Your home is your sacred space: it’s the place you can come back to after a long, hard day of work; the place where you make memories that will last a lifetime; the place where you spend countless days and nights in. It makes sense, then, to have it be as visually and aesthetically pleasing as you want it to be: to have matching pieces of furniture, a style that suits your taste, and accessories that beautifully complement each other. The same goes for your floor, just like all the other parts of your house. When it comes to choosing between a light or dark hardwood floor plan for your house, Act 1 Flooring is glad to provide our consultation services throughout Pensacola, FL. But before that, our team will talk about some general tips to give you some ideas and inspiration if you need help choosing what’s best for your house, so read on!
There are a few places you may consider avoiding using a darker hardwood floor. If you have a very small room, a darker floor will only accentuate the limited space and make it feel cramped and claustrophobic. If you still want to use it, try to go for something that’s not narrower than an 8" wide board. One other place could be if you’re going to run them adjacent to something like extremely dark woodwork: the colors may not match up, so in this case, it could be better to create a contrast.
Pros and Cons of Both Types of Flooring
- Dark Hardwood Floors: As a general rule of thumb, dark wood flooring complements and creates a pleasing visual contrast if your home has a lighter and brighter scheme to go around. They’re a very fashionable option to go with, especially here in Florida, making your home have a hearty, elegant vibe. Unfortunately, one disadvantage is that darker floors are much more prone to having scuffs and scratches show up, which is something to consider if you have younger kids or pets.
- Light Hardwood Floors: Incredibly easy to keep clean, light hardwood flooring masks scratches from pets, dents, and other scuff or skid marks much better than darker floors do. They’re also great for subtly complementing your house without being overstated. That said, they’re not quite as in at the moment and may not be the best way to make a visual statement, making it not the right choice for everyone.
General Design Tips for Darker Hardwood Floors
As mentioned earlier, dark hardwood floors are trendy now: think of a pine floor that’s aged, or an older plantation home in the heart of Virginia. The great thing about dark flooring is that they seamlessly work with so many colors and fabrics. If you’re going for a contemporary style with bright, modern furniture, you can use dark hardwood flooring to help set the mood and then punctuate the room with bursts of color in a matching scheme. Alternatively, go for a quieter look, blending earthy colors with softer fabrics like leather or linen. While many people think that choosing a darker floor automatically means you need to go for a classic, formal style, that’s anything but the truth: you can also very easily go rustic, casual, or modern.There are a few places you may consider avoiding using a darker hardwood floor. If you have a very small room, a darker floor will only accentuate the limited space and make it feel cramped and claustrophobic. If you still want to use it, try to go for something that’s not narrower than an 8" wide board. One other place could be if you’re going to run them adjacent to something like extremely dark woodwork: the colors may not match up, so in this case, it could be better to create a contrast.
