apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Do all the pine trees live in one section of the forest, and the oak trees in another?

Is it forbidden to mix stripes with solids or reds with blues in the clothing that you wear?

Do all the whales live in different oceans from the salmon, the oysters and the crabs?

That's how ridiculous it is to say that woods cannot be mixed.

Bepsf, yes, but....my best friend goes to a church which has about four different woods in the sanctuary, and it bugs every time (one kind of paneling with another kind of trim and so forth). Furniture, to me, is a totally different story. It's the fixed pieces--floor, ceiling, mouldings, that I like to have matching-ish. It's not only the color--the grains vary so much from one wood to another.

Mix it up! I don't have the resources or desire to stick to one kind of wood or one color of stain. Plus there are so many kinds of beautiful wood out there, how could you choose just one? P.s. I think mixing woods works best when they all are finished on the same or similar levels.... i.e. stained, lacquered, salvaged, natural, etc.

Sticking to one kind of wood is kind of like decorating your entire house in one tone of beige.

We have driftwood beams (totally raw and unfinished), finished fir, both finished and unfinished cedar (both red cedar and yellow cedar). The raw finish of the driftwood looks even more stunning against the finished fir and vc.vs.

OMG...I am totally in love with that bedroom! So white and clean and modern...yet natural.

(Although knowing how messy I am, it wouldn't last too long)

Mix it up!

I totally agree with mixing it up but have trouble making it look as good as either of these rooms myself, so I'm guessing there's a right and wrong way to do it.

I notice that in the top room, the wood tones are sort of different tints of the same hue, so it makes sense that they look good together. The bottom one?... I can't explain it. I guess you really just have to have them all together and decide whether you like it.

If it looks good- it looks good.

I like a mix that shows that the different wood colors are variations along a spectrum of similar colors.

I'm interested to read more comments on this - how far do you go? I think, in the first picture, it doesn't even come across as mixed woods. The ceiling and the floor are so large in scale, it might look bizarre to match. In the second, I really like the look of the opposite stains - something I could pull off in my own home.

But I think the topic of "matching woods" is easy with pictures of almost black/white differences, or when the non-matching in question is the floor or ceiling. What about furniture? My newer wood purchases in my home have been chocolate in color, and could see the art in mixing in a very light wood piece (in fact, I'm excited to try!). But I am bothered now by older pieces that are of a medium-dark, reddish stain, which just don't seem to match for me. So, how could one do this effectively, and can it work for nearly any colors?

I'd want the ceiling to be a lighter wood than the floors. Although I like the #1 bedroom, I also feel as if the ceiling is too "heavy". But maybe it's just me.

I definitely like to mix woods. To me it is no different than mixing antique and modern pieces. My style if very much eclectic so it works. If you are concerned about trying it than maybe limit it to just 2 woods.

I posted a photo of a room on HGTV's rate my space and the only negative comments are from people that don't like the mixing of woods but I'd say more people like it than hate it.

There's a couple nice examples of mixing different types of wood on Andre's website. I really love this:

http://www.andrerothblattarchitecture.com/de_cabinet.html

I love the warm effect these woods have.....I want that bedroom! Nice Job Rothblatt Architecture.