When designing your kitchen, after you decided to go with a wood floor and dark cabinets, choosing what colour wood floor with dark cabinets is the critical decision you need to make in order to have a stylish kitchen with all elements in harmony.
There are so many options when making decisions on kitchen elements that it is easy to get intimidated and lose confidence.
Cabinets, counters, backsplash, flooring, island, furniture, décor, hardware, lamps, they all have to work together or you will have a hodge-podge of pieces that look a mess even if each is expensive and stylish on its own.
Here are just some ideas on what works together when you already made the decision to go with dark cabinets.
What Colour Wood Floor With Dark Cabinets
White wood floor provides a nice contrast to the dark kitchen cabinets
If you like the contrasting look in your kitchen, a white floor is a natural choice. It can be hardwood bleached white, whitewashed wood or painted wood.
While hardwood is always the best option for the floors, a painted floor allows you to use cheaper wood and achieve the same bright, fresh effect that works so wonderfully with dark cabinets.
The obvious problem with white floors is the need to clean them regularly because every little stain shows instantly and kitchens are messy places.
You might want to complement white floors with white painted walls or shiny white subway tiles for a backsplash.
The white floor looks particularly striking if your cabinets are black, whether glossy or matte black. This sharp contrast looks modern and edgy and also requires simple styling of the cabinet doors and hardware.
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Grey wood floor with dark kitchen cabinets
Grey is trendy colour in interior design and it is a natural choice for a wooden floor. It works wonderfully with dark cabinets, especially with black, dark grey or bluish-grey colour cabinets.
While grey on its own is considered neutral, when put together with black provides enough contrast to make your kitchen interesting.
Grey floor is more suitable for a modern kitchen, especially open plan industrial style, but can look great in a rustic kitchen if the right elements are put together. For example, your dark cabinets should be more rustic, reddish black or reddish-grey or any shade of grey.
More traditional cabinet styling would also look better if you are going for the rustic look.
To avoid your kitchen looking boring or too cold with too much grey, add warm elements such as red or orange backsplash and plenty of warm colour decorative elements.
Keep in mind that wide wood floor panels look more rustic than narrow ones, although they are more trendy.
Grey wood floor can be made of hardwoods stained grey, or more affordable pine flooring painted grey. Paint does not last as long as a stain but can look very attractive with a trendy open plan kitchen.
Natural wood floor with dark kitchen cabinets
Natural wood flooring is always a popular choice. Some good quality woods look very attractive with their wood grain showing through the varnish. Think birch, maple, hickory or white oak. Such a floor really stands out when put together with dark cabinets.
Try to avoid too much contrast and go for the dark cabinets that are also made of natural wood instead of painted. Just choose darker tones. Such a kitchen would look very traditional but also timeless and very harmonious.
If you find natural wood a bit boring, you can provide more interest in your choice of backsplash and kitchen counter. Backsplash in handmade tiles in brick tones would look fantastic, and so would real bricks as a backsplash.
Warm coloured granite counter would perfectly complement the natural colour wood floor and dark cabinets.
Choosing a natural wood floor with dark wood kitchen cabinets is a safe choice that looks great. If you have a hard time making your design decisions, you cannot go wrong with this.
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Dark brown wood floor for the drama and luxury
The dark wood floor looks dramatic and when combined with dark cabinets. It creates the feel of luxury and elegance. You can go more modern in your choice of cabinet styling, or more traditional, which will resist the test of time and whims of fashion trends.
If both the floor and cabinets are a dark colour, try to stick to the same colour tones to avoid the clash. They can have a reddish or bluish tint that you can complement with similar colour granite or marble countertops for a truly luxurious look.
If you want a more modern vibe, play with the backsplash and go crazy with colours and patterns. Brightly coloured glass tiles in a mosaic or hand-painted tiles would stand out beautifully.
Shiny metallic silver or gold backsplash tiles would be an interesting choice and a conversation starter.
If your cabinets are glossy black, creating a modern look on their own, your floor can be a bit lighter tone of grey for a bit of contrast while staying modern.
Add to the look of luxury with the details. Go for golden or crystal light fixtures and bright gold or brass door pulls and handles on the cabinets.
Black flooring with dark kitchen cabinets
Black wood flooring is an unusual choice and it requires guts but if you are matching it with dark kitchen cabinets, you can achieve a very interesting and stunning look with a bit of care.
Both floor and kitchen cabinets should be or both glossy or both matte to work together. Black cabinets will work with the black floor but you will have to break the dark vibe with a light countertop and backsplash.
Dark grey cabinets will provide just enough contrast with the black floor. Add to it with grey in the backsplash or by choosing a grey slab of marble.
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Maple wood floor with dark cabinets for a safe choice
Natural maple is a beautiful durable hardwood that never went out of fashion. It is naturally very light and bright but can be stained darker. Maple exists as natural or engineered flooring.
Combined with dark cabinets, maple wood flooring can look contemporary, if you choose wider planks, which are more trendy. Keep the protective varnish very light to retain the wood’s natural colour.
If you want a more traditional look and your cabinets are dark natural wood, stain your maple floor golden honey colour or darker wood tone.
Narrow floor planks also look more traditional and would add to the traditional look you are going for.
While you can stain maple darker colours or paint it any colour of the rainbow, it would be a pity to cover the beautiful wood grain.
