Tips to beautify your space using one of nature’s greatest gifts – wood

There’s something about wood that makes it so appealing. It’s warm, inviting and lends itself to any decor style. Wood has personality and character; and decorating with a variety of wood finishes has a way of adding a certain richness to a space. The organic movement of some grains can often have an art-like influence in a room, reaching well beyond its traditional usages.

From simple accessories, to lighting, beautiful contemporary bathroom faucets, wall and ceiling cladding, furniture, kitchen accents and more, incorporating wood in your home, outside of flooring, is only limited by your creativity. As a designer, I love the versatile nature of wood, and how its nearly endless array of colours and grain options can complement, and sometimes even dictate the style within a space.

Airy and modern vibe

Whether you’re more in line with a light, airy and modern vibe, or love the rich, dark more formal woods, I’m sure you can agree that adding wood accents to your home creates 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 tones to create a more stylish and elevated 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 – 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.

Lovely and stylish space

Mixing wood tones and decorating with wood, in general, is not as difficult as you may think – you’re creating a truly lovely and stylish space. Whether you decide to keep it simple by incorporating a few wood accessories, or perhaps barstools, or are a little more adventurous and you’re looking to create more drama in your space with a beautiful walnut grain wall panelling, the addition of wood elements will undoubtedly create a totally chic space for you.

Here are a few 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, 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.