It has always been believed that gray floors and gray walls in the interior evoke melancholy and monotony, however, the work of modern designers and technologists has turned this idea around. Today the market offers a huge variety of artificial surfaces with almost unlimited color options, so interior designers have the opportunity to expand their palette.
Gray laminate and gray floor tiles quickly became popular and it turns out that they can fit perfectly into any design project.
Possibilities and features of gray floor
- A dark gray floor in the interior can visually reduce the space of the room or make it narrower, while a light gray floor can cause the opposite effect.
- Not too dark shades of gray do a good job of uncluttering an interior cluttered with furniture, bringing a little freshness and lightness into it.
- A room with a gray floor creates a calm and cozy atmosphere, conducive to proper rest and recuperation.
- If you can find a laminate on sale that has an unusual color (a mixture of gray with beige or brown), then using such material you can create such an unusual gray floor in the interior that its appearance will change your entire understanding of the interior decor.
But the feeling of relaxation and harmony of space that people experience when they spend a long time in such interiors often prevents them from concentrating, their performance decreases and it becomes difficult to do any painstaking work. It is for this reason that the same designers do not recommend laying gray parquet or laminate flooring in study corners and work rooms.
But rooms in gray tones allow you to harmoniously collect your thoughts and tune in to a philosophical mood.
A gray floor color will look great in the interior of a bedroom or living room. Gray may seem no less attractive in the kitchen or dining area, provided that the owners are not afraid of the certain coldness of the atmosphere it creates. However, the last drawback can be easily corrected by adding bright colors or beige shades to the interior palette.
Color Features
If there is a gray floor in the interior, you should be especially careful when choosing the shade of the wall decoration - this will allow you to choose a material that will harmoniously combine with the laminate. So, you can choose gray wallpaper in a tone lighter or darker than the floor. A related blue shade, close to blue, will look laconic with a gray floor.
Matte laminate in the living room
When decorating walls with brown and beige wallpaper, choosing a solid gray color for the floor is not recommended. It is better to use laminate with a “gray oak” texture, which forms a smooth transition between the shades of the floor and walls.
Gray color is monochrome and is located between white and black, therefore it organically combines with both, as it reduces and smoothes out the contrast. This allows it to be used in minimalist modern interiors.
Living room interior in minimalist style
Among the shades that go well with gray laminate are: cream, beige, yellow, blue and purple. The last three will create a bright accent and enliven the interior.
Note! Furniture with black, gray or white upholstery, made from wood in cool shades (wenge, zebrawood, vanilla) blends seamlessly with gray laminate or parquet.
Laminate Kronotex “Mammut Oak white”
When properly integrated into a modern interior, gray laminate flooring can be brought to the fore and become the main focus that attracts attention. You should remember the ability of gray color to influence the visual perception of the dimensions of a space and use it to your advantage - with the help of dark shades, a spacious room can be made more compact and comfortable, and with the help of light colors, you can visually expand the boundaries.
Ter Hurne laminate “Oak pearl gray” in the living room interior
In a room with a lot of furnishings, a light gray floor is simply necessary - visually it will make the room lighter, “unload” it, and create a fresh overall perception of the interior. On the contrary, gray laminate can add dynamism to a calm monochrome space.
A dark gray coating against the background of light walls does not “burden” the living room
In the living room or bedroom, using gray laminate flooring, you can create a calming atmosphere that sets you up for relaxation and restful rest. The advantage of such a floor covering is its neutrality and the ability to blend organically with any furniture; even black or white furnishings do not look provocative against its background.
What interior styles does gray flooring suit?
When designing an interior, you should consider what wall color suits the gray floor and that it is not equally suitable for all styles.
It is best to fit a gray floor into the following interior styles:
- strict classic;
- high tech;
- modern
In addition, gray laminate will look good in some ethnic styles, for example, Scandinavian.
Photo of a gray floor in different interior styles (high-tech, modern, Scandinavian):
In order not to get a too cold, deathly gray interior, it is better to dilute it by experimenting with a warm palette of wall coverings, or add furniture from correctly selected types of wood. The color scheme of furniture can be quite rich; a light gray floor in the interior looks great with furniture of the following colors:
- vanilla;
- zebrano;
- wenge.
If the owner seems that the room lacks special softness and comfort, then this impression can be softened with the help of objects painted in warm colors, with a texture close to wood.
Gray parquet and interior styles
As for interior styles, here we need to talk separately about each option. Before you plunge into the interiors in our photos, I would like to note that a lot depends on the skillful combination of gray floors with other interior items. This rule applies not only to bedrooms. For example, a gray floor and a black kitchen will look perfect because of the clear contrast between the two colors. Typically, this option is used when the kitchen area is very spacious, so you have the opportunity to evaluate the attractiveness of the kitchen unit.
