How can I brighten my kitchen with dark cabinets?

A kitchen with dark cabinets can have an overall dark look and aesthetic. To brighten this appearance, you can employ quite a few tricks, including: Unique lighting fixtures Brightly-painted walls Light-colored floors Hanging mirrors Adding more light to your kitchen is often the most straightforward way to brighten any space. If your kitchen utilizes one or two lighting sources, you may want to consider adding more. For example, hanging pendant lights tend to add depth and light to kitchens, even those with dark cabinets. Brightly-painted walls are also an excellent solution to dark kitchens. You can use neutral colors like white or taupe to create a contemporary look. However, bright blue, red, yellow, or orange hues can also add light to your kitchen. Installing light-colored flooring is another option. If your kitchen has dark cabinets and dark flooring, it may appear dark, despite excess lighting. Switching out this dark flooring for a brighter alternative is a smart way to complement your cabinets and add some light to the space. Finally, there are mirrors. Mirrors can reflect light from nearby lamps and lighting sources, bouncing it back into the room to give the illusion of increased brightness. Installing a few well-placed wall mirrors in your kitchen is a unique way to make your kitchen gleam with light.

Are darker or lighter wood floors better?

When choosing wood flooring, you may have to choose between darker and lighter shades. But neither option is better than the other. Instead, the right choice for your space depends on your personal preferences. That said, décor, wall color, and furnishing colors can significantly influence your decision and help you choose a suitable hue. For example, if you'd like to create a bright room with a clean aesthetic, you may choose a dark black wood flooring or a light white option. Both of these are neutral and pair well with almost any wall color, décor, and furnishings. They're also considered modern and minimalistic. Be sure to consider these additional factors when choosing between dark and light wood floors. Doing so will ensure you select the best possible hue to match your style and décor.

What color floors never go out of style?

Neutral-colored floors pair well with almost any hue, making them a stylish choice for any home. You can pair black flooring with white walls and décor for a refined, modern look. You can also pair white flooring with colorful décor for a clean, engaging aesthetic. Natural shades are also consistently popular. As such, hardwood floors that feature natural stains and colors tend to be an excellent (and durable) choice. Still, golden-brown planks tend to leave a rustic impression, which may not be everyone's cup of tea. Consequently, it may be best to stick with tried-and-true neutrals like white, black, or dark brown.

Are dark wood floors out of style?

Dark wood floors have been in-style for centuries, and it seems that this trend is likely to continue. In fact, dark wood floors have been around since people started building multi-story, Tudor-style homes in the late Middle Ages. However, dark wooden flooring isn't often considered old-fashioned. Black wood, for example, is often used in contemporary homes. You'll often see this color paired with other neutral shades, most notably white.

What Color Wood Floor With Dark Cabinets? 4 Unique Ideas

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Are you doing some renovations and wondering what color wood floor with dark cabinets? We got you covered.

The best color wood floor to complement dark cabinets varies depending on your personal tastes, surrounding décor, and chosen color scheme.

That said, both neutral and dark hues tend to pair well with dark cabinets.

What Wood Colors Work Well With Dark Cabinets?

Dark cabinets are a popular choice for kitchens and living rooms due to their sleek, modern look. But choosing the best-colored wood flooring to complement dark cabinets can be challenging.

After all, wood flooring can be almost any color, from bright white to deep ebony. Fortunately, there are two color categories that tend to pair well with dark cabinets:

Neutral colors, and
Dark hues

Let’s explore both of these groupings in greater detail to help you select the best possible wood floor for your dark cabinets.

Neutral Colors

Gray colored wood floors with dark cabinets

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One of the simplest ways to ensure your flooring complements your cabinets is to choose neutral colors.

Unfortunately, these hues technically don’t have any complementary colors, as they’re not found on the color wheel.

However, that doesn’t mean that neutral colors clash. Instead, neutral hues tend to pair well with other neutral shades.

They can also look great when matched with small spots of a bright color, like yellow or red. Some of the best examples of neutral colors include:

White
Gray
Taupe
Sage
Brown
Black

Dark Hues

For a piece titled What Color Wood Floor With Dark cabinets featuring dark navy cabinets with dark wood floors in a Scandinavian-style home

Julia Zavalishina/Shutterstock

While black might be the darkest shade, it’s technically not a primary or secondary color.

