Stylish and Cohesive: How to Mix Different Wood Finishes in Your Home Decor

There is something charming about wooden furniture that makes it a staple in practically every home. Usually associated with feelings of warmth, comfort, and richness, wooden furnishings can easily transform any room and make it feel more homely and inviting while at the same time offering high quality and a timeless look. When it comes to mixing and matching furnishings with different wood finishes, things can get a little tricky.

You want to create a look that looks stylish and cohesive, and for that to happen, you will need to consider a couple of factors. To help you out, we are listing a couple of useful tips for skillfully mixing and matching different wood finishes in your home decor.

Use wood finishes with common undertones

When looking to mix woods in the same room, the best place to start would be to identify the undertones. Different woods will have a different color temperature or undertone, and how you combine them will largely impact the overall feel of the room and whether it feels connected or not.

Your safest bet would be to use common undertones. There are wood finishes with warm undertones ( maple, walnut, white oak) – they are unstained, and they have a natural, warm feel. They’ll appear either red, yellow, or orange, and they can easily be mixed and matched. There are also wood finishes with cool undertones. These are stained woods, and they’re easy to combine, and with a variety of options to choose from (maple with charcoal stain, ash with sand stain, etc.), it’s easy to appeal to every taste. Using wood finishes with common undertones will result in a balanced look since all the tones will complement each other.

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Add visual interest by creating contrast

Another way you can incorporate different wood finishes in your home decor and achieve a balanced look is to play with contrast. If you don’t want to be too bold, you can take a more subtle route and use pieces with dark and light wood finishes that are not as contrasting. For instance, you can go for combinations such as medium and dark or light and medium.

You can also create contrast by opting for pieces that have a different grain pattern and size. Varying wood grains will add interest to your interiors and have a significant impact on the overall appeal of the room regardless of the way you choose to incorporate wood into your interior space. If you are, however, drawn to a bolder, more dramatic look, you can go for a high-contrast mix, combining dark-stained finishes with pale ones.

Incorporate a unifying piece into the mix

This is a great tip for someone who’s just starting out and wants to make sure that all the elements are tied perfectly together. It can be as simple as adding one element that will act as a bridge between warm and cool tones in the room. 

A great example of “bridge” wood is, of course, reclaimed wood because of its uniqueness, character, and history, but some other great options include spalted sugarberry, zebrawood, and pieces with burled finishes. Because they contain a range of tones, they’ll act as a unifying piece for all the other wood finishes, creating visual balance and tying everything together into a cohesive whole.

Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

Soften the transition with warm, cozy textiles

Every room can benefit from incorporating a wooden touch, but it is a good idea to add some textiles into the mix as well. Introducing a couple of layers will create a buffer between the woods and soften the transition from one tone of wood to another.

Area rugs are some of the decor pieces that are commonly used to soften the mix and create a soothing transition, acting as an effective layer of texture for rooms with wooden floors and plenty of wooden furniture while also upping the cozy factor in your home. 

Wrapping up

Using natural materials such as wood is a great way to infuse your interiors with a touch of nature and design spaces that exude warmth and comfort. Whether you prefer a rustic look or gravitate more towards modern design, no worries – wood blends with practically every style.

If you take the time to learn how to successfully mix wood finishes, you will be able to bring a sense of balance and cohesiveness into your interiors and take your home decor to a whole new level.