Choosing a staircase that will fit in with the floor can be welcoming. The staircase’s overall appearance is greatly influenced by small details like the grain’s direction and the finish’s colors and textures.
The flooring and the stairs don’t have to match. Personal preference is the deciding factor. Consider matching the staircase if the flooring is the same on both floors.
An apartment with wooden floors on both levels would not have carpeted stairwells. However, it doesn’t follow that you can’t make a few small adjustments.
To get a traditional, timeless look that will endure as long as those gorgeous floors, we’ll walk you through some of the fundamentals of designing stairs with flooring.
Table of Contents
Things To Consider Before Color Combining Stairs And Floors
Home Style
Matching wood flooring and stairs might be the best option if your house is more classic. On the other hand, combining and matching various types of woods might produce an intriguing and distinctive appearance if your home has a more modern feel.
Larger spaces can withstand a combination of different wood types, but smaller rooms generally benefit from having wood floors that match throughout.
Furniture And Walls Colors
To give a room a more relaxing and coherent appearance, if it has a lot of colorful furniture and walls, you might want to think about having wood floors and stairs that match.
In contrast, you can experiment with various wood varieties to give your area some visual appeal if your walls and furnishings are mostly neutral.
You’ll have more options when selecting different types of wood for your floors and stair treads if your home is well-lit by natural light.
However, if the color of your house tends to be deeper, it’s recommended to go with matching wood stairs and flooring to avoid giving the place an unduly cluttered appearance.
Stairs Design
When designers want to focus the attention of the house on the area, simple stairs with a minimal number of features are ideal. But the mind worries about safety when a stairway’s design is extremely straightforward.
Consider including components that are consistent with the scale and quality of the rest of the house when designing a staircase. So, it conveys a sense of quality and stability.
If you make the balusters simpler, strengthen their design and construction with stronger custom treads or a modified hand-rail design, which can add a more opulent and distinctive touch.
Stairs Color
Staircases look wonderful with wide plank flooring. You don’t want to have a wide plank floor with stair treads made of thin strips of wood; make sure the dimensions match and flow with the wood on your floors.
Selecting the color of your floors can be done once you have decided whether to use solid oak, pine, or salvaged wood for the flooring. The color you choose for the floors will typically match the color you choose for the stairs.
However, you probably don’t want to prefinished your stair treads simultaneously with your prefinished hardwood floor. It is usually best to complete the stair treads on site because stair components will be subjected to much harm throughout the installation process.
Stair Finishes Also Matter A lot
In addition to color, stair finishes can significantly affect how your color will seem. For our purposes, we’ll focus on two aspects of finishes that affect how the stair appears to users.
Glossy Stair Finishing
Surfaces reflect light with a glossy appearance. Glossy finishes tend to make colors appear lighter since the light’s reflection catches the eye more than the actual color itself.
Matte Stair Finishing
Matte coatings absorb light. Since the color stands out more due to light absorption on matte finishes, colors tend to appear more solid. Glossy and matte surfaces are also employed to influence where consumers will focus their attention, similar to color tones.
Is Hardwood Flooring A Safe Option For Stairs?
Your hardwood flooring and stairs can be virtually matched. Invest in the same wood in the same shade. Construct or remake anything simultaneously as you decide on the floor’s stain.
Thanks to its attractive, uniform appearance, you won’t have to worry about little color changes that get more obvious over time.
You can cover the stair treads with the same planks you used for your hardwood flooring installation. You can use carpet if you want greater traction and don’t want to worry about perfect matches.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Do You Need To Hire A Professional For Stairs And Floor Matching?
Hiring an architect is unnecessary for this kind of job unless you intend to redo your stairs fully. But if you’re unclear about how to remodel a place, it’s recommended that you speak with an interior designer.
Taking advice from an interior designer does not obligate you to hire one, as you should be aware. It implies you’re paying a small price and asking for their suggestion.
Can You Paint The Stairs To Match The Floor?
Yes! The steps should be painted for several reasons. If you could only choose from a small selection of hardwood or carpet, the painting would be your only option for the color. Paint also improves your appearance without allocating additional money to more expensive options.
What Are The Best Flooring Options For Stairs?
The most popular types of flooring for stairs are carpet, tile, hardwood, and laminate, but carpet and hardwood are the best. The carpet is simple to maintain and offers traction and padding to make climbing and descending stairs safer. Hardwood is strong and resistant to dents that could cause danger on stairs.
Is It Acceptable To Add More Than One Flooring Style To Your Home?
Absolutely, yes! You can choose more than one flooring option if you want to experiment with different styles. To keep a cohesive and unified aesthetic, strive to limit the number of types you utilize to no more than three.
Bottom Line
Whether to match or combine floors and staircases throughout your home is personal, and there is no right or wrong answer. What will and will not work for you to achieve your desired look is entirely up to you.
Matching your wood flooring and stairs is best if you prefer consistency throughout your home. Designers employ the various qualities that colors possess to enhance environments’ aesthetic appeal and support their functional goals.
Finishes accomplish the same thing. To simplify, start with a general notion of the color scheme you want to utilize for your staircase and work your way down to the specifics.