And while this hue is a popular neutral option, it may not be the best choice for flooring, especially if your cabinets are also black.

Too much of anything can result in a lackluster aesthetic, and kitchens and living spaces full of black can seem dark or foreboding.

So, if you’re looking to pair wood flooring with black cabinets, you may want to consider opting for a dark color instead of a dark neutral shade.

For example, you can choose flooring that’s:

The best choice depends on the precise color and shade of your cabinets. For example, if you have dark green cabinets, a deep purple wooden floor can complement them.

Similar (analogous) colors, like dark teal or moss green, could also be an excellent choice. Using a color wheel is a fantastic way to determine which shades are bound to work best for your floors.

Using a Color Wheel

Graphic of a color wheel for a piece on what color wood floors go with dark cabinets

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One of the best ways to select a wood flooring color that pairs well with dark cabinets is to use a color wheel. But, of course, if you’ve never used a color wheel before, you might not be sure where to start.

Fortunately, understanding how color wheels work (and how they can help you choose the best colors for your home décor and furnishings) only takes a few minutes. Essentially, every color fits into a circle or wheel.

The ROYGBIV system (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) organizes these hues, and all visible colors fall within this range.

Complementary colors are hues found on the opposite end of a color wheel. So, for example, if your cabinets are a dark brown color, their complementary color would be a dark navy blue.

But if your cabinets are dark blue, the complementary color would be dark gold or brown.

Understanding how complementary colors work can help you choose wood flooring that looks stylish and pairs well with your cabinetry. You can also use this concept to choose décor, paint colors, and furnishings.

Wood Types and Colors

Samples of hardwood flooring laid out on an unstained hardwood floor

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There are dozens of types of wood you can use, and each has a natural tone associated with it.

Understanding these common wood types and their associated colors can help you save time searching for flooring to complement your cabinetry.

For example, some of the most popular wood flooring types include:

Bamboo
Cherry
Oak
Walnut
Maple

Natural bamboo flooring is one of the lightest options. These planks often have a near-white hue with strong yellow undertones.

As such, it resembles untreated pine lumber in terms of coloration. Cherry wood has a far darker and richer coloration. As the name implies, this type of flooring has vibrant red tones.

However, it’s also full of brown shades, resulting in a complex look that can add depth to any room. Oak flooring has inconsistent shading that shifts between rich brown and pale cream.

A single plank of oak flooring can exhibit both of these hues, as well as all shades between them. As such, it’s often considered one of the most natural-looking flooring options.

Natural walnut flooring is somewhat similar to oak, often showing a variety of shades throughout a single plank.

However, walnut wood has a slightly more muted look and is usually darker than oak or bamboo. Consequently, you’ll often see walnut paired with white or grey walls and décor.

Maple is also a popular hardwood flooring option. Much like oak and walnut, maple planks don’t boast a consistent shade. Still, maple tends to be one of the brightest wood types, with hues ranging between pale yellow and rich gold.

Things to Consider

When choosing a wood color to pair with dark cabinets, there are quite a few factors to consider, including:

Room color schemes
Nearby décor colors and patterns
Wood type (oak, maple, bamboo)
Wall color

Frequently Asked Questions

To help answer what color wood floor goes with dark cabinets, a person staining a neutral color onto a parquet floor

Fotokostic/Shutterstock

Let’s explore some of the most frequently asked questions about wood flooring colors and their pairings with dark cabinets.

If you’re struggling to choose a striking color scheme for your space, these FAQs may be just the inspiration you need!

So, What Color Wood Goes With Dark Cabinets?

Dark black painted cabinets that blend really well with the natural pine wood floors

Joe Hendrickson/Shutterstock

Typically, the best colors to pair with dark cabinets are neutral or dark hues.

Grey, white, navy, and emerald green are all excellent options when choosing what wood floor to pair with dark cabinets.

Considering your current décor and color scheme is an excellent way to select a flooring color that suits your tastes.