How to Coordinate Wood Stains: Homeowner’s Questions, Answered

When pairing different wood finishes in a space, coordination is key. But between wood floors, cabinets, trims, and furniture, it can be hard to get a good match. Not to mention coordinating paint colors, but that’s a whole different blog post (which you’ll get a link to shortly).

This is why doing your research before you restain or purchase a wood surface is important: compare undertones, grain, and species, and learn which ones go together.

Which is where I come in – at least for the undertone part. So, if you’re having a problem with your wood – a little decorectile dysfunction (hehe) – I’m here to help.

When updating our homes, especially when trying to coordinate woods, we often pay more attention to what we like versus what suits the existing finishes. Sure, it’s a bit easier when you’re designing a home from scratch and can choose what you love, but it’s still not easy. This is even more the case when we don’t like our wood’s undertones and try to coordinate with wood stains that won’t work.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO COORDINATE WOOD STAINS

If you have a question not covered in this blog post, leave me a comment. If it has enough appeal (and can help others, too), I’m happy to answer it for you IN FULL in this blog post. You might even get to send me example photos of your woody challenge.

Here’s some of what we’ll cover…

1. Which should be the lighter wood stain – the cabinets, floor, or trim?

2. Can you put two different wood floor stains together?

3. Can you use solid wood flooring and luxury vinyl plank (LVT or LVP) together – like butting up to each other? Do two different woods work?

If you want to learn HOW TO MIX & MATCH and coordinate different wood stains like a pro, check out this blog post. Now it’s time to answer those questions that have been burnin’ a hole in your keyboard… 

1. CAN YOU HAVE TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF WOOD FLOORS BESIDE EACH OTHER?

That’s a hard no. It might not be what you want to hear, especially if you’re trying to replace your carpet, vinyl, or tile and want to butt a new wood floor to an existing one, but I’d rather stop you before you make an expensive mistake.

There’s no world where two different wood floors look good in adjoining rooms…or even not adjoining rooms. They better be faaaar away from each other.

• Can you coordinate them to look ‘as good as they possibly can?‘ Absolutely, but it’s still not great.
• Is getting as CLOSE as possible to matching each other better than choosing two wood or wood-look finishes that are drastically different from each other? Hellllls yeah, contrast will not be your friend (nor will I) when coordinating wood, LVT, or laminate flooring. This said, it’s still a really bad idea.

Paint Colors to Update Wood Cabinets, Flooring, & Trim 

2. IF I DON’T LIKE THE STAIN ON MY CABINETS, CAN I DO A DIFFERENT WOOD FLOOR?

Many homeowners are stuck with a cabinet color they don’t love, most commonly a strong golden oak or cherry red stain.

Yes, you can, but you need to have a visual link – undertone.

If the above homeowner wanted to keep their red-stained maple cabinets but refinish their oak floor, the floor would need a ‘considerable’ red (pink) undertone. It doesn’t need to be as strong or as dark as it currently is, but it has to be there.

What if it’s not?

Your red cabinets will POP and look dated compared to your newly stained, off-hue flooring. And I get it – this isn’t what everyone wants to hear. However, I’m not here to blow rainbows up your…well, let’s just say, I’m here to help your home look its best so you don’t waste your money.

How to Update Cherry-Red Wood Cabinets

If the owner of this next kitchen wanted to restain their wood flooring while keeping their cherry cabinets…

I’d suggest keeping the main stain ‘color’ of their floor, but reducing the sheen. Glossy finish wood floors aren’t in style. However, the color of the above floor is awesome. Again, they might’ve hoped for a more muted, non-red or pink hue, but their cabinets will clash.

Here’s an example of a more muted oak flooring with red cabinets…

The Best Paint Colors With Golden Oak

Is it the hottest mess ever? Nooooo, but it sure as heck ain’t right.

3. SHOULD WOOD FLOORS BE LIGHTER OR DARKER THAN WOOD CABINETS & TRIMS?

This is always a tricky one, as there are so many different situations. Here are the most common ones…

By the way, the answer to this question is SUPER LONG, as it covers a range of wood surfaces and stain depths.

COORDINATING MEDIUM TO DARK WOOD CABINETS, TRIMS, & FLOORING

Dark wood cabinets were popular in the early 2000s, but some homeowners are trying to update their older, dark wood trims from the 1970s and 80s (heritage homes, too).

DARK WOOD CABINETS prefer wood flooring that’s the same depth or lighter than them. Depending on your style, try a tone or two lighter, or even more to create contrast—as long as the undertones coordinate.

