When planning a new look for your home, it can be tricky to decide which colors to use. Each year so many eye-catching shades surge in popularity, it’s hard to resist using all of them. A great place to start is by coordinating your home design colors with your floors. Flooring is the foundation of any room and often flows from one room to another, so it’s important to build your new palette with your floors in mind.

If you’re in the market for new flooring, you can make purchase decisions by leaning into your favorite design style or go more neutral to allow for design flexibility down the line. If you’re not redoing floors in the whole house, you can also play off of existing flooring. Here are a few ideas to help give you some inspiration for coordinating flooring and design colors.

Soft Color Palettes

Soft color palettes can be used either to provide contrast or harmony. For example, light shades like pastel pink, creamy yellow, baby blue, sherbet orange, or mint green will contrast against darker floors or blend with lighter floors for an overall softer effect.

Think about the trim color in your space, too. Bright white pops against medium to dark floors and colorful wall paint, while creamier tones create less contrast. Painting trims a color other than white is trending as well. Use the wall color for a seamless effect or choose a neutral to bring more attention to the woodwork.

Classic Hardwood Beauty

When it comes to classic, medium-toned wood flooring, cool hues like blues and greens on walls and furniture will highlight your beautiful floors. Hues like yellows, oranges, and reds will provide less contrast with the wood, giving the whole room a warmer feel. These concepts apply to all hard surface options as well, including LVT (luxury vinyl tile) or laminate in traditional hardwood looks.

Navigating Neutrals

Light-colored flooring in cream, whitewashes, or other light neutrals creates a completely different feel in a space. Whether hard surface or carpet, light neutrals brighten up a space.

Light, neutral flooring colors can be used in almost any type of decor, but they pair perfectly with light tones on the walls for Scandinavian style and other minimalist designs. Neutral floors and walls also allow you to play with bolder colors in art, rugs, upholstery, and other accessories, giving them center stage.

Carpet Color

If you love the additional texture and warm comfort that cozy carpet provides, you will have a rainbow of color options to choose from. Bold colors, especially in blues and greens, are trending, so don’t be afraid to step away from basic beige. Do be sure you choose a color you love. Trends come and go, but carpet lasts for years. You’re more likely to remain happy with your decision if the carpet is a color you have always been drawn to.

Mohawk’s EverStrand^® carpet comes in more than a thousand colors, textures, and patterns, so there’s a perfect option for any design scheme you can dream up. Plus, Mohawk recycles an average of 6 billion drinking bottles a year to create EverStrand, keeping tons of plastic out of our landfills and waterways. That’s a big step in the right direction and a flooring decision you can feel good about.

In the end, decorating is all about expressing your taste and the vision you have for your home. When brainstorming new color combinations, don’t be afraid to explore several possibilities. And if you need help coordinating your home design colors with new flooring, bring your paint and fabric swatches into your local Mohawk dealer. Their experts will help you devise a plan you will love.