Dark Wood Floor Living Room Wall Color Schemes

When refurbishing a living room with dark wood flooring, selecting the perfect wall colors is key to creating a stylish and inviting space. The right tones can make a room feel light and airy, add some much-needed warmth, beautifully accentuate wood grain, and allow those stunning floors to shine as the focal point. Wood flooring is a major investment, so you'll want to choose versatile paint colors that complement your hardwoods .

Before visiting the paint store, consider the size and layout of your living room along with the amount of daylight it receives. These factors, combined with the exact floor stain and undertones present in your wood will determine the best color palettes for your walls and trim. To help narrow things down, here's an overview of popular dark wood floor and wall paint color pairings for living rooms of varied sizes and styles.

Benefits of Choosing the Right Wall Colors for Dark Wood Floors

Strategically selecting living room wall colors to match your dark wood flooring offers several advantages beyond pure aesthetics. It's about working with what you have for stunning cohesion.

• Creates a cohesive style throughout the space from floors to ceilings
• Makes the living room feel light, airy, and more expansive
• Adds much-needed warmth and accentuates beautiful wood grain
• Allows rich, dramatic wood flooring to take center stage

Factors to Consider When Selecting Paint Colors

When deciding which direction to take your dark wood floor living room paint colors , consider what will best complement your existing floors and furnishings . Here are a few of the most pivotal factors to keep in mind.

Undertones of The Wood Flooring

The undertones present in wood species like oak, cherry, maple and ash should guide your wall color selection. For example, cherry with its red undertones pairs beautifully with camel or terra-cotta walls. For oak's golden undertones try pale yellow. Cool-toned maple looks best with neutral grays or blues.

Amount of Natural Light

Rooms filled with sunshine give you more flexibility since ample light balances the darkness of wood floors. Dim living rooms may require lighter wall colors to keep things from feeling too heavy and enclosed. Consider aspect and size/quantity of windows.

Size and Layout of The Living Room

Small living rooms with dark floors can gain a spacious illusion using soft off whites on walls. Medium rooms have flexibility for accent walls in colors like pale blue-green. Large living rooms can handle deeper tones like charcoal gray.

Personal Color Preferences & Style

Selecting a color palette for any room should align with personal preferences for color and decor style. Fortunately, dark wood floors pair well with a diverse range of wall colors from neutral to bold accent shades.

Warm & Inviting - Beige, Tan, Camel

For traditional living rooms filled with wingback chairs and antique furnishings, warming neutrals like beige, tan and camel are foolproof choices. These earthy yet versatile backgrounds allow your stunning wood floors and decor to feel right at home in cottage charm or contemporary spaces alike.

• Softens potentially harsh contrasts between walls and dark floors
• Feels cozy, peaceful and elegant with most color schemes
• Works beautifully with nearly any furniture style

Crisp White & Off-Whites

Boldly go where no color has gone before with fresh bright-white or ever-so-slightly creamy off-white walls. This palette makes small spaces appear larger by reflecting ample light. It also provides a clean backdrop for colorful furniture and accessories.

• Makes living rooms feel more expansive and airy
• Visually expands smaller living rooms
• Goes well with any furniture style from modern to traditional

Light Gray Shades

From barely-there palladium to storm cloud gray, the virtually endless gray spectrum offers living room perfection with dark wood floors . Cool-toned grays balance warm wood undertones while providing a versatile backdrop.

• Provides a light but versatile neutral backdrop
• Cool gray tones beautifully balance warm floors
• Pairs perfectly well with colorful accents and fabrics

Accent Wall Colors - Sage Green, Sky Blue

Make your dramatic wood floors the neutral backdrop for stunning bright accent walls in colors like celery green, sky blue, muted coral and light purple. Use accent colors on a single wall or the back wall.

• Subtly adds color without overpowering space
• Gorgeously complements brown and golden oak tones
• Use accent wall color with white or neutral on other walls

Avoid Dark & Bold Hues

While beautifully dramatic, darker or bolder wall colors have some definite downsides when paired with dark wood flooring. Deep colors tend to make living rooms feel smaller and more enclosed.

• Can feel too heavy, bold and enclosing
• Diminishes sunlight and makes rooms feel darker/smaller
• Competes with and overwhelms wood tones

Sheens & Finishes to Consider

Wall sheens and finishes also impact the look and feel of your space. Consider walls with darker floors. Here are top options.

• Eggshell or Satin - Durable, scrubbable and easy to clean
• Matte - Minimizes imperfections by absorbing light
• Semi-Gloss - Reflects light in darker living rooms

Test Paint Swatches & View in Lighting

When selecting paint colors for dark wood floor living rooms always test out paint swatches first. Colors appear differently on walls than on tiny chips. Try out several shades of potential colors.

Also, check swatches at various times of day and night to see how lighting impacts the color.

• True colors only revealed on walls not chips
• See how swatches change with daylight vs lamps
• Paint large sample patches before deciding

Creative Two-Tone Approach

Take your living room walls to the next level by playing with two complementary colors for added drama. Try lighter main walls with one dark accent wall. Or use varying tones and shades of one versatile color.

• Lighter main walls with deeper accent wall color
• Varying shades of one color on four walls
• Contrast wall and ceiling or trim colors

Sometimes choosing wall colors to match new floors feels overwhelming. Or you want flexibility to readily change things up later on down the road. That's when neutral living room wall paint becomes your best friend.

Stick with off-whites, beiges, light taupes, grays or other neutral backgrounds. Then add pops of color throughout the space using easy-to-swap light fixtures, throw pillows, area rugs and artwork when you crave change.