Orders open mid-November
Choosing Colours for Woodwork & Furniture
Woodwork and furniture can blend, frame or stand out.
Skirting boards, doors, architraves, banisters and painted furniture shape a room more than most people expect. House & Garden frame the decision simply: do you want the woodwork to match the walls, sit tonally close to them, or contrast with them? None is right or wrong. Brilliant white woodwork is often chosen out of habit, when a softer white or a deeper shade of the wall colour would look more finished.
At a glance
- Match: same colour on walls and woodwork for a seamless look.
- Tonal: a deeper or lighter version of the wall colour for gentle definition.
- Contrast: a different colour to frame doors and mouldings.
- Swap brilliant white for a white that shares the wall’s undertone.
- Use the right paint and sheen for each surface.
Matching woodwork to the walls
One colour everywhere for a calm, enveloping room.
Painting walls and skirting in one shade gives a comforting, wrap-around scheme. It makes small rooms feel calmer and lets architecture recede. Use the same colour in a wall paint and a woodwork paint.
Tonal woodwork
A deeper shade of the wall colour on woodwork.
A deeper strength of the wall colour on woodwork adds definition without a hard line. Very dark skirting and cladding can also make the walls above feel lighter and airier.
Contrasting woodwork and soft whites
Frame the room, or pick out a highlight colour.
Contrasting woodwork frames doorways and mouldings. If you want white, choose a soft white that shares the undertone of the walls. For a highlight, pick a colour from your fabrics or wallpaper for skirting, stair risers or a door.
Painting furniture to suit the room
Tone with the walls, or make it the accent.
Painted furniture can tone with the walls so it melts in, or become the 10% accent in a 60-30-10 scheme. Choose its colour with the walls, floor and light in view, not in isolation, and sample it beside the wall colour.
Prepare properly, and let the paint cure before heavy use. Treat it gently while it hardens.
Sample it the way we would
Step 1
Paint your peel-and-sticks
Each £5.99 sample comes with three paintable peel-and-sticks. Give them two coats and let them dry fully.
Step 2
Stick them around the room
Put them on two or three walls, including the wall opposite the window, at eye level and lower down.
Step 3
Live with them for a day or two
Look in the morning, the afternoon and under your evening lamps. Move them around until you are sure.
Your questions, answered
Should skirting boards be white?
Not necessarily. Matching or toning them to the walls often looks more finished than brilliant white.
Should doors be the same colour as the walls?
They can be, for a seamless look, or deeper or contrasting to frame the doorway.
What finish should woodwork be?
A durable woodwork paint in Matt or Satin; our Trim & Woodwork Paint comes in both.
Trim & Woodwork Paint