Oak cabinetry is a popular choice among homeowners for its durability and distinctive grain patterns, which add a classic, timeless aesthetic to a room. If you’re looking to renovate your kitchen, pairing oak cabinets with the right flooring can give your home elegance and beauty. This guide will help you choose the best flooring that goes with oak cabinets.
Tips for Choosing Flooring With Oak Cabinets
As you design your new kitchen, first figure out whether you want to establish a contrast or coordinate the color palette throughout the whole space. The tips below will help you weigh flooring ideas for a kitchen with oak cabinets.
- Lighter colors create a contrast: Using two contrasting colors in one room demonstrates harmony between different decorative elements, especially the cabinets and flooring. Since your oak cabinets already have such a dark, luxurious color, you can find a light, contrasting tint to create balance in your kitchen.
- Natural stone has a unique appearance: If you want a vibrant, modern kitchen, consider using natural stone flooring for a unique pairing with oak cabinets. Experiment with coordinating or contrasting colors and textures. You can also explore durable laminate, vinyl, or tile that looks like natural stone as a cost-effective alternative.
- An oak floor establishes a design theme in the kitchen: Using oak flooring with oak cabinets may seem redundant. However, this material comes in a wide range of colors, so you can create a classic oak kitchen without it feeling too monotonous. Consider a flooring type with eye-catching grain variations and designs, such as hand-scraped hardwood, to contrast your traditional oak cabinets with more modern flooring.
- Medium-dark flooring matches oak cabinets perfectly: When deciding what color flooring goes with oak cabinets, medium-dark flooring is one of your best options. Since oak is a medium-dark wood, flooring of a similar shade would complement your cabinetry nicely. Medium-dark flooring won’t overpower the room, and it also hides stains and debris, making it easier to maintain.
Types of Flooring for Kitchens With Oak Cabinets
The following materials feature plenty of color and texture options to complement or contrast your oak cabinetry.
Hardwood Flooring With Oak Cabinets
To create a luxurious, traditional feel, let’s look at hardwood flooring ideas for a kitchen with oak cabinets. This durable flooring material can last for more than half a century. You can choose from various wood colors, from light to medium-dark, as well as several wood species that go well with oak cabinets.
- Red oak: If you’d like to create an oak-themed kitchen, a red oak floor is an excellent option. As the name suggests, this wood species is medium-brown with a reddish wash. Shop red oak.
- White oak: Lighter white oak floors can be a great option to balance your kitchen cabinets by adding an open, airy feel.
- Maple: This wood species is a light, creamy color that will also provide a nice contrast with dark oak cabinets.
- Birch: This softer hardwood comes in various tones, from light to medium, but the most popular is yellow birch. Try out various birch options to see how they complement your cabinets.
- Brazilian cherry: This type of cherry hardwood has a dark, reddish-brown color, but with exposure to light, it tends to develop a medium tone over time.
(If you’re concerned about frequent kitchen spills damaging your hardwood floors, you can also consider moisture-resistant engineered hardwood planks.)
Laminate Flooring With Oak Cabinets
Laminate flooring is a durable option for high-traffic areas like the kitchen. These cost-effective planks can resemble nearly any material, but homeowners usually prefer a natural wood look. There are many wood species options for matching or contrasting with your oak cabinets.
Besides its aesthetic quality, laminate is resistant to wear and tear and relatively easy to clean. For additional protection from spills in the kitchen, you may want to install waterproof laminate flooring.
Because laminate flooring is available in so many styles and colors, you can achieve virtually any design style. However, a few popular options for laminate flooring for oak cabinets include:
- Cream: Cream and other light colors can help brighten up the kitchen, making it feel more spacious. Cream works best with light-colored oak cabinets, especially in kitchens with earthy accent colors.
- Black: This may seem like a drastic color, but black laminate flooring can pair nicely with oak cabinets. Use shades of black in your backsplash or countertops to help blend your floor and cabinetry colors.
- Dark blue: If you aren’t ready to commit to black, opt for dark blue. This shade adds an elegant, dramatic flare, especially when paired with darker oak cabinets.
