If you’ve been to our Learning Center before, you know that we are big on keeping up with the latest home decor trends. We recently talked about how popular wood decor is right now and some ways to add those trends to your home. Lucky for you, there are endless amounts of ways to bring wood into your home decor, from flooring to furniture, or from large-scale cabinets to small, strategically placed accessories.
While we previously talked about the best wood colors to use around your home, now we want to shed light on the best colors to use around your home to complement your wood decor.
There are endless possibilities when it comes to home decor and as we always say — do whatever you think looks best. After all, it’s your space and should be something you love!
First, let’s go over the different wood colors, then we will go over the best colors to coordinate them with!
Complementing Wood Decor: Light Wood
Lighter woods seem to be replacing darker shades and can lighten the mood (pardon the pun) and give off a modern yet cozy vibe. We love light wood because of how easily it can match and complement your other decor pieces.
We offer three styles of wood frames that come in several different hues. Our Derby frame is a 1 ¼ inch frame with nine color choices, while our Dayton frame, also measures 1 ¼ inch and comes in five different colors. Our Granby wood frame which measures 1 ⅜ inch is an ornate style frame and can be ordered in either gold or silver.
If you’re going for accessorizing with light wood, we suggest our Derby wood frame in Wheat or our Dayton wood frame in Sand. Both have a rustic oak/Scandinavian blonde aura that gives off uplifting energy. Consider framing colorful art pieces or watercolor paintings that will complement the light wood.
Complementing Wood Decor: Dark Wood
If you have a room with a lot of light elements, such as cream walls, light-colored cabinets, or white tiling, dark wood contrasting accessories will certainly pop into their environment. For instance, if your room has wooden ceiling beams or window trim, painting the ceiling and walls a white-based color will certainly draw the eye to those architectural details.
Likewise, using dark wood frames against light backgrounds will immediately get your attention, making your artwork or photographs a focal point in the room. At the same time, it adds a stylish and sensual look to whatever you choose to display.
You’re in luck if you decide to go this route. Both Derby and Dayton come in Black, as well as several other dark colors such as Russet, Merlot, and Umber. Of course, if you’re unsure of what color will look best with your art, our interactive Frame Designer makes that easy for you. Simply upload your photo and play around with the different frame styles and colors until you find one that fits. You can even share a photo of your frame by simply clicking share and copying the link provided.
Complementing Wood Decor: Whitewashed Wood
If you are unfamiliar with whitewashing, it is a way for you to lighten your wood pieces without hiding the pattern or grain of your wood, which gives it personality. Whitewashing is a great technique to give your wood surface an aged, rustic look, without a ton of work. Check your local flea market, tag sale, or Facebook Marketplace for some inexpensive furniture pieces that you can DIY whitewash. Not only will this save you some money, but it’s also a fun activity to complete. The whitewashing doesn’t have to stop with just your furniture pieces, try your floors, cabinets, walls, and even brick if you have some in your home!
Complementing Wood Decor: Gray Wood
Gray wood is a timeless, versatile color trend and can easily fit into any current decor. Although gray might not make as much of a statement as other colors, it is still a simple touch that will complement other pieces. If you are using gray wood in your furniture, try adding black hardware or tabletop decor to make the wood stand out even more.
If you are planning to accessorize your decor with gray wood, our Derby frame in Rustic Gray is a perfect choice. Our Derby frame style is our most popular wood frame.
Complementing Wood Decor: Colored Wood
This is another fun and creative way to have wood in your house. Step outside the box and try painting or spray painting a piece of furniture that will make your decor pop. Pick a color that will complement the other pieces in your space well, but will make this specific piece stand out. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to decorate on a budget.
Speaking of budgets, we here at Frame It Easy believe that custom framing should not only be easy and beautiful, but affordable too. We’ve done our research, and we stand behind the fact that we offer very affordable custom framing. We provide you with the lowest prices possible, and that is why we rarely offer discount codes. Our shipping costs are exactly what it costs us to ship your frames to you. We don’t profit off shipping which is why we don’t offer free shipping — we’re saving you in the end by not bundling shipping into the price of the frame.
Now that we went over the different types of wood stains, let’s go over which colors will best complement them in your space!
Complementing Wood Decor: Pastel Colors With Dark Wood
Pastel colors go great with darker woods. The dark contrast with the light colors works well together to create a drastic contrast that calls attention to the decor. If you have dark wood furniture in your space, consider adding pastel or light colors as accent pieces, such as pillows, throw blankets, or something as simple as your table decor. You could also frame things such as watercolor paintings or pastel-colored art and use our Derby frame style in the color Russett or our Dayton frame style in Cocoa to display your art beautifully.