Keep in mind that the high-contrast look (dark stained cabinets/light flooring) isn’t as popular.

While the depth of this next wood floor works with the dark wood cabinets, the floor is too orange-red for the red-purple tones in the cabinets…

Look at how much happier and more updated this kitchen looks with the right wood floor (below). While the contrast is a bit high for this color cowgirl, the overall look is great…

The above combo works because they both share a red (pink) undertone – the floor is just a lighter version.

Dark wood cabinets can ‘handle’ almost any depth of wood flooring as long as the undertones jive.

DARK WOOD FLOORING prefers cabinets with the same undertone and depth, or darker, and rarely suits lighter wood cabinets (or trims).

In this next space, the darker brown-stained wood flooring isn’t super happy with the lighter orange hue of the cabinets. This said, the modern white quartz countertop and subway tile are a great update for this maple kitchen…

The Best Paint Colors to ACCENT Red Wood Stains

How to Update Your 2000s Home

This next combo picks up a lot more violet-red (pink) and shows great coordination, although, ideally, the floor would have a bit more warmth…

While it might seem neutral, the flooring hints at a purple-pink tone, just like the purple-red cabinets. Without that, they’d clash.

The biggest problems arise when you try to introduce a totally new stain color on your flooring, and it clashes with your wood cabinets or trims. While some stain colors can coordinate well enough, others CLASH. This is very common when restaining oak flooring.

MEDIUM TO DARK WOOD TRIM, CABINETS, & WOOD FLOORING

If you want to coordinate dark wood trim with wood cabinets, make sure they match.

While this next image is for a different blog post, notice how the wood trim and cabinets match. The wood flooring is lighter, but shares the same red hue – amazeballs…

As for dark wood trim and flooring, there are two approaches that work…

1. MATCH: More or less match your trim’s stain color and depth with your wood flooring.

The Best Paint Colors With Dark Wood (Heritage Homes)

2. COORDINATE UNDERTONES: If there’s a shift in depth, make sure the undertones of your woods coordinate, and one isn’t obviously more red, yellow, or orange than the other.

REMEMBER, this blog post is about QUESTIONS. To coordinate wood stains, keep reading for a link to a great blog post.

Now let’s take a look at the medium-depth world…

COORDINATING LIGHT TO MEDIUM-DEPTH WOOD CABINET STAINS & FLOORING

The most common light woods are oak, maple, and pine. The most popular medium-depth wood is definitely golden oak. However, there’s room for cherry, mahogany, and more!

LIGHT TO MEDIUM-DEPTH WOOD CABINETS: If you have light to medium-depth stained wood cabinets (give or take), your wood flooring can be a bit lighter, a bit darker, or the same depth. If you go a lot lighter, consider the contrast you want and whether it’s really a good idea (probably isn’t).

Look at how happy these wood cabinets are with the wood floor…

While the backsplash might not be long for this world, the warm quartzite countertop is amazeballs.

For the next medium-depth wood cabinet/flooring combo, the flooring should ideally be a bit more orange-red…

The Best Paint Colors With Red-Stained Woods

When coordinating wood finishes and stains, UNDERTONE matters much more than DEPTH.

LIGHT TO MEDIUM-DEPTH WOOD FLOORS: In this home bar, the light, golden oak cabinets are about one tone lighter than the oak flooring…

The Best Paint Colors With Light Wood Finishes

LIGHT TO MEDIUM-TONED WOOD TRIM, CABINETS, & WOOD FLOORING

If you have light to medium wood trim and want to restain or install new wood cabinets, I’d make sure they match pretty darn well.

As for wood flooring with wood trim, a match is ideal, but if not, coordinating undertones is mandatory…

Ideally, the above flooring’s stain would be a bit more orange-pink, but it’s darn close!

This next wood trim-flooring combo is awesome – seamless and simple…

The Best Paint Colors With Oak

So, even if you don’t love your existing stain, it can be smart to at least nod towards it with your new stain’s undertone.

Remember, these are just guidelines. Wait, I lie. Coordinating the varying DEPTHS are guidelines. Making sure your undertones work together is a RULE!

And lastly, much lighter-toned wood cabinets and flooring…

COORDINATING VERY LIGHT WOOD CABINETS, TRIMS, & FLOORING

Some woods are exceptionally light, so I wanted to touch on them briefly…

LIGHT WOOD CABINETS love light wood flooring, or floors can handle the same depth floors or a few tones darker. I’d avoid super-high-contrast combos.

