood Flooring and Interior Design

Hardwood floors add an element of timeless beauty to any home, whether they’re new or old. Depending on their colors, plank size, and specie, hardwood floorboards can make a house appear more expensive while keeping its homey feature.

But when decorating a room with an elegant-looking wooden floor, the wrong designs or adding too much will overwhelm the space. Hardwood floors carry enough design and personality with their color and grain visual alone. In addition, their edge styles and strip sizes enhance the area's appearance.

In general, wooden floorings like hardwood are easy to mix and match to any trending house style. Hardwood flooring, in particular, is a versatile home add-on because of the variety of choices they provide to consumers. However, how you can incorporate them perfectly into your aesthetic can differ from the décor and furnishing you’ll add to the room.

Things to Consider When Decorating Rooms With Hardwood Flooring

Decorating places with installed hardwood floors is both easy and challenging. Many newbie remodelers often put too much stuff in one room, resulting in a clash of color, design, and patterns. When decorating with hardwood floors, you need to weigh in a few more factors to get the right match. Here are some of the things to ponder when pairing these wooden flooring with the rest of your stuff.

Design Element

One of the reasons why some homeowners have problems with designing their homes is not adding their flooring as a part of their room’s style. Hardwood floors are a design element much like any other furnishing and décor. Floorings tie the room together and allow each decorating scheme to work.

When designing and installing your hardwood flooring, always consider how it will affect and complement another décor in your room. By doing this, you can purchase a plank that best suits the style you want to use for your home.

Light

Lighting can affect how your room will look and how each element of your design mixes. Hardwood floors are no exception. When your room has a lot of natural light, dark hardwood planks are a better choice for homeowners. These wooden floorings add good contrast while making the place look more formal.

In addition, darker hardwood floors using exotic species offer richness and sophistication. They also come with unique features like higher water resistance and sun resistance.

Rooms with little to no access to natural light can get the brightness they need from lighter-toned hardwood floors. Light hardwood planks give the area a more casual look that fits perfectly with country and contemporary interior styles. Another benefit of these wooden floorings is their versatility. Unlike dark hardwood, light to neutral colors can blend well with different colors and design schemes.

Edge Treatments and Board Width

Many homeowners see edge treatments as insignificant considerations in hardwood flooring design. Contrary to what most people believe, edge treatments affect the appearance of your wooden floors. For example, squared beveled boards give rooms a more formal look. Beveled edges make the space more relaxed and casual.

Board width and sizes are also critical considerations in hardwood floors. But before you choose between standard-sized planks and wide hardwood strips, keep the scale of your room in mind. Using wide hardwood floors in a large space can make it look smaller and cozier. They also give a bold statement in any room. Narrow floorboards help smaller rooms appear more spacious.

Borders, Accents, and Patterns

Unlike some flooring options, you can install hardwood floors in several unique ways. Borders and accents add a beautiful contrast of color and texture to your flooring. In addition, they’re also the most affordable customization option for hardwood floorboards.

Homeowners and remodelers can create elaborate statements by mixing board sizes and different hardwood species, along with integrating other flooring options as accents. These designs give more personality to the rooms with little furnishings or décor.

Laying out hardwood planks in different ways also adds distinct patterns to your flooring. Installing them at a 45-degree angle and turning them diagonally pulls the eye throughout the space. Doing this makes the room feel larger and easier to install than classic parquetry.

Professional Hardwood Flooring Services in Austin, TX

Pairing hardwood floors with different interior designs can be challenging, especially for newbie remodelers. While hardwood flooring is a versatile and elegant addition, choosing the best plank to fit your aesthetic needs thorough planning. Keeping these considerations in mind can help you narrow down your choices and help you blend your floors with the rest of your furniture and decor.

Get an expert opinion on hardwood flooring in Austin today with the help of Kelly Hardwood Floors!