A black kitchen looks perfect with these floors
If we talk about in which interior gray laminate or parquet looks better, then we won’t be able to answer unequivocally. The primary styles that often use this design color are high-tech, minimalism, loft and minimalism. In them, the gray palette runs everywhere, both for the design of the floors and for everything else. The advantages of such a union are that such a palette goes well with forged elements, concrete or asphalt, so such interiors are simply crammed with elements in this color.
Palette is a priority
If we talk specifically about the loft style, then it is he who most often uses gray parquet and laminate to decorate the room. This helps to fully create an urban picture and an atmosphere of space filled with light and air.
https://youtu.be/_MezU8D04Uc
This is interesting! Most modern interiors successfully combine gray parquet or laminate with glossy finishes. It can be glass or metal, tile or chrome surface.
Parquet with a wood tone
Despite the fact that parquet in this color is a bit reminiscent of old wooden flooring, it seems gloomy and darkened over the years, it is still used when decorating rooms in various styles. This is a familiar retro style, country or Provence. In them, parquet or laminate acts as the main background, against which elements of brickwork, stucco molding or artificially aged furniture look good.
Color as a base
How to combine a gray floor with other colors?
- The extreme options for gray are white and black. By connecting them, gray shades greatly soften their contrast, making the interior less flashy and provocative. But to create compositions with this color you need to have practical experience and professional knowledge. After all, it is not so easy to understand which walls are best combined with a gray floor, so that later there will be fewer problems with the selection of furniture.
- The combination of gray and blue colors looks very harmonious; this composition will fit perfectly into the interiors of a bedroom, living room or office.
- Gray pairs well with cool color palettes, including blues and purples.
- The combination of gray and yellow is quite rare, and an abundance of yellow inclusions should not be allowed, but light yellow-gray stripes would be appropriate.
- The best wallpaper for a gray floor is beige or light green; it will keep the interior cozy and make it elegant at the same time.
What should the wall decoration be like?
To achieve maximum harmony in a room with a gray floor, you need to think about wall decoration. Not all shades of wallpaper are compatible with gray and this must be taken into account. Successful combinations are light wallpapers with elements of gray, or so-called some related cool colors:
- blue;
- violet;
- blue.
Two-tone walls combined with gray floors
If the parquet has inclusions of different shades, you can select wallpaper for wall decoration taking into account their color scheme. For example, gray oak with brown and beige veins goes well with cream or light coffee colored wallpaper.
It is worth considering the choice of material for wall decoration. In addition to the classic option - wallpaper, you can use natural stone, brick-like wall parquet, or leave the walls with a concrete base, as is fashionable today, creating an interior in a Scandinavian style and be sure to dilute the cold atmosphere with design elements of warm colors.
Common mistakes with gray floors
The main disadvantage of a gray floor is its coldness. If the interior is not given warm accents, it will turn into a completely unattractive, lifeless desert. In addition, monotony cannot be allowed here, therefore, if gray doors with an incorrectly selected texture complement the gray floor, then such an interior may be doomed to failure in advance.
If the project has a light gray floor, what walls can harmonize with it? For example, not too bright, dark wallpaper is quite suitable, as well as introducing rather popular metallic-colored furniture into the interior. However, under no circumstances should you polish everything in a gray room until it shines, turning it into a chrome box.
To enliven even a hopelessly “gray” interior, you need to boldly use unusual patterns and ornaments, work with shades, glossy and matte surfaces, combine fur, silk and other textures.
Gray floor in the kitchen
The color of the floor in a gray kitchen or dining area may seem no less attractive, provided that the owners are not afraid of a certain coldness of the atmosphere it creates. The gray floor in the kitchen not only looks presentable, but is also extremely practical, since traces of dirt, grease and stains are much less visible on a gray background.
For small kitchens
A gray-white floor in a small kitchen will be no less acceptable than a combination of gray shades of different saturation, as well as gray-beige and gray-blue. In general, for small rooms, tiles need modest sizes.
If the goal is to visually increase the space, then it is better to lay either tiles with a simple, inconspicuous pattern, or without it at all, in a single color, since the more complex and noticeable the pattern, the more it conceals the space. On the contrary, a kitchen with a floor that has a smooth surface texture will appear more spacious and brighter.
For spacious kitchens
In spacious kitchens, ceramic tiles of any size can be installed, although larger elements look better here. Tile of non-standard shape, for example, hexagonal or with rounded edges, looks great. Here you can try a bunch of shapes and sizes, as well as different installation methods (diagonal, herringbone and others) to achieve an unusual look for the interior.
You can, abandoning stereotypical solutions, grout the tile joints with grout of a contrasting color. Then the grid of tile rows will appear more clearly, which will draw attention to the floor covering. If you use a darker grout, the tiles will appear cleaner and lighter.
Photo of a gray floor in the kitchen:
The combination of a gray floor in the kitchen with walls and furniture
It is very important to find a harmonious combination of the design of the floor, ceiling and walls. Also, you should not lose sight of kitchen furniture and accessories. However, you should always remember the functional features of this room, therefore, even if you have a gray floor in the kitchen, it is hardly worth installing white walls in it, since they will get dirty very quickly.
