Creative ways to decorate with wood

There’s just something about wood that is just so lovely. The warm and inviting nature of wood tends to lend itself well to virtually any decor style. With its organic vibes and an abundance of personality and character, decorating with wood can move beyond just the basic flooring and furnishings.

From simple accessories, to lighting, beautiful contemporary bathroom faucets, wall and ceiling cladding, furniture, kitchen accents and much more, incorporating wood in your home, outside of flooring, is limited only by your creativity.

Versatile nature of wood

As a designer, I love the versatile nature of wood, how its nearly endless array of colours and grain options can complement and sometimes even dictate the style within a space. Whether you feel more comfortable with a light, airy and modern vibe or love the rich, dark more formal woods, I’m sure you can agree that the addition of wood accents to your home can create a depth in your design. However, working with wood is not just about simply incorporating it in your decor or using it creatively, it’s also about mixing wood types and tones to create a more stylish and elevate space.

When looking to mix and match your woods, the approach is no different than when you blend anything else, such as colour, textures or styles; it’s all about creating continuity, or a story of sorts. You need to pay attention to key details, such as grain, undertones and finish to successfully blend your woods, as well as the overall style of the space and how the placement, usage and proportion of your wood accents balance within the room.

Another great way of mixing multiple wood tones can be by introducing contrasting colours. For example, a room with several shades of warm-toned woods can be pulled together and punctuated with a high-contrasting wood stained in a dark, almost black finish. This can complete the space by adding more depth to the design, while adding visual interest. Once you put together the palette that works for you, then all you really need to do is ensure you repeat the shades, at least two times, throughout to maintain continuity and structure within your space; this will make your room look well “pulled-together” without a lot of effort.

Mixing wood tones and decorating with wood in general is not as difficult as you may think, and it can create results that are truly stunning, edgy and stylish. Whether you decide to keep it simple by incorporating a few wood accessories or barstools, or are a little more adventurous and looking to create more drama in your space with a beautiful walnut grain wall panelling or a wood inlay wallpaper, the addition of wood elements will undoubtedly create a totally chic space in your home.

5 tips to keep in mind

• If you can, keep your tones consistent when mixing woods, work in all warm, cool or neutral tones
• Select one principal wood tone and one or two secondary wood tones when blending. The principal wood tone is usually the one that will occupy the most space, for example, flooring, wall feature or dining table.
• If there is a drastic difference between your floor colour and other furniture tones the introduction of a patterned rug can help blend them together better.
• Don’t place similar tones of wood close together, it’s all about balance, consistency and harmony. Placement and moderation are key.
• Remember, ultimately decorating with wood and mixing different types or tones of wood is great and encouraged, but ultimately, it’s only a part of the overall design of the space. Colour, texture, pattern all still play an important part.