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What wall color to 'blend' different wood tones?

By
Real Estate Agent with Baird & Warner Residential Real Estate

I am a realtor who is about to get a listing that needs staging.  The one thing that hit me about the home is there are too many different woods visible in this open plan layout: kitchen cabinets, hardwood floors, laminate floor, two table/chair sets, living room furniture and wood trim.  All walls are white.

Some of the woods, like the tables, I can cover.  I found a great piece of decorator fabric at a resale shop that beautifully combines cool and warm browns and blues, greys, & greens.  I'm thinking of painting the wall that combines the dining area and kitchen a pale blue-grey.  What do you think of this color to hold the woods together?

 I hope to use the fabric as a table cloth for the dining table, a window treatment for the dining area, valances for kitchen and dining windows + seat covers or table runner for dining table.  It's about 4 yards of fabric (got it for $150!). 

Comments (2)

Theo Shaw
Baird & Warner Residential Real Estate - Evanston, IL
Serving Evanston, IL & Beyond
OOPS! I meant to say possibly use it for any of those uses and I bought it for $1.50!
Jun 23, 2007 01:44 PM
Julianna Hind
eXp Realty - Tacoma, WA
REALTOR, 206-679-4768, Tacoma Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, WA

Hi Theo and welcome, of course, it is hard to say without actually being there. A lot of Stagers and Color Consultants have their favorites, but you're right, wood tones, like lighting, can change how the color looks. I would first suggest, you look up a stager that does color consulting in your area, maybe you can get a deal on both services, since you are looking for a stager anyway.

In theory, a safe alternative is a nuetral that might be a common tone in the different woods, for instance oaks and pines may have a common hue in the grain, and they I might go lighter by a shade... however, color can really make wood look fabulous. In the end, I think HOW the color relates to the other fixed surfaces and the soft furnishings and accessories in the most important, and that is where a stager can really help you, as well as coordinating the wood tones. Everything does not have to be matchy-matchy.  

Here is your link to home stagers where you are at that are on Active Rain:

http://activerain.com/states/IL

Take care!

Jun 24, 2007 05:56 AM