If you’re installing a new hardwood floor, it’s important to match it with your kitchen cabinets.  It’s not as important to worry about matching the floor to your kitchen walls because wall colour is relatively easy to change with a coat of paint.  However, you likely won’t want to be changing your kitchen cabinets regularly.  Therefore, installing a hardwood floor that matches your cabinets should be the starting point.  In this post, we provide three tips for matching hardwood flooring to kitchen cabinets.

Go For Contrast

It may sound counterintuitive, but you want the wood colours and grains of your hardwood floor and kitchen cabinets to contrast rather than mimic each other.  The reason for this is that having a uniform colour and grain running across your floors and up to the tops of your cabinets will cause the kitchen to appear smaller.  Varying the appearances between the two will break things up and give a more open appearance.  When it comes to cabinets and floors, go for contrast rather than uniformity.

Pay Attention To The Style Of Your Kitchen

If you’re choosing a new floor or cabinets, you should pay attention to the style that your kitchen already exhibits.  A rustic, farmhouse style will be complemented with the warmer tones of maple or oak, whereas an ultra-modern kitchen will do better with high contrast colours such as black and white.  Paying attention to the theme of your kitchen will inform the types of floors and cabinets that will work best for you.

Choose According To Your Lifestyle

You should also choose a hardwood floor colour based on your lifestyle.  Dark floors are more difficult to keep clean and will show scuffs and scratches more easily.  This means that they may not be as suitable for busy kitchens full of children and pets.  Lighter floors will be more appropriate.  If your kitchen doesn’t get a lot of use, you have a lot of time for cleaning or you simply love cleaning regularly, having a dark-coloured floor may not be as much of an issue.  However, it’s important to take into account the lifestyle you and your family lead when it’s time to choose a hardwood floor colour.