How to choose your floor colour

When it comes to choosing a colour for your floor, there are several things to consider: how big is the room and how much light does it get? Dark floors may reduce the feeling of space in a smaller room, particularly if it’s north facing, while lighter floors can be used to create a bright, airy interior.

 

Is the space a high-traffic area – a busy family kitchen or hallway – and does it have to cater for pets? Remember, lighter coloured laminates won’t show up scratches and marks as much as dark colours, but a dark carpet is a better option than a light shade in a busy home.

 

What style is your house – period, modern, minimalist, country? The flooring should fit with your design scheme and furniture but remember, flooring can also be used to give rooms a fresh new look. Choose geometric patterns to make an eye-catching statement in a hallway, lay light-coloured laminate for a fresh modern living room or cosy up a bedroom with a deep pile saxony carpet in a rich shade.

 

If you’re choosing new flooring for a kitchen, you’ll need to take the colour of your cabinets and worktops into account, as well as the flooring. If your cabinets are dark wood, you’ll want to balance out the deeper tones with lighter softer hues. You could opt for a stone effect vinyl, or moisture-proof laminate wood effect floor. Dark cabinets work well with a light effect wood flooring. Contrast is always a winner.

 

Lighter coloured cabinets are easier to match, so if you’re after a modern, contemporary look, white cabinets work well with black and white tile effect flooring, and off-white and ivory cupboards will look fabulous with a pale, white-washed wood plank effect. What colour of kitchen flooring you pick can also be determined by the square footage, as lighter flooring such as white LVT will make the space look much bigger and fresher.

A dark floor colour can make a room feel cosy, but it may also make a small room feel cramped. Remember, the amount of light in the room will increase the feeling of space, so you may have no problem with dark flooring in a south-facing sunny room with bright walls. However, for best results in a small space, consider light-coloured flooring and brightly painted walls. You can add pops of muted colour and cosy up the space with cushions and accessories in darker shades – try rich purple curtains in a bedroom, or deep red cushions for a living room.

 

A trend for stronger colours is emerging in 2022, as deep, saturated colours dominate the colour palette. Green is becoming extremely popular in all shades from chalky aqua shades to lush forest hues, bringing the natural world in. Almond-toned neutrals are also becoming more fashionable than grey tones to create more cosy spaces. 

Dark, warm-toned floor covering is a great way to make large rooms seem cosier, and works particularly well in living rooms or bedrooms. You can add flashes of colour and liven up the look with brightly coloured rugs – rugs are a great way to create a focal point in a bigger room.

 

Right now, the most popular laminate flooring colour is taken from a dark palette, and tonal greys are particularly on-trend, but what colour laminate flooring you choose depends entirely on the colour scheme of the room it will go in. Vinyl and tiles in warm brown and red wood-effect tones are also very current, while carpet in rich shades of purple and dark grey is very fashionable for dressed up living rooms and boudoir bedrooms. Be brave in a large room and introduce some drama with bold, black walls matched with a lighter floor for an incredibly chic look.

 

Herringbone has recently entered the spotlight as a fantastic option for flooring that blends the traditional and ultra-modern seamlessly, to bring drama and atmosphere to any room. There is nothing grander or more elegant than a herringbone floor. It not only brings opulence and luxury to any room, but the pattern also creates the illusion of movement, making a room appear larger, so it would be a great choice for smaller or narrower rooms. It’s a traditional, timeless, and distinctive pattern, known and loved for its elegance and uniformity. There are plenty of different styles and designs of herringbone in wood, laminate, vinyl, LVT and carpet for you to choose from, and by mixing colours and materials you can create a modern twist on a classic design that will stand the test of time. 

Use a colour wheel to discover how colours relate to each other and work in a colour scheme. Monochromatic schemes use black and white or different tones of the same shade to create a very stylish look. Continue the theme in your flooring for the best effects.

 

Complementary colours are found on the opposite sides of the colour wheel - blue and orange, red and green - and when used together, each colour appears brighter, so use them to create a vibrant and energetic space. Offset this design scheme with a muted dark floor covering.

 

Contrasting colours sit close to each other on the wheel and create eye-catching appeal in a design scheme. Keep the look bright and airy with a pale wood floor colour, in soft creams and white-washed greys, or make a statement with a marble or stone effect luxury vinyl tile (LVT). For more colour trends, and help with choosing which shades to mix and match, check out our range of lookbooks.

Grey is still a colour we’re seeing all over homes on Instagram and Pinterest right now. Whether it’s used as part of a modern minimalist vibe, Scandi-sleek style or for more glamorous looks, there are different ways you can incorporate grey into your aesthetic. If you’ve opted for grey walls, you may think that grey is your only option for the carpet too. But, you can choose from a vast array of different colour floorings to complement your aesthetic.

 

A dark brown carpet can add a lot of warmth to a lighter grey wall, or create a beautiful contrast with dark grey walls and a soft light grey carpet to make the room appear much larger. You could even go bold and opt for a pop of colour with your flooring, choosing from our huge selection of brightly patterned laminate flooring or vinyl, or check out our range of daring coloured carpets.  

There are so many colour schemes with grey carpets to choose from! This is a great opportunity to go for an exciting colour scheme, using the grey carpet as a solid base to work from. Citrus yellow is known for contrasting beautifully with the more subtle monochrome look of grey carpet, and this can be incorporated into the décor too. Red also makes for a stunning bold choice with a cool grey carpet, as it can help to reel in the shock of the red, making for a sophisticated and detailed look.

 

White is always a solid choice if you’re going for a more natural and versatile colour palette. The ultimate neutral colour, the combination of crisp white and soft grey makes for a stunning contemporary pairing. 

So, you’ve decided to paint your walls cream but are in two minds about what colour carpet goes best with cream walls? With beige being a neutral colour, the answer is you can’t really go wrong! Pairing with either a lighter or darker beige can help to accentuate the natural palette, or you can opt for another neutral like grey. You can even create a stronger contrast by opting for a white or black floor, using either very dark laminate or bright white vinyl tiles.

 

If you could use a helping hand with deciding what colour or type of flooring would go best in your space, pop into one of your local Tapi stores and speak to one of our flooring experts. Or head over to the style inspiration section on our ideas hub to see our terrific Tapi customers real home transformations!