But if you add a white ceiling and light (but not white) walls to a gray floor, then visually the kitchen will be more spacious and brighter.
You should not try another option, where the ceiling is left in a light tone, but the walls are made darker than the floor covering. With this combination, the overall background becomes too dark, the room fades, becomes gloomy, and visually shrinks in volume.
When choosing wallpaper or tiles for walls, combining the color of the floor in a gray kitchen, you must take into account the degree of natural light in the kitchen room:
- On the sunny side, it is wiser to use cool or neutral tones (green, blue, turquoise) so that even a hot stove does not seem so hot.
- If the kitchen faces north, then it is better to warm up its atmosphere with a warm wall color (orange, yellow, peach). The warming color palette of the walls will make the gray floor more pleasant to perceive.
A gray plinth framing the floor of the same color will visually make its area larger, creating the illusion of its continuation.
White kitchen facades will look bright against the background of a dark gray floor, creating an elegant interior. Fans of playful combinations may wonder: if you make a gray floor in the kitchen, what color of the set should you choose? They can combine gray with acid lemon or yellow, bringing, for example, yellow chairs into the dining room interior, and hanging thin lemon organza on the windows. An excellent combination with a gray floor will be formed by cutlery, dishes and appliances made of stainless steel; fortunately, all this does not require a long search on sale.
Photo of a gray floor in the kitchen interior:
And it’s even better, instead of ordinary tiles, to use gray porcelain tiles for the floor, which is its relative, but has a better design and physical and mechanical characteristics. Gray porcelain tiles for the floor in the kitchen interior can be perfectly combined with furniture of a wide variety of colors. A neutral gray floor will be perfectly enlivened by colored spots of furniture, no matter what they are: metallic, wenge, pine or even white.
Psychologists say that the presence of warm colors in the kitchen stimulates appetite, and cold ones, on the contrary, reduces it. This property is especially important to consider for those who want to lose weight.
At the same time, there is no real reason to say that gray tiles make the kitchen interior dull and nondescript. It is important to find the right combination of materials and shades, and the gray kitchen will become beautiful and sophisticated.
Gray floor in the living room
You can choose a combination of gray with warm shades of wood so that it enhances this impression.
Shades of gray can perfectly emphasize the elegance of high-tech style. Here you also need to be guided by the rule of five colors: in addition to the main one, the interior can combine one additional color and no more than five different shades of gray.
If a gray living room lacks lighting, then to make it visually more spacious, you need to illuminate its walls with soffits, and to make it look sunnier, you can use yellow elements in the decoration of the floor and walls, for example, a large yellow panel or a floor carpet of the same color .
Photo of a gray floor in the living room interior:
How to avoid mistakes when decorating a room
When decorating floors in an interior of any style, you need to remember that this color is considered cold. Pay attention to the design of the room as a whole; if there are bright notes, then gray color will be an excellent addition and a way to visually increase the space.
Interior with bright accents
Spacious living room with light floors
Wooden furniture and light floors
Kitchen with light floors and wooden furniture
Ideal parquet for the living room and hallway
Immediately take into account the interior style, Provence, hi-tech, minimalism, retro - here you need to make it a rule that you act within the framework of the style, but in no case violate its laws. You can experiment with materials, but if you have chosen a certain style of room, try to follow its direction in everything, in the design of floors, walls and when selecting furniture.
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Gray floor in the bedroom
A bedroom design with a gray floor can easily be decorated in a neoclassical style if you use an antique-style chandelier with candles, a café-au-lait-colored carpet, and a shiny velvet bedspread in the interior. Gray laminate will perfectly emphasize the charm of such an interior.
Photo of a gray floor in a bedroom design:
Gray floor in the bathroom
An attempt to use gray ceramic tiles on the walls and floor of the bathroom will once again emphasize the restraint of forms and the refined simplicity of this room.
It can be safely combined with yellow, red, emerald green, beige and a host of other colors. You can use pearl gray as the main color, which will highlight bright color accents: gilded showers and taps, heated towel rail racks and other interior elements.
Would you like to have a gray floor in your home or have you already decided on it? Share your thoughts in the comments - we are interested in knowing your opinion.
Lucky configurations - what to combine with gray parquet
A gray floor looks best in a reception area or bedroom. Well-chosen furniture elements and decor will breathe life into the interior . White and black colors are best combined with gray. Gray in this version smoothes out the contrast of colors, making it possible to create original designs. Wooden furniture in fashionable zebrano or wenge colors goes perfectly with gray.
Summarizing all of the above, it remains to emphasize that gray parquet floors are a worthy solution for interior design, provided that you know how to correctly combine colors, decorative elements and furniture. In another case, the appearance of cognitive dissonance in everyone who visits the room is inevitable.
Gray floor combined with gray wall surfaces in the bedroom
