Work With the Floors You Have

I’m a sucker for gorgeous floors. I love walking through the flooring aisles at home improvement stores dreaming of my many impossible future homes that each have a unique style. First there’s the cabin with the knotty light pine floors. Then there’s the vaulted ceiling lodge with dark, grooved, wide plank hickory. Or my modern home with bright white washed maple flooring that disappears into all the white walls. And I can’t forget my dream downtown loft with it’s heavy grey concrete industrial floors scattered with furry faux sheepskin rugs…

Yes I’m a dreamer.

Floors can do that to you. They may even seem to set the tone for the style of your home. But many of us don’t have the money or the option of choosing our dream floors when it comes down to buying or updating a house. Most times we’re stuck with what comes with the house, as we’ve chosen other features to be more important. I used to loathe the dated yellow, orange, or red oak floors, but after studying the interiors of some beautiful homes, I’ve found you can work with the floors you have to achieve the industrial/cabin/modern look.

Study these pictures with me to see what I mean and be encouraged.

The designer of this home combined dark vertical planked walls that compliment their floors wonderfully. The light gray rug and clear coffee table pull the two woods together without making the room too busy.

These floors have more of a red hue that has been balanced with the striking colors of the striped rug and yellow hairpin legs of the side table.  I love that black door.

Ashley Bruhn’s master bedroom really encouraged me to think anew about red hued floors. She matched her live edge headboard with the floors while keeping the bed simply black. It looks bold and wonderfully natural at the same time.

I’d be completely beside myself if we found a home with these herringbone floors, but lets just focus on the orangey oak color for now. Here you see how the designer actually uses more furniture with that orange wood contrasted with a bold, basic, black and white rug to pull off a fluid mid century modern look.

There is so much to love about this space. Firstly, I note that the floors look like a standard narrow plank mix orange, tan, and red hues. The use of neutral colors like the off white rug, grey cushions,  pull the wood into the beautiful stonework around the fireplace. They further used the wood colors by matching the stool, cart, and even the wall sconce. The exposed ceiling beams is another example of combining two different wood tones, one lighter and one darker in perfect harmony. The black paint above the fireplace is a beautiful lead in to the gorgeous ceiling.

These floors are just like the high gloss oak floors you will find in many 90s built homes. This gal’s style completely absorbs the look by using neutral furniture, rugs, and wall paint, but with big color accents like the painting and gold end table.

This home reflects warmth and a cozy invitation to relax. They too use some pieces that match the color of their floors while warming the space with grey and red accents.

Lastly this house seems so natural and untouched to me. Leaving the fireplace and floors as the are they combine textures of leather, shaggy rugs, and woven baskets to give the room character. I also like how this coffee table is not the same as the floors, but flows so well with the rug underneath.

 As you can see working with the floors you have is completely doable! Here are some takeaway tips.

1. Break up the color of the floor with a bold patterned rug or a neutral colored rug.

2. Use dark wood to plank walls or add faux beams to contrast your floors.

3. Match pieces of furniture to your floors while keeping the fabric neutral.

4. Paint baseboards white and walls a white or neutral color.

I hope you feel encouraged about your own floors now too!

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