Quality wooden flooring is one of the most striking additions to any home; but a lot of its effect can be lost through poor interior design choices. Here Xylo Flooring, who supply wooden floors to interior designers, the retail sector and home developers, look at some of the ways of bringing out the true beauty of the surface.

Choose Complementary Colours

One of the most difficult tasks to tackle with wooden flooring is choosing the right colour scheme for the rest of the room. Matching the brown or off-brown hues of the wood might seem like a good idea, but this can easily make the whole space look dull and uninteresting.

The best colours are usually those which match the floor’s undertone. Wood often features subtle hints of yellow, orange or red, so look for ‘warm’ colours for your walls such as such as brown, peach or terracotta. Alternatively, if you want to match wooden floors with grey undertones, you need cooler colours like blue, teal or light purple.

Don’t Go Against the Grain

As with the walls, ideally any wooden furniture should match the undertone of a wooden floor as you don’t want to create too uniform a look throughout the room. You should also try to ensure that the grain of both the floor and the furniture match.

All wood flooring contains a unique grain (usually either open, for wood with large pores, or closed, which minimises any lines or markings). Ideally you want all the grains running in the same direction throughout the room.

Use Plenty of Rugs

Leaving the whole floor exposed isn’t a good idea. It won’t be as comfortable underfoot, which is particularly a problem in the bedroom, where homeowners are far more likely to go without any footwear.

The answer? Plenty of strategically placed rugs. Again, these shouldn’t be exactly the same colour as the floor but in a complimentary tone (that way, you won’t forget that it’s there and trip over it by mistake). Alternatively, you can make a real interior design statement by buying one in a completely different colour.

Big and bold is a good idea, as smaller rugs can easily look isolated in a large room. And they don’t necessarily need to be rectangular but can be chosen to fit the available space or furniture. Circular rugs work well underneath round dining tables, for instance. And, finally, rugs placed underneath items of furniture, such as sofas, chairs and tables, can help prevent damage to the floor itself.

Ancient or Modern?

A wooden floor might seem an unusual choice for a lounge or kitchen which is packed full of modern furniture and appliances, but in many respects wood works better than a sleek vinyl or laminate surface. This is because wood can inject some much-needed warmth and ‘homeliness’ into rooms which are covered in smooth metallic surfaces.

Light or Dark?

You should only really opt for a dark wooden floor if the room has plenty of natural light. This will ensure the space doesn’t become too overpowering and depressing, and will also bring out the natural grains of the wood itself.

If the windows are relatively small, then the room can be brightened up with some lighter home furnishings, such as white painted walls, pale-coloured cabinets and patterned rugs.

Engineered Hardwood Floors from Xylo Flooring

Xylo Flooring supply a range of engineered hardwood floors to customers across the UK, using either a click or tongue-and-groove system to hold them in place. They come in a variety of colour and grade options.

To learn more, you can call us on 020 8368 8122; you can also find your local Xylo outlet by emailing sales@xyloflooring.com.

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