Use color and patterns to bring out the beauty of your home’s wood tones.
With so many different types of wood out there today, it’s time to realize that wood isn’t just brown. Each type of wood, finish and stain carry a different tone, from golden-yellow to red to blue. Knowing the difference between wood tones will help you decide which one is best for you and your home. Find out how to make simple changes in color and arrangement to bring out the beauty of your wood furniture.
Introduction
No matter the style of your furnishings, the beauty of the wood deserves a background that shows it to its best advantage. What you have to determine is which color will best enhance your wood’s finish.
Each type of wood has a characteristic color and grain pattern. Stain can be used to alter the color and enhance the wood’s natural grain pattern. Most people have heard of maple, cherry, walnut, mahogany, and oak stains and finishes. These stains, sold widely at home improvement stores, are named for the types of wood they simulate.
Over time, wood furnishings acquire a rich patina that gives the surface depth and complexity. Patina is a condition of age and appearance that the wood develops over time. It’s most visible in antique furnishings and can’t be faked or duplicated. Newer wood will lack this complexity, but will still have an overall beauty in its unique color tone.
To choose wall colors and a design scheme that will enhance your wood pieces, start at the beginning. What features of the room are permanent - what features do you not want to change or cannot be changed? This could be wood flooring in a dining room, cabinets in the kitchen, or a fireplace in the living room. Also think about your focal point – what you want to enhance. Is it the wood flooring or a piece of furniture in the room? Knowing the color and tone of your permanent fixtures and of your focal point will help you develop a unifying color palette for the room. You could go for the drama of a high contrast color palette or the richness of low-contrast pairings; it all depends on your personal preference.
High Contrast
Depth and Complexity
Instead of matching the room color to the color of the wood, you want to find a color that will enhance the wood finish. Dark finishes, such as mahogany, walnut, or cherry, stand out in sharp relief against any light color. In the same way, light wood shows up boldly against dark or strong color on the walls. The contrast adds depth to the room, calling more attention to your focal point.
One thing to watch for - if you have a lot of dark furniture in a light-color room, the space may feel busier than it would if the furniture blended in. If you love the look of dark wood against light walls (or light furniture against dark walls), keep furniture arrangements orderly and streamlined to offset the impression of crowding.
To achieve high contrast with medium-tone finishes, keep the wall color soft and light, creating as much difference as possible between the values of the wood color and the wall.
The colors of the wood in the room can also serve as a cue for wall color. For high contrast, a wood with red as the dominant hue will be enhanced and intensified with a green background or accents. Golden-yellow woods stand out against warm red as well as earthy greens, teal, or eggplant. Brown woods with yellow undertones relate to buttery walls yet stand out boldly for high-contrast drama.
See Using Color Theory for more information about using contrasting and complementary colors.
Low Contrast
Rich and Subtle
Low contrast is achieved by pairing hues of equal intensity or value. This doesn’t mean the furniture has to always fade into the background, however. If you put a dark mahogany table against a deep red wall, you create a dynamic balance between two hues of equal strength. The value of the wood equals that of the wall, but is also enhanced by it. Keep a low contrast theme with accents in similar tones.
The same principle works with medium brown woods and muted or medium-tone colors; the effect is more restrained because the tones are subdued. Warm neutrals, such as taupe bring out the rich, toasty notes in medium brown woods. The effect is quiet and low-key, producing a different kind of drama from than that created by high contrast.
Color and Wood
Color preferences are entirely personal, but when you're choosing background colors based on furniture, you’ll find that some colors enhance the natural beauty of the wood better than others.
For instance, the warmth of honey-toned pine wood shows up well against a medium green. This green brings out the yellow tones in the wood and balances them with cool contrast. Intense, bright blue brings out the wood's orange tones, but you have to love high contrast to live with this much bold color; the contrast could seem harsh. Terra-cotta or pale orange draws out the orange in the wood but is so similar in tone that the wood is nearly lost. Yellow brings out the wood's orange and yellow tones and emphasizes an overall warmth, but it doesn't enhance the wood.
With a little trial and error, you’ll find the color that accents and emphasizes your wood tone while also creating the desired mood in the room.
