If you speak with design experts, one of the most immediate answers to any questions about the best rugs for dark wood floors is always something along the lines of “light colored walls, furnishings and carpets”. Why, because it creates balance. Dark wood floors can be quite overwhelming and you can always counterbalance them with pale hues in other areas. For instance, dark wood floors might make any space feel darker or even heavier than it is, and so pairing them with light colored walls and paler wooden furnishings really brings balance.
Think About the Tone
Naturally, there is more to the story when choosing the best rugs for dark wood floors. After all, the word “dark” can mean many things. You can have a dark and rich mahogany that has lots of shades of reddish brown. On the other hand, your floors may be stained a deep, blackish hue in which accents of pure white, grey and silver work far better.
So, begin with the tone of the floor, and then consider the space in which that floor is found…
The Location and Space
A small, windowless space is one thing, but few of us have to choose the best rugs for dark wood floors without any natural light, architectural elements and pre-existing décor. What that means is simple: You must also look at the interplay of everything from doorways and window frames to the amount of light and height in the room. As an example, let’s say you have deep and dark wood floors in a room that features high ceilings, a large bay window that pours in sunlight, and an existing paint scheme that uses a lot of gold and cream colors. What would the best rugs for dark wood floors of that kind be?
Generally, it would have to be something that works with the size of the room and which serves to bring in the same sort of warm light as the yellow and cream paint and the sunlight. A good choice here would be a richly colored kilim or Oriental rug with patterns of gold, cream, and even pops of the dark blackish hues in the floor, along with a saturated red or orange for added richness.
Texture Counts
Yet, the best rugs for dark wood floors must also have their overall texture and/or patterns considered too. After all, if you are counteracting darker hues with light walls and décor, the rug must work with this same theme. For example, densely textured shag rugs often look quite amazing in modern decorating schemes and rooms with dark floors. Patterned rugs in sharply contrasting hues work quite well as do rugs using only two colors – with one matching the walls and the other the furnishings.
The point in choosing rugs to place on dark floors is to ensure they do not get lost in the darkness of the wood. Instead, they should serve as a reflection or emphasis of the theme and décor of the rest of the space. You don’t have to use pure white or pale colors alone, but do bring as much light above the floor to enhance the beauty of the wood.