- Red: How red you’d like to go is up to you, but laminate flooring with a red hue or undertone can warm up your space. Red is one of the best colors of flooring for honey oak cabinets, as it adds a touch of color while being more subtle than blue or black.
When searching for the best color of flooring that goes with oak cabinets, you’ll want to look at different floor samples next to your cabinets. This allows you to see undertones or other characteristics you may not have noticed. A professional in-home consultation is always a great idea to ensure you’ve picked the best flooring color to bring your design to life.
Vinyl Flooring With Oak Cabinets
Like laminate, vinyl flooring can withstand wear and tear in high-traffic areas, and it can resemble natural wood to complement or contrast with your oak cabinets. Vinyl comes in two options:
Luxury Vinyl Planks (LVP)
LVP has almost the same texture as wood, and each plank fits together to create a seamless flooring design. Planks tend to resist scratches, moisture damage, stain, and mildew growth. If you want to install plank flooring, choose a wider plank to limit the lines for a more cohesive appearance.
If you’re wondering how to choose an LVP floor color for oak cabinets, start by looking at warm tones like yellow, orange, and red. Pairing these shades of vinyl plank flooring with honey oak cabinets brings out the oak’s natural warmth, making your space feel cozy and inviting.
Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT)
If you prefer the appearance of natural stone flooring, consider LVT. This material usually looks like stone or slate tiles but is much more affordable. It’s also easier to clean and resists wear and tear much better than natural stone. If you’re looking for unique, modern flooring ideas for oak cabinets, try experimenting with luxury vinyl tile options.
Consider terra cotta- or marble-inspired LVT to bring color and texture to your kitchen. If you have solid oak cabinets and solid countertops, using marble-inspired flooring is a great way to incorporate patterns into your kitchen design. Stick with a neutral marble vinyl tile for a classic look, or add in some color to make a real statement.
While marble will bring luxuriousness to your kitchen, terra cotta creates a different but equally beautiful feel. This flooring is earthy and works well with minimalist, bohemian, and coastal design styles. The warmth of the terra cotta flooring goes well with honey oak cabinets and will enliven your kitchen.
Tile Flooring With Oak Cabinets
If you’re looking for aesthetically pleasing yet durable flooring material for your high-traffic kitchen, tile flooring is an excellent option. This style offers plenty of design possibilities and often resembles natural stone. Here are two moisture-resistant tile materials that can contrast your oak cabinetry for a modern look:
- Ceramic tile: Ceramic contains clay or synthetic materials and has a glaze over it to protect the surface. You can get a ceramic tile that looks like stone, slate, wood, or other materials of any color and texture. Since this material is waterproof, you can use it in the kitchen and easily clean up messes. To complement your oak cabinet, you may want to invest in flooring that looks like natural stone. Add extra visual interest by contrasting a light floor color with oak cabinets.
- Porcelain tile: Porcelain contains a mixture of natural and synthetic materials to create a water- and heat-resistant floor tile. It tends to have a broader range of styles and patterns than ceramic, so you can design your flooring to match your oak cabinets or establish an eye-catching contrast.
To find tile flooring to go with honey oak cabinets, start with neutral tones. You can find tiles in browns ranging from light cream to dark espresso, all of which can make good tile flooring for oak cabinets.
Lean into the earthy brown tones by incorporating shades of green into your kitchen through plants, paint, or decor. Or, if you have light oak cabinets, go bold and bright and use a light flooring color paired with vibrant shades of orange throughout your kitchen decor.
Whether you go with brown or another neutral color like gray, neutral tile flooring always goes with oak cabinets and opens up the variety of accent colors you can use in your backsplash, patterned countertop, or accent wall. Because it’s easier to change paint colors and other decor, having a neutral floor allows you to easily change up the design of your kitchen later on.
Schedule an In-Home Appointment With 50Floor
Our expert team at 50Floor is happy to help guide you in deciding what flooring goes well with your oak cabinets. We bring flooring samples to your house so you can compare how different flooring materials and colors pair with your oak cabinets.
If you’re ready to find the perfect flooring that matches your oak kitchen cabinets, schedule an appointment with us today.