My next Online Color Consulting client chose to refinish the wood floors in her OLD farmhouse, and install new kitchen cabinets…

The Best, Almost Fool-Proof White Paint Colors

Thankfully, she chose a light colored maple. Its natural finish and muted grain don’t compete with the old nail-head look of her original wood flooring.

LIGHT WOOD FLOORS love light and medium-depth wood cabinets. While some dark cabinet-light flooring combos work, they aren’t as popular.

There’s a reasonable contrast between the wood floors in this open-concept home and the TV cabinet’s wood stain…

Sherwin Williams Repose Gray

Why do they work so well together?

They both share a violet undertone (the cabinet is violet-pink, the floor is heavier on the pink and lighter on the violet).

I also love the degree of CONTRAST between the TV cabinet and the flooring. I might not love it as much if it were kitchen cabinets (personally, as I don’t generally love high-contrast wood combos), but being a smaller piece, it looks wicked good.

As for contrast, if you have light wood flooring, this is as dark as I’d go (below). Even then, I’d only do it on a kitchen island – not all of the cabinets…

If the entire kitchen had this stain on the cabinets, it would greatly overwhelm the floor. As-is, the medium-depth stain is a pretty accent and ties into the dining set.

Light wood floors like cabinets that are the same depth or a tone or 2 darker than them – just consider the contrast YOU can live with.

There’s only a soft shift in contrast between these next kitchen cabinets and the flooring, and the undertones are aligned perfectly – mad love, and my perfect happy place for contrast…

This next kitchen is in a gorgeous, mountain-style home tucked away in the trees. While the floor is a touch pinker, the overall combo works well for a low-contrast look (I’m just being picky for the sake of teaching)…

The Best Whites for Kitchen Cabinets

Light wood flooring or cabinets love woods that are the same depth, as long as the undertones match.

Next, the new light wood floor in this kitchen is too light and not orange enough for the original cabinets. But this was on purpose, as the owner was painting the cabinets anyway, so she chose the flooring she loves!

How to Update Your Wood Cabinets: 6-PART Series

FUN FACT: When coordinating wood flooring and wood cabinets, one (ideally the cabinets) should have considerably less grain than the other for the best partnership (unless you’re using fine-grain wood).

Moving along…

4. CAN YOU USE WOOD FLOOR AND LVT OR LVP IN THE SAME HOME?

Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring is a popular trend for its realistic look and ease of installation. However, you can feel the difference when you’re walking, and when butted up to real wood, you can see the difference (not just in the look, but in height – unless you build up your subfloor).

I’m here to help you make the right choices, not to tell you what you want to hear (if it is what you want to hear, it’s only because you’re doing the right thing). 

When coordinating with real wood floors, I would rather see a tile-look LVT than a wood-look LVT/LVP. Even carpet is better than bumping LVP and wood floors together. The same goes for laminate flooring.

LVP flooring and laminate look cheaper compared to the real thing.

So, you mean I can’t transition woods between rooms?

Oh, you can – but I wouldn’t. It takes away from the beauty of both.

This issue often arises in bedrooms or hallways with wood floors where the owner wants to install LVP in the bathroom. It’s the hardest no…ever. Sure, LVP is great, as long as there isn’t wood right outside the door…

They did a great job coordinating the purple undertone in the dark wood vanity with purple undertones in their LVP flooring.

• The wood-look gray wash tile floor (above) simply can’t be paired with a wood floor in the adjoining hallway or bedroom—it better be carpet or the same exact floor.
• Wood or wood-look floors can handle wood vanities or cabinets, following the same guidelines as previously suggested. It’s also ‘ideal’ if the cabinets have a modest to minimal grain.

You might think, ‘But my wood-look tile looks SO DIFFERENT from my wood-look floor!‘ If they’re both meant to ‘look like wood’ – it ain’t gonna be good.

The wood-look floor in this next home can’t be next to an actual wood floor. It only looks great as long as it isn’t compared to real wood flooring…

Notice how the cabinet in the sitting area has a red hue that doesn’t match the floor.

Real wood floors make ‘wood-look’ (LVT, LVT, or laminate) flooring look cheap—even if it’s not. These floors look best when they’re the only ‘wood-look’ flooring.

The same goes for this next floor…

Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray & Pure White shiplap

Are there any exceptions? You bet your booty there are.

