Three Rules for Mixing Wood Tones

Mixing wood tones can get confusing. Do you get all the same wood tone? Different? How many of each? I know, I know… it can definitely feel like a complicated topic to tackle!

I’m hoping today’s post will help simplify this concept and allow you to feel confident about selecting wood tones for your home. Here are a few rules you can apply when mixing and matching wood tones in your home! As always, there are no REAL rules when it comes to design. Design is all about personal preference and creativity! But these rules will help you apply a little logic to your design process.

How to Mix Wood Tones:

1. Choose Three Wood Tones

Choose three dominant wood tones to incorporate throughout you home. Work to select the majority of pieces with these same tones so that your house feels cohesive. You’ll notice our home is a mix of light whitewashed woods, white oak woods, and medium/dark woods. I make sure to incorporate one or all of these in each room to make the house feel cohesive.

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2. Mix in Painted and Upholstered Pieces

Incorporating painted and upholstered pieces in your designs will help to break up the wood tones. Try to get an even spread of these three types of furniture pieces in each room! Here’s an example of our dining room and family room. There’s a mix of wood, painted, and upholstered pieces that allow the room to flow together! This isn’t exclusive to furniture. Utilizing decorative accents and foundational pieces (like flooring and built-ins) count too!

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3. The Pinball Analogy

I have this weird analogy I made up in my head when it comes to wood tones, or any tone for that matter, that you’re incorporating into a room. I call it the pinball analogy! When I’m designing a space, it helps to imagine a pinball going through the room. I make sure that the pinball can bounce off multiple places with the same tone. Here is an example for you! Notice how many points have the same tone throughout this space? You want to aim for at least three points to make the room flow together!

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Hope that helps you understand how to mix wood tones a little better! Be sure to tune in to my Amazon Live on Wednesday, March 17th, at 4:30 PM PST where I’ll be breaking down this topic in greater detail! In the meantime, here is a roundup of some of my favorite wood furniture finds, all from Urban Outfitters Home!

Wood Furniture Finds



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