One interesting and trendy style is to have maple wood planks in various tones that combine into almost a mosaic on the floor. It is a matter of taste but it might look a bit busy if your backsplash or kitchen counters are colourful.
Charcoal grey flooring with dark grey cabinets
A darker version of trendy grey floors seen everywhere these days. Charcoal grey floors look great with dark cabinets if they are in greyish tones and not dark wood colour.
Grey floors with dark grey cabinets might look monotonous unless you combine them with a contrasting colour counter, such as white marble with grey veining, or mosaic backsplash.
This combination works only in the kitchen with plenty of natural light or could look gloomy. Adding plenty of fresh greenery would also help.
The charcoal grey floor looks great in an open plan kitchen and can be broken with colourful area rugs to separate the kitchen area from the rest of the space.
Chrome or silver details would also break the dark tone. This colour combination is often chosen by young males as it has a distinct masculine vibe.
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Bamboo floor with dark cabinets for the natural rustic look
Bamboo flooring is very trendy because it is a sustainable and attractive material but it is not a particularly good choice for kitchens. It scratches easily and absorbs water, so it has to be sealed and protected in order to last.
Bamboo flooring is naturally bright in colour and it provides a nice contrast to the dark cabinets. Nevertheless, it can be stained any colour you like.
Bamboo is a good choice if you want a rustic, natural kitchen and your cabinets are natural wood colour, dark green, dark red or dark blue. Using colourful stains allows you to use cheaper wood for the cabinets.
Textured beige with dark cabinets for added interest
Floor materials can be made even more interesting if they are randomly stained different shades of the same colour and are given a light texture.
Having wood planks in different shades allows you wider options when it comes to combining elements in the kitchen. If your cabinets are dark grey, stay with the variation of grey in the flooring. If the cabinets are natural dark wood, then flooring should also stay in the same family of colours, just a variety of them.
The texture is another option that provides added interest. It makes the wood floor look more natural. Some engineered wood flooring can be made look more natural by giving it a texture.
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Copper colour wood floor
Copper colour stained wood floor looks very warm and combines great with dark natural wood cabinets. Combine copper coloured wood with other copper elements such as kitchen faucets and cabinet hardware. A stovetop hood in beaten copper would provide a spectacular focal point.
Cherry wood floor with dark cabinets
You can have both flooring and cabinets made of cherry and create a unique and stunning effect. With the traditional styling of cabinets, you would have a timeless and luxurious look.
The cherry wood floor would also look great with dark grey cabinets if you link them with kitchen splash or with a reddish piece of granite for the countertop.
Interestingly, sleek modern stainless steel appliances look fantastic with cherry flooring and cabinets.
Cherry lumber is fairly expensive. You can achieve the same look by using cherry colour stained oak, a popular hardwood that can be stained cherry colour. Pine flooring can also be stained cherry colour.
Grey wood tiles flooring design
Tiles are always a popular choice for kitchens, but if you are having an open plan home and want to keep the same flooring throughout, creating the effect of tiles is the way to go. There are several ways to go about it.
The market is full of wood flooring painted to look like stone, granite, slate or just about anything else. Wood flooring that looks like grey stone would look great with dark cabinets in your kitchen and would work with any kitchen style.
Another way to achieve this look is by painting tiles on wood.
Two-colour tiles for the wooden floor
Two-colour tiles pattern such as black and white or brown and white look great in traditional kitchens. If you would rather keep the wood floor throughout your home, you can paint the tile pattern on the floor in your kitchen to create such an effect.
If you are painting your wood floor, you can choose cheaper wood to create this stunning effect.
A black and white tile-looking floor would create the look of an Italian or French country kitchen, and you can complement the look with other details, such as ceiling beams and rustic dark kitchen cabinets. Black cabinets would also look very attractive.
After painting tiles on the wood floor, you have to seal the paint with a wood sealant or polyurethane so it does not scratch easily.
Red wood floor with dark cabinets
Red is a great colour to combine with dark kitchen cabinets. You can choose reddish tone natural wood such as cherry or mahogany, or you can stain or paint more affordable wood for the great looking flooring.
The red floor looks great with modern black glossy cabinets for the contemporary look but looks equally beautiful with natural red wood for the more traditional look. In that case, the flooring should be stained reddish and not painted, to preserve the beautiful look of wood grain.
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Yellow wooden floor with dark cabinets
Dark cabinets, especially if they are of modern design, inspire people to go for the more unexpected floor choices. The yellow wooden floor provides a great contrast to the dark cabinets but it also gives warmth to the otherwise dark kitchen.
A yellow wooden floor can be created by choosing yellow tone natural wood such as yellow cedar, or you can stain pale woods such as white maple. Of course, you can choose any more affordable flooring material and give it a few coats of yellow paint. To make sure it is durable, choose marine quality paint or protect it with a few coats of polyurethane.
Conclusion
Wooden floors are a natural choice for modern open floor plan kitchens. If you decided on dark colour cabinets, it does not mean that you are limited in your choice of wood floor colour.
Just pay attention to the colour tones to achieve harmony. And if you are not feeling confident in making the right choice, go for the same tone for the floor and cabinets, or the full contrast. You can always provide interest in area rugs and other details in the kitchen that can be easily changed.