Decorating and Design - Laminate flooring color choice

Hi,

I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me select a laminate floor. I'm not very good at picking colors and there are so many to choose from it makes it even harder. The majority of my house is currently tiled and it's just kind of cold. I can't decide between a lighter maple, darker mahogany, or a medium color cherry (which is currently installed in one of my other rooms). Here are some photos of the area that will be effected most. Sorry for the poor image quality but all I have is my camera phone at the moment.

http://www.l33tmachines.com/users/brian/house/room1.jpg

http://www.l33tmachines.com/users/brian/house/room2.jpg

http://www.l33tmachines.com/users/brian/house/room3.jpg

These pictures were basically taken from opposite corners of the room. The kitchen and family room are through that little doorway and the tile continues into the kitchen. In the first picture you can see my pantry through the doorway which is the same color as my kitchen cabinets (very dark brown, almost black). In the last picture (taken from the front door) you can see all the way through to the family room which currently has a medium cherry colored wood laminate in it. The medium cherry is ok but I'm not sure how it would work throughout the entire house and I don't have any problem replacing it since it was cheap. Thanks in advance.

Brian

Choices are lighter maple, darker mahogany, medium color cherry. The space needs warmth and color. I'd go with medium color cherry. It will provide the warmth and color needed in the space, and the black furniture and accents will be the perfect complement. Lighter maple lacks warmth. Dark mahogany is too dark. Posters complain of darker color floors showing dust bunnies and scratches through wear layer reveal lighter substrate below.

Tips:

Lower pictures above table and hang no greater than 4" apart.

Drop the plant into a decorative pot to complement color scheme. There are some beauties at some garden centers.

A large horizontal picture with colors that complement the color scheme and hung about 6" above sofa is needed. The current pictures are flying high and too far apart.

Drapery panels are a tad short and don't reach the floor. Longer panels that touch floor and hung above windows would give illusion of greater height. Decorative rod should be black or paint the current one black.

Once you install the new flooring, get an modern/contemporary area rug to anchor the conversation area. Colors should complement color scheme. Rug should be large and nearly the size of the carpeted area.

Thanks twelvepole. I had a feeling the medium was going to be the way to go. I never thought about the dust showing up on the darker flooring and it definitely sounds like something that could be an issue. Also, thanks for the other suggestions. Those things above the couch always bothered me a bit but I never quite knew what to do about it. Also, for those two pieces above the table. How much lower should they be? I was never really sure what to do there because the wall is so huge I thought it might look strange to have the bottom half of it filled up and the top half (from the top of the doorway up) essentially empty.

Hi Bmahon,

The room is too neutral, IMO
I'd go with the medium cherry indeed (in the picture below I used Cherry Genua) and I'd add more accents, like larger pictures and light curtains. You can use the same color of the floor for some additional trims

http://www.punchhelpers.com/DIY/Floorcolor

I'd lower pictures to about half way the height of the sticks in the vases on the table. This will put them at good viewing height when seated.

The general rule of thumb when hanging pictures is to hang them low when in sitting areas like living and dining rooms. This is at eye level where most viewed when seated. Hang pictures higher at eye level when standing if pictures will be viewed in hall ways, entry ways, and other areas where they are viewed in passing.

Hi Bmahon,

The room is too neutral, IMO



Yeah, like I said I'm really bad with colors so I tend to not use them. The only color in that room is bits of green in the various accessories (which is badly washed out in the pictures). Other then that it's all neutral colors. There will definitely be a new painting above the couch. I saw some pretty cool abstract posters online that I can probably build a frame for.

It seems that the medium cherry is the way to go for the floor. That was actually my original choice but I kept looking around and thinking about it and became unsure. I suppose sometimes its better not to over think things.

I have found that when working with customers that their first choice is usually the one they end up with. But, they go back and forth between all the colors and end up coming back to the first choice. It seems that second guessing oneself seems to be only natural.

Oh, but when you think the customer has finally made up their mind, they return the next day with their mother or their sister, and the whole process starts all over again. Wanting to please their loved one, the customer nods in agreement with whatever the relative thinks is best.

A day or two later, the customer slinks into the showroom and looks at everything again. Guess what? They go with their first selection. Finally, a decision was made! If the customer had just gone with their gut and trusted themselves, they could have made the decision the first time around.