Complementing Wood Decor: Earth Tones With Colored Wood
We love Earth tones in areas where you spend a lot of your time such as your living room or bedroom because these colors create a warm and welcoming environment. Choosing a color for your home will set the tone for your home. Think about the purpose of the room you are decorating, will it be a place to entertain your guests? Will it be a place you can relax and unwind from a hectic day with a good book and some lit candles? Once you figure out the purpose of your room, your decorating process will become a lot smoother.
Earth tones work exceptionally well with wood of a reddish tone. For this, check out our Derby frame style in Russet or our Dayton frame style in Umber, which will both coordinate with Earth-tone art pieces or wall colors.
Complementing Wood Decor: Greens with Light Wood
When you think of nature, the color green and wood might come to mind. And lucky for you, these colors work well together inside your home, too! When you combine two colors with equal intensity, you get a lower contrast. That being said — it doesn’t mean you can’t do it and still get something beautiful. Try a dark green accent wall in your dining room and pair it with a dark wood table.
Of course, with that being said, the exact opposite will work as well. Try using our Derby frame in Wheat or Dayton frame in Sand along with light green colors in your decor.
Complementing Wood Decor: White with Dark Wood
While this may seem basic or boring, you can never go wrong with the color white in your decor. It works well with light hardwood, and dark hardwood, but especially makes a pop against cherry hardwood. If you have cherry hardwood floors or furniture pieces, consider painting your walls and trim white for a deep contrast that will catch anyone’s attention! Our Derby frame style in Merlot is the perfect cherry wood to add to your wall decor. It will really add that wow factor hanging against crisp white walls.
Complementing Wood Decor: Blue with Light or Gray Wood
Depending on the look you are going for with your space, both light blue and dark blue would look great with wood. Consider where you want to add blue to your decor, whether it be your wall color, accent pieces, or furniture. Consider a grey-blue color for your walls with dark wood trim surrounding them. Or, if you have wood floors, try a neutral color for your walls with blue accent pillows and wall decor to compliment them.
Complementing Wood Decor: Teal With Whitewash Wood
Canva describes teal as having the “calming properties of blue with the renewal qualities of green.” Teal is another color that will work well with your other wood decor pieces whether that be flooring, furniture, or our favorite, frames. Teal would be a great color to add to your bathroom decor. Consider adding teal-colored hand towels, bath towels, floor mats, or wall decor. If you are creating a beach-themed bathroom, consider using our Dayton frame style in Whitewash to stick to the beach theme. The Dayton is our natural wood style, with a flat profile face that is 1 ¼” wide. It’s made from North American hardwood that’s either stained or painted. The color of the frames will remind you of those sunny days laying in the sand, even in the colder months.
Complementing Wood Decor: Dusty Rose With Light Wood
Dusty rose is a color that has made a huge statement in 2022. We’ve talked about the 2022 decor trends that are taking over and muted colors — especially dusty rose — were one of those trends. If you are using the color dusty rose as an accent color in your decor, you have many options for your choice of wood stain. A light-wash wood trim in your room would look great complemented by the dusty rose color, just as in the photo above. For frame options, why not try out our Granby frame style in Gold for an elegant touch? The gold frame will complement both the dusty rose color and light wash wood perfectly.
Complementing Wood Decor: Yellow With Dark Wood
Yellow is another color that works well with red-toned wood or dark wood. The sunshine shade will bring out the warm tones in the wood and will create an inviting space for you and your guests. If you have some red-toned or dark wood in your home, whether it be the trim around your room, furniture pieces, or your flooring, be sure to complement it with the color of sunshine! Add yellow flowers to your dining room table or frame some flowers instead, if you’re worried about keeping the real ones alive, add a yellow throw blanket to the end of your bed or bright yellow accent pillows to your couch.
Complementing Wood Decor: Gold With Light Wood
Gold is a color of wealth and luxury, so if you’re looking to make your space feel luxurious, look no further! Gold will look best with a lighter wood color, but as we always say, don’t be afraid to do your own thing. If you want to add gold to a dark wood finish in your home, go for it! In the photo above, you can see that they used our Granby frame style in Gold to frame a photo above their entryway table. This is a great first impression to all your guests that enter your home.
Final Thoughts on Wood Frames
We love that wood is a trend that will never go out of style and gives an excellent look to any room you add it to. If you are looking to make some quick home updates, we hope we’ve inspired you to try some new colors around your home to complement the wood around your space.
Don’t forget to send us some photos once your projects are complete so we can see how great they turned out!
