Walnut floors with an oak fireplace will they clash????

MsPolly

Hi all

I am new here but would really appreciate some help from you all. I want to get some advice on redecorating my living room. Currently i have a cream carpet in my living room and cream leather furniture, brown curtains and the walls are painted antique cream and a feature wall is a coffee colour. Firstly i love neutral colours but i find it is seriously lacking a splash of colour any suggestions how i can add some colour?

Also my carpet is too difficult to keep clean so i would love to get wooden floors. However my dilemma is i love the dark walnut wooden floors but i have pine doors and an oak fire place and I'm afraid that too many woods will not look so good together. Am i correct in thinking that?? I thought the walnut might go well with that cream and brown curtains if i added some more colour too!

I was hoping to get the wooden floors all through the downstairs of my house bar the kitchen. I have the neutral cream/brown actually running most of the way through the house. But then i have the same dilemma in my office / clinic i work from which has pine furniture and not sure how the walnut would look with that.

I would really appreciate any advice and tips you can give me before i decide what to do.

Look forward to hearing from you.

MsPolly

mct1

I can speak from experience here. In my study I have pine floors and a pine vaulted ceiling, a walnut desk, mahogony filing cabinet and beech bookcases. There is a nice, red rug on the floor and the walls are pale yellow. Everyone who walks in says "what a lovely room", though I feel it's time for a makeover. I will be shortly painting the ceiling and walls cream and installing an ivory & walnut coloured unit to replace the bookcases. Eventually, I will replace the floor, probably with oak.

In another room we have an oak floor and mahogony bookcases which work strangely well together.

Now I'm not suggesting you go that far in mixing your woods, but I think you'll be surprised how well different shades go together. Mybe that's because of how they are in nature, all together in a forest? My only reservation is the pine, which I find ages to a rather unpleasant orangy colour - unfortunate as like you we have quite a lot of it.

However, I think walnut goes well with most things, as does cream. In fact our new kitchen is cream and walnut!

Just a couple of thoughts for what they're worth: you don't have to run the same floor throughout the downstains. Sometimes, it's nice for different rooms to have their own characters.

Rugs are nice for splashes of colour in a neutral room. Lots of shops will let you take them home to try or agree to completely refund within a week. We usually try out 3 or 4 before finding one that looks right. Pictures are great for adding colour. And you don't need to invest in works of art; it's amazing how professional your own artwork can look with a frame on! Or cushions, of course.

Best of luck with your project.

SBMC

I read with interest your question. If it is of any assistance I know of a good shop in ****shill***** who gave me excellent advice in selecting the correct colour combination forcushions matching my hardwood floors and decor. The product there I have not seen any where else.. apologies for the short reply, hope it is helpful.

Mary O' Keeffe.

oops... they also have a website at ****shill***** but beter to visit the shop for advice.

rungmc

Depends on the grade of walnut you buy...

See, the higher grades will be darker, as the "blonde" streaks in the wood are eliminated. Its one of those situations where the "best" timber isnt neccesarily the nicest. If you stick with the lower grades, it will have more "highlights" which will compliment your oak fireplace beautifully (and dont worry about the quality of your timber; lower grade doesnt mean lesser quality).

This applies for american walnut, but I think instead an acacia or pilang would suit you better, as it has more Blonde, and also as a bonus is somewhat more resiliant to knocks and dents. Stay away from semi-solid and engineered boards; these generall use the higher grade of timber and as such are very even in their colour; perfect if you want a very even, dark floor; not so much if you need brightness to compliment your fireplace. Burmese and Champaka walnuts are very dary too.

Caution also; a lot of "Walnut" being offered is in fact stained oak. Bewarned!!