What Colors Go Best With Brown Floors?

Working With Wood Grain

• If you have wood floors, you definitely want to match the color to the undertones in the wood. Get up and close to your wood and look at the colors in there. Most woods have yellow or warm undertones, but darker woods like cherry and hickory have cool undertones. Wood with yellow undertones look best when paired with warm hues, and dark undertones look great matched with cool hues. The wrong color can really clash with the brown in your wood floor. If you're covering the floor with a large area rug, the choice of wall hue is less important.

Warm Tones for Wood

• If your wood has yellow undertones, you want a warm color and can choose either a light or rich hue. Light hues open up a room, while deeper ones can make it look smaller and more intimate. Warm colors include oranges, reds, yellows, light browns and creamy neutrals.

Cool Tones for Wood

• Dark wood can enjoy either a light cool color or a deep cool color. Think greens, blues, purples or neutrals with cool, milky undertones. As with warm colors, the lighter hues make a space look larger.

Matching Deep Brown

• For chocolate brown floors, such as those of linoleum, painted wood or even carpet, you'll want to tick with lighter hues. Khaki, beige or even light gray colors work well with dark brown floors. If you prefer not to use a neutral hue, try a warm or buttery yellow. Light to medium blue or green tones also work well with deep chocolate or burnt umber floors. Think mint, jade or grass for greens; sky, robin's egg or even aqua blue.

Choosing

• Pick up paint chips that inspire you, then hang them right next to the wood floor to get an idea of how the color looks. Leave the paint chips there for 24 hours and note how they look in natural and artificial light. Narrow the palette down, then get paint samples of your favorites. Paint a sheet of cardboard or poster board with each sample, then hang it against the wall and pick your preferred color from the swatch.