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Mix and Match

When choosing our schemes for interior decor, we are reluctant to mix and match different species of wood. We are so used to buying furniture in sets, and at times it is very difficult to brake from the mold.

But what about wood stains in your decoration scheme?

Can you mix those?

Well known interior decorators like to tell us that it is a huge "no no" to use more than one wood color in your home.

One of my favorite designers, Brian Gluckstein, has a theory on this. Looking at his glorious interiors you will notice that he rarely uses more then one type of wood. His style is sophisticated and always elegant, but is it for everyone?

I do feel that it is wrong to tell people that they only should use one type or one color of wood in their interiors. It should be a challenge for a decorator or a designer to skillfully marry couple of well chosen species of wood in their decoration schemes.

Source: Houzz.com

Go ahead! Mix and Match those Stains & Wood Species... It's a good thing!

Yes we can mix and match different wood species and hardwood floor colors for successful decorating results.

It would be nice to have the option of starting new with an empty space. That way we could start from scratch... but how boring would that be?!

In reality, most often we need to work with what is "there" already.

After all most of our clients prefer to work with their existing furniture, perhaps add some new pieces, and rarely do they start with a blank slate.

The key is to not go overboard. This IS important.

Remember not to use too many wood species and stains in one space.

The usual rule, just like with using colours on your walls is to stick to not more than three stain colours. It is better to distinguish the colours itself and not necessarily the species of wood.

Here is how to do this right:

If most of your furniture are Oak, it will be a lot more pleasing visually, to either go with Oak or Ash on your flooring, for an overall, uniform look (you will have the consistency of the grain and intensity of the stain results that will work well with your existing furnishings), or you can choose a species with very smooth, uniform look (like Maple), not much grain visible there, so the floor will actually work as a backdrop for your furniture pieces.

You should definitely stay away from Pine flooring in this case.

When choosing stains for either one of the above options, you would still want to stay within the same colour family as most of your Oak furnishings. If your dinning set has red undertones, try stains that will also have a hint of red in them. If your bedroom furnishings have more of a brown hew to them, you need to choose a stain that will also reflect that undertones.

So go ahead mix and match, have fun, most of the time you will know if something works together or not.

Couple of things to remember:
Not all colors work together.
We do not mix warm and cool colors in the same area.
It is wise to stick to not more than 3 types of wood or 3 stain colors in one area.
We always have to consider other materials and colors in the room.

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