Mixing wood (laminate) colors- will they clash or compliment?

Jodi Lees
by Jodi Lees
We have an open concept kitchen and living room and staircase to the 2nd floor. The kitchen and the banisters are all dark brown wood. We want to take all the carpet up on the stairs and the 2nd floor open space which also has a dark brown wood kitchenette, and replace the carpet with a silver Gray wood look laminate. Will the different color "woods" clash or compliment each other? Thanks! Jodi
Stairs to 2nd floor. Dark kitchen is right behind me as I take this picture. The kitchen and most of the first floor have a beige tile.
Second floor dark brown kitchenette.
Beige tile below stairs.
  7 answers
  • GrandmasHouseDIY GrandmasHouseDIY on Jul 09, 2018

    Hi Jodi, if I were you I would see if I can bring a sample home, that way you can compare to all the other tones in your house :) Without seeing the laminate you're thinking about using I can't really say whether I think it will clash or not. But it would probably be just fine!

  • I agree with GramdmasHouseDIY, try to bring a few samples and see it in a reality of your home. Light gray is neutral, so it can be very nice with brown.

  • Lina Splichal Lina Splichal on Jul 09, 2018

    If you like the look of your existing beige tile, I would find something to blend with that so that everything looks like it was planned and coordinated.

  • Lbr24389409 Lbr24389409 on Jul 10, 2018

    The kitchen cabinets will be fine if they do not match, however I would look for a driftwood color laminate with grey and taupe. I just assisted a friend with the tile selection for her house and many samples later we found the perfect wood look tile. It is in the grey family, but it doesn’t look too grey. It allows you to have the feel of the grey without the unfortunate clash issue you are mentioning. I also think painting the wooden trim on your stairswould help as well.


  • Heje Heje on Jul 10, 2018

    Get some samples especially with some brown tones in with the gray.

  • Get samples and see how they look in your home. We had a similar situation and decided to replace the carpet on the stairs with new carpet because we did not want to bother with new subflooring in order to put other products on the stairs. Check sub-floor needs before replacing carpet with a different surface. We bought dis continued natural stone tile for the door area at the foot of the staircase and then we installed bamboo flooring in the living room; looked very good together. Carpeting is easier on pets and children than hard surfaces. You will not know what is under the carpet until it is removed (and you could find particle board.) I like you tile floor because it is so neutral and it looks like it is in great condition! Styles change over time and old things come back into fashion. Choose what you want to live with for the long run unless you plan to sell the house in the future.

  • Mary Mary on Jul 13, 2018
    The railings going up the stairs have black/metal posts inside of the dark brown hand rail, & I think that looks wonder, so I think a grey tone would look good with the black metal posts. If it were me, I would get a grey tone for the stairs and just consider where the kitchen floor meets the bottom step as "two different rooms"... even thou the stairs are not considered a room. I wouldn't try to get flooring to match up with the kitchen flooring... that too me would be too much brown. Menards makes us pay like a deposit to take home samples, but then you get refunded when you return them. Get samples and lay them out in the daytime and then in the nighttime. Lighting plays a big part of any remodel.