Color Ideas

What Color Hardwood Floor With Cherry Cabinets You Can Pair

Written by

Rosanne Jones

Writer, Designer

FACT-CHECKED BY

Steven D. Carrico

Architect

what color hardwood floor with cherry cabinets

It doesn’t take an expert to appreciate the beauty of cherry cabinets. Their luscious reddish-brown tint and mineral streaks are a beautiful addition to any living space. And as time goes by, cherry wood’s colors only get even more alluring.

However, what color hardwood floor with cherry cabinets can be a tough question. In this article, we’ll recommend ten best choices of hardwood floors you can pair with cherry furniture.

What Color Flooring to Match Cherry Cabinets

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Depending on the hues of your cherry cabinets, you can pair them with light wood floors or darker flooring. Here are some suggestions for matching cherry cabinets with wood floors based on the former’s shades.

Hardwood Floor Color For Light Cherry Cabinets

1. Walnut

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The lustrous colors of walnut make it an excellent candidate for your kitchen. Although its dark tones don’t provide enough offset against the rich cherry, walnut hardwood floors complement the cherry cabinet’s red undertones really well.

Walnut-cherry is an enviable combination, but note that it should only be applied to particularly spacious kitchens. Unlike light colors, dark tones absorb light, thus giving the illusion that the room is drastically smaller.

Given walnut floors’ resistance to scratches, they’re suitable for high-traffic areas and households with pets. However, their price isn’t cheap—averaging $6 to $10 for every square foot.

2. Hazelnut

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Similar to walnut, the hazelnut-and-cherry combination is applicable to spacious kitchens only. As hazelnut already has a deep dark color, the flooring will make your room smaller and cozier when paired with rich cherry cabinets.

If you want to incorporate hazelnut’s natural warmth into your interior without making the kitchen smaller, pair the floor with light cherry cabinets. You’ll end up with an inviting contrast that turns your room into a place of comfort and intimacy.

Hardwood Floor Color For Dark Cherry Cabinets

1. Natural Hickory

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Hickory floors are a natural fit with cherry cabinets. A great choice for kitchens with traditional designs, hickory floors offer a rustic charm for a down-to-earth vibe. Their beautiful mineral streaks allow them to naturally draw attention.

As far as durability is concerned, hickory floors are among the most resilient wood options. Their excellent resistance to water marks hickory as an ideal choice for kitchens in general.

What’s more, this type is suitable for a tighter budget as well. Costing around $3 to $8 per square foot, hickory floors are considered to be among the most affordable options.

2. Beige

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A blend of neutral white and golden brown, beige merges well with the bright red undertones of cherry cabinets. In this combination, the cherry shade has a better chance of standing out and flaunting its richness.

Generally, beige can mix with almost every other color, so it’s the safest option to pair with cherry furniture. Overall, a mix of beige and cherry wood will result in a warm and pristine aesthetic befitting kitchens and dining rooms.

3. Maple

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Maple is a popular light-colored hardwood floor. It has occasional reddish-brown streaks that create visual intrigue. Thanks to its vibrant colors and striking mineral flecks, maple adds depth to the luscious cherry cabinets.

This flooring also has the bonus advantage of being very durable and affordable, arriving at around $5-$12 every square foot. As time goes by, the red-tinted strikes will get darker, resulting in a beautiful backdrop for the cherry wood furniture.

4. White Oak

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A simple but effective choice, white oak floors allow the rich cherry to pop. Unlike maple, white oak floors don’t have the same reddish flecks. Therefore, cherry cabinets’ ample mineral streaks will further draw your eyes.

Another reason you may want to choose white hardwood floors is that they bring vibrancy to an otherwise dark color scheme. The resulting stark contrast between dark and light tones makes for a beautiful modern kitchen.

Because white oak floors are always in high demand, their prices aren’t very cheap. If you’re lucky, they might only cost you $5-$8 for every square foot. However, be prepared to fork up $5-$12/square foot for finished flooring.

5. Light Cherry

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Who says cabinets and flooring can’t share the same wood type? As long as you pick a lighter shade of cherry as flooring to match cherry cabinets, you’re good to go. In fact, doing so is the most foolproof option you can possibly think of.

Aside from brightening up your kitchen, light cherry laminate flooring tends to make the space seem bigger as well. This option will give your room a more organic and down-to-earth ambiance when combined with the darker cabinets.

6. Bamboo

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Bamboo flooring is available in five main colors, and although they all seem attractive, only a natural bamboo shade is suitable as flooring to match cherry cabinets.

The values of bamboo flooring do not just stop at its cheerful sunny mood to balance out the moody cherry. This golden-tinted floor also boasts exceptional durability and resistance to termite, making it incredibly easy to clean and maintain.

Despite the impressive durability, bamboo floors are relatively low-priced. Although some bamboo types might cost up to $11 for every square foot, most bamboo flooring’s cost comes to around $1.50-$6/square foot.

7. Butterscotch Oak

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Butterscotch oak and cherry wood, with their similar warm red tints, are a match made in heaven. The brown tone of butterscotch oak lends warmth and vibrancy to an otherwise somber color scheme without overwhelming the deep cherry cabinets.

What I like most about butterscotch oak is its compatibility with many kitchen styles, from traditional to modern interior design schemes. If possible, go for this flooring type with a glossy finish to amp up the room’s classy charm.

8. Grey Wood

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Grey wood floors are a superb choice for kitchens with a modern aesthetic. As grey is a natural color, there’s no worry that it’ll clash or overwhelm the rich cherry cabinets. Instead, the light gray acts as a backdrop for the luscious cupboards to stand out.

Typically, cherry cabinets will pair better with light grey wood floors. The blend of these two contrasting shades brings a touch of maturity and elegance to your kitchen. It’s definitely ideal for those who seek to turn their home into a place of tranquility.

FAQs

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Q: Should the kitchen floor match cabinets or countertops?

A: It’s recommended that you match the kitchen floor with cabinets, as it’s a lot easier to do so than pairing the kitchen floor with countertops.

However, this doesn’t mean it’s impossible to match all of these elements. As long as you have a clear-set color scheme and texture combination in mind, these three will still work together.

Q: What do I need to consider when choosing hardwood floor color for cherry cabinets?

A: The first thing to consider is your cherry cabinets’ shades. Light-colored flooring works better with dark cabinets, whereas deep luscious flooring would be a better choice for vibrant cabinets.

Next, think of how large your room is. Spacious kitchens will look cozier with a dark color scheme, whereas this palette will make small kitchens seem cramped and suffocating.

Durability and ease of maintenance shouldn’t be overlooked either. If you’re looking for something that can stand the test of time, maple and hickory might be up your alley. Likewise, avoid easily stained floors if you don’t have the time to do regular cleaning.

Q: Should cabinets’ colors be darker than the floors’?

A: Cabinets don’t necessarily have to be darker than the floor, despite the common practice to pair light floors with dark cabinets.

What’s important is whether the scheme works for your kitchen. If light cabinets and dark floors look good in your kitchen, then by all means, go for it.

Q: How to lighten cherry cabinets?

A: Due to cherry cabinets’ deep colors, they can make your kitchen seem darker and more somber. To address this, opt for light-colored floors and countertops, install various light sources around the space, and let natural sunlight flood the room if possible.

Conclusion

The kitchen is where you prepare delicious meals for yourself and your loved ones. Therefore, it stands to reason that it should always look immaculate and inviting.

Picking cherry wood as the material for your cabinets is a good start to a homey cooking area. And now that you’ve learned what color hardwood floor with cherry cabinets, it’s time to put together your dream kitchen.

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