Purchasing a set of matching wood furniture is a thing of the past because this design blunder makes space look monotonous and flat. In contrast, matching wood tones the right way develops a beautiful aesthetic that provides a delicate balance of depth. Aside from furniture, you can also use complementary tones in your flooring and other accents to create an organic vibe for your home.
With that, below are five tips for mixing wood tones to beautify your home.
1. Think of undertones
While matching all wood tones does not look good, a room with overly different styles provides dysfunction in your design. Unlike mixing metals, what’s important is that the wooden tones complement each other. Woods with warm undertones like mahogany, cherry, and hickory create a perfect mix. Meanwhile, blending lighter hues like pine, maple, and ash will provide a cohesive space.
However, combining warm and cool woods disrupts the peaceful vibe. If you want to add more depth to your warm-toned wood, pair them with the neutral tones of birch and walnut trees. You can also mix these into a room with warm undertones. You can tinker with other design elements if the undertones remain consistent, especially in a cramped bathroom wherein a unifying undertone translates to a cohesive space.
2. Retain the grain
You must consider both open and closed wood grains when combining accents. Open grains like mahogany, walnut, or oak have larger pores and feel coarse to touch. On the other hand, closed grains like birch, hickory, and maple have smaller pores and a smoother surface.
If you’re still undecided with what to choose, you can factor in the mood you want. Open grains provide a casual vibe that is perfect for natural and rustic homes, while closed grains are better for contemporary spaces. The patterns may vary within one area as long as they still blend.
3. Making a statement
Interior designers often select a centerpiece to design around. The statement piece is where you tie the other elements together, and this can be an accent wall, a desk, or a piece of artwork. The same trick is possible when mixing woods because wooden floorings, countertops, and burled vanities blend well. You can find a statement piece before or after the remodeling if it connects the elements.
4. Work on balance
Identify where each wooden element will fit in your room and how close they must be with one another. Putting all dark woods on one side and all light woods on the other makes the room feel lopsided.
This is why you need to scatter the tones to achieve a balanced effect. You can use the darker woods near the floor and the lighter ones at higher spaces to make the room feel brighter and bigger. Your house becomes an extension of the outdoors as well because it mimics nature.
5. Soften the edges
Mixing woods exudes a trendy vibe. However, you must include some soft, modern tones to make your home feel welcoming. Wooden cabinets on a wooden floor and next to a wooden frame create hard edges that draw attention to the wood’s differences.
Interior designers utilize fabrics like rugs, pillows, or curtains to soften the spaces and smoothen the transitions for each wooden style. Adding materials made of metal, stone, or acrylic may break up the room that has too much wood. Soft, neutral colors like gray, charcoal, and eggshell are useful in providing transitions between different wood tones.
If you are renovating your house, make sure that you hire a construction company that also understands aesthetics and interior design. Aside from installing the wooden tones, they should also know where each element fits perfectly to maintain the stunning vibe of your home.
If you are looking for a home remodeler in Ocean City, New Jersey, get in touch with us to see how we can help.