Yes, You Can Mix Wood Tones. But…

Yes, you absolutely can mix wood tones. In fact, I prefer it. I love mixing light, medium and dark woods because it gives a room depth and keeps it from looking like everything came as a matching set.

But—and there is definitely a but—there still has to be some thought behind it.

Warm With Warm. Cool With Cool.

One of my biggest pet peeves is walking into a home with very grey, cool hardwood floors and seeing a warm, almost orange-toned wood table sitting on top of them. They fight each other.

That doesn't mean every piece of wood in the room has to be the exact same colour. Far from it. A blond floor can look beautiful with a medium brown table. A darker wood can add some much-needed contrast to a room filled with lighter woods. What I pay attention to is the undertone.

If your dominant wood has a warm undertone, look for other woods that have some warmth to them. If it's cooler, stay within woods that relate to that cooler undertone. They don't need to match. They just need to get along.

Honour the Main Wood Tone

Always look at the wood that's already commanding the space.

Maybe it's your flooring. Maybe it's beautiful mahogany cabinetry. Maybe it's a large piece of furniture that isn't going anywhere. You don't necessarily have to match it, but you do have to honour it. The other woods need to relate to it.

I actually think trying too hard to match wood can sometimes make a room look flatter. I'd much rather see a deliberate mix of light, medium and dark than a room full of almost-the-same brown.

Don't Forget Visual Texture

Wood isn't just about colour. Look at the grain and the visual movement, too. Because oak on oak on oak will make your head spin!

If you've already got a lot of strong grain happening in one area, you may want something quieter somewhere else.

The same principle I use with pattern and shape applies here: you want repetition, but you also need somewhere for your eye to rest.

And Then There's Real Life

Because design rules are wonderful until somebody owns something they love. Maybe the floors are grey-brown, but they have a beautiful warm cedar chest that's sentimental, gorgeous and definitely staying.

I'm not going to tell someone they can't have their cedar chest because it doesn't perfectly match the floor. That's when I use what I call my law of three.

If we're keeping that cedar chest, I'll find two other places to introduce that cedar colour somewhere in the space.

It doesn't have to be another big piece of furniture. It could be an occasional table, a frame, a bowl or another small detail.

Now that wood tone isn't sitting there all by itself looking like it wandered in from another house. We've repeated it.

And repetition creates consistency. Consistency makes a choice look intentional.

That's really the trick to mixing wood tones. Don't obsess over matching everything. Honour what's already there, pay attention to undertones, vary your depth and grain, and when you introduce something different—give it a couple of friends.