Blog written by Lieske

Undertones

... is one of the most commonly asked questions we get. You shouldn’t have to completely gut all of the flooring in your home and replace all of your wooden furniture to get it to match. Some pieces may need refinishing- but you probably just need a hand styling. 

First things first- let’s figure out what woods you have. With your phone snap a few pictures in direct sunlight to capture all of the wood tones you have in the room you are trying to address (include banisters, trim, baskets and wooden toned furniture). What we are looking for here is less of what color the woods are- but what are their undertones and how many times do the woods repeat each other. 

We are trying to aim for having only warm or cool toned woods in a room. The main thing that most people find after they move into a new space is that their furniture clashes with their flooring or trim. This is especially common with flooring that is grey or red oak (which has pink undertones). Your dominant undertone is what you need to focus on creating a space around. For example-if you want to have a warm toned home, it will be difficult to make it cohesive with cool overhead lighting, ash grey flooring and rustic grey furniture. In a scenario like that you may want to find some new pieces and an area rug. 

T I P S

Try pairing your cool woods with beige, muted brown, mellow blue, light green, greys and white furniture.
Play with texture and bring in some patterns. Cool doesn’t mean sterile!
Try concrete and stone in the space.
Bring in plants - but avoid dried grasses.
Utilize natural light and keep the lighting neutral at night. Light some candles and turn off half of the overhead lights. 

“I want my space to feel cool”

T I P S

Try a rug to cover up cool toned flooring.
Change your overhead lighting to a softer yellow.
Try pairing these woods with muted mustard, blush, clay, brighter cream and white furnishings.
Bring in some leather and avoid black hardware! 

“I want my space to feel warm”

T I P S

Opt for lighter wood tones (whether they are cool or warm they will work)
Avoid dark blues, dark reds and overly pigmented colors. 
Play with sheer curtains and mirrors.
Keep/choose wood pieces that are light and have a matte finish.
Avoid cherry, red and pink tones. If you have these woods in your home and can't replace them, utilize green wood stain and matte finishes to neutralize them. 

“I want my space to be neutral”

“How do you match different wood tones in your home?”

"What about cherry wood?"

Oof - what a great question. Cherry mahogany furniture can be extremely difficult to match with other wood tones. For a home with a dominant mahogany wood theme try to not bring in any other wood tones. If you aren’t into 19th central styling, mahogany can still work for you. Try to bring in a variety of whites, creams (that aren’t yellow toned) and textured non-warm greys. Choose a color you love to repeat as an accent color if you want to make a statement (anything will pretty much work). Our favorite would be a light misty blue. As for hardware try to avoid stainless steel and shiny gold- if you can- try to have matching wooden handles for cabinetry of this color or no hardware at all (try push door latches)