• If you have a wood floor on your main floor and want laminate/LVP/LVT on a bottom or top floor, YES, as long as the two floors are separated with carpeted stairs and you coordinate the type of wood and undertone (ideally, they’d look EXACTLY the same, just one’s wood and one’s not).
• There’s the odd exception to the previous point. For example, let’s say you have a wood floor on one level and wooden stairs, and you’re going down to a family room where you want a wood-look/LVP product. If you match these products PERFECTLY in grain, stain, and size, then yes, you can have them together.

5. CAN I REPLACE MY LINOLEUM OR VINYL FLOORING WITH WOOD IF IT ADJOINS ANOTHER WOOD FLOOR?

The short answer is no. But you’re not here for short answers (wink).

If you don’t have wood flooring in an adjoining room, you can fill your little wooden boots (or clogs might be more suitable). However, if your room’s flooring joins a room with wood floors, I wouldn’t do it.

Check out this next loo…

I absolutely love this linoleum, but if the homeowner DID want to put wood in this room, it would have to be seamless with the hallway. This isn’t about coordinating wood stains, it’s about being the EXACT SAME species, size, stain color, and sheen.

THE EXCEPTION: Thanks to a lovely reader leaving a comment, I want to chat about a situation where you CAN put new with old.

If you have existing wood flooring that you’re refinishing, and you can order new flooring in the same species of wood and the same board size, YES, you can absolutely do these rooms in wood.

WHAT ABOUT WOOD KITCHEN CABINETS WITH WOOD FLOORING?

Again, as we chatted about earlier, you need to be darn careful. If you ask me, if you want to keep your wood cabinets, and don’t already have wood flooring, I’d choose a new linoleum or tile – I wouldn’t compete by adding more wood. But you do you, boo.

How to Update Older Granite Without Replacing It

If this homeowner wanted to replace their vinyl flooring, I’d suggest more vinyl or tile – not wood.

How to Update Golden Oak Cabinets

6. WHAT IF MY WOOD CABINETS & WOOD FLOOR DON’T MATCH?

If you have wood cabinets and you mistakenly installed the wrong wood flooring, ooof.

Nothing kills a beautiful kitchen like poorly coordinated wood cabinets and flooring. You’d be surprised at how often this happens, most often when homeowners keep their existing wood cabinets and update their flooring to wood, LVP, or laminate.

Many homeowners don’t like the stain on their kitchen cabinets, so when choosing a new floor, they take a different path… often the wrong one.

For example, my client sent me these photos, asking which floor I thought was best…

While the top left and bottom right are the best of the bunch, none are 100%. Why?

• These cabinets would prefer a floor with undertones like the top left, but the same depth as the cabinets, or lighter could be better.
• The top right and the bottom left are too red.
• The bottom right has some orange, but not enough to satisfy the maple cabinets. In comparison, the cabinets look MUCH more orange.

In avoiding your cabinet’s stain color, you risk highlighting it.

While the above wood flooring is close, there are two things that aren’t 100%…

• The floor has too much red compared to the orange in the cabinets. This makes the cabinets look MORE ORANGE in comparison.

• The species of wood floor and its grain are busy, and so is the grain of the golden oak cabinets. A quieter grain on the flooring would be better, so they wouldn’t compete as much.

If you’re at the beginning stages of choosing a new wood floor, please read this blog post about coordinating wood stains.

Check out this next kitchen. While the floor and cabinets share a pink undertone, they’re too far apart due to the strength of the cabinet’s cherry-red stain – the softness of the floor makes the cherry cabinets look even REDDER…

Paint Colors With Red-Stained Woods

But don’t worry—this kitchen got a great cabinet overhaul and looks amazing (it’s a different angle, but you get the idea).

However, painting your cabinets or replacing your furniture isn’t always in the budget.

So what do you do?

Well, you either accept that your wood stains clash or paint your cabinets.

I know, tough love sucks. Sure, you can throw down an area rug or runner to distract, but short of that, it’s time for paint, baby.

QUICK SUMMARY (TL;DR)

• When you coordinate wood stains and finishes, make sure the undertones go well together and don’t clash. The best way to do this is by repeating the same undertone (in different depths).
• You shouldn’t use two different wood or wood-look products next to each other. In the same home? Sure, but they should be many rooms apart.
• Generally speaking, dark wood cabinets suit same depth or lighter flooring. Medium-depth cabinets are best with same depth or a tone or two lighter. Light wood cabinets suit same depth cabinets or darker.

READ MORE

How to Mix & Coordinate Different Wood Stains Like a Pro

The Best Paint Colors to Update Light Wood Finishes

How to Update Your Wood Cabinets Without a Drop of Paint

The 20 Best Paint Colors to Go With Wood Cabinets, Trims, Flooring, & Furniture

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