Gray walls are very much “in” at the moment, with a lot of people opting for these stone-colored, neutral hues to make their homes feel stylish. Gray walls are great for pairing with bright pops of color or with more subtle, muted tones, but how do you know what sort of flooring you should choose? It can be challenging!
If you’ve got gray walls, you should think hard about the floor before making a choice. Flooring choices tend to be long-term and changing them can be pricey, so don’t just plunge ahead with a style that you haven’t really considered properly. It’s a good idea to look at samples before you make any decisions.
What color flooring goes with gray walls? Gray walls go well with a wide variety of floors, including warm wood colors, white, darker hues, browns and beige, more gray, or even black. The flooring will change the whole appearance of the room so you should weigh up what impression you want to convey and how dark the room will look.
What Color Floor Should You Choose to Go with Gray Walls?
The great news is that gray walls can be paired with most neutral floor tones. They don’t tend to be particularly nice combined with bright colors, as this effect can be overwhelming, but almost any neutral or muted tone should be fine. Most people opt for light, warm, or dark wood, or choose white boards or tiles.
The first thing you should think about is how you want the room to feel and what size it is. Remember that white (or other light colors) can open a space up and make it feel bigger and more inviting, while darker colors can be cozy and relaxing, but tend to make rooms feel a little smaller.
If you want a room to feel bright and open, you might want to select a light color. White is the brightest, but you could also go for a pale or honey-colored wood, or even a beige, cream, or light brown. These will pair nicely with your walls, and ensure that the room feels neutral and spacious.
On the other hand, for a den-like room, a snug, or an ultra-cozy living room, you will probably want darker flooring. A warm or reddish wood, a dark wood, or dark gray or black flooring can look great. These will pull together the darker hues in the gray and make the room feel snug and safe.
What About Tone Matching?
You should also pay attention to what notes are in your gray paint. Is it warm or cold? If you have a gray with cold notes in, it will go better with cold flooring, such as a blue-black or a gray wood. This might be tricky, since many kinds of wood are warm, but think about beech, hickory, or ash.
If your walls are a warm gray, consider more honey notes, such as golden pecan or walnut. If you’re not using wood, you should still think about tone matching, and generally aim for an overall harmonious atmosphere.
How Dark Should the Floor Be?
On the whole, it’s best to have flooring that is darker than the walls, although this is not a rule you have to apply all the time. If you prefer white boards and gray walls, this should work well, because the white will make a statement that draws in the eye.
However, if you are pairing gray with gray, it’s better to choose a darker gray for the floors. This feels logical to most people, as the ground tends to be darker than the sky. It might sound odd, but it can make the room feel more natural and comfortable to be in.
If you are going to use a darker paint for your walls, check the colors and think about the effect carefully first. It can certainly be done, but you should make sure you are happy with it before you start laying the flooring.
What Style of Flooring Should You Choose to Go with Gray Walls?
It’s also important to think about whether you want tiles, floorboards, laminate, or something else. Fortunately, most flooring types can go well with gray walls, although floorboards are a particularly popular option.
This might be because gray walls have a somewhat rustic appearance, and floorboards complement this well. Tiles can sometimes look a little too utilitarian, although this does depend on your personal preferences and the layout of the room. In some cases, even tiles will work well with gray walls.
What Color Floors Don’t Match Gray Walls?
Although most colors can go well with gray – which is one of the reasons it has become so popular – you should be wary of using bright colors for your floor. Bright colors can be difficult to keep updated, and they make it difficult to change more transient things, like your furniture, without creating clashes.
For example, you might love the look of orange flooring with gray walls, but you will probably struggle to make your other decorations look good with this pairing, especially as things wear out and need to be updated. It is much better to opt for neutral colors for your floor, and then provide the bright colors via your more temporary decorations.
Otherwise, there aren’t really any rules about which colors you must avoid if you have gray walls. Gray is an enormously versatile color that doesn’t clash with anything, so you’ve got as much freedom as you like.
While paying attention to the tone of your gray walls may help you to create a consistent, coherent look, you can choose your floor color however you like, and it should match well. There are no strict rules here!
Final Thoughts
Gray walls were traditionally paired with dark brown flooring, but in recent years, people have got significantly more inventive. You can splash out with white, black, cream, beige, honey, or more gray if you choose to. Some people even opt for slightly muted blue colors for the floor. On the whole, avoiding bright colors is the safest option.
