3 reasons to bring wood back to your interiors

Dark coffee table over light wood flooring. Image Credit: Knittystash @Pinterest

3 Reasons to bring wood back to your interiors

Wood can sometimes reminds us of old houses cladded floor to ceiling with that glossy cedar planks. You can still find those on many ski resorts. Despite making you feel cosy, this is something that is completely out of trend. Why would you want to bring wood back to your interiors then? Let’s have a look at the reasons why you should re-consider it.

1 - It gives warmth

Colours and textures are able to transmit a warm or cold feeling. All kinds of wood have a warm colour that ranges from light yellow to dark brown going through reds in the middle of the range. These earthy tones are part of the warm colours within the light spectrum. Colours like blue or grey belong to the cold colours range.

This means bringing wood back to your interiors is a great technique to add warmth when using it with other colours like grey, black or blue. In the image below you can see how adding a simple shelf with a wood texture makes the space less clinical and cold.

Choosing the right type of wood is also essential. The level of warmth added to a space depends on the size, quantity and base colour of the chosen wood.

For example, brighter wood types could be pine, white oak, white ash or even maple. Darker, and therefore warmer wood types could be redwood, walnut, mahogany and ebony. Obviously, all of these wood types could be stained to become darker too.

2- Adds texture

Despite having a smooth surface, wood can bring texture into a space thanks to the lines and knots that appear on the surface of every plank or piece of wood. Sometimes, pieces with more character can have smooth curves that have been preserved following the harder and softer parts of a branch or trunk.

The general advice is to use pieces with character on small tables, shelves or art pieces. Make their curves, knots and changes of colour an object to be admired. Try also to avoid having too many pieces with a similar texture. The idea is to drive the eye to a special setting, not to overwhelm it. Remember that if everything seems special, nothing really is.

Try mixing up different colours and textures of wood If you would like to use it on different surfaces and are worried about overpowering the space. For example, you could use a bright wood flooring without much texture or pattern and a beautifully hand-carved table. The space would feel harmonious and feel warm because each material has its place on the overall composition. See as an example the image below.

3- Mental health booster

Being surrounded by nature it’s proven to improve your mood and reduce feelings of stress or anger. That’s why you have probably seen many offices environments incorporating more natural materials and plants into their spaces. Natural elements have indeed so much power over us, that even seeing elements that are only a representation of a natural one can still give us some benefits. Fake plants and wood illustrations are often used as a replacement when the budget doesn’t allow for real wood flooring or finishes.

The mental health booster that we get from being surrounded by natural materials like wood doesn’t come only from our eyes. It is important to understand the finishes that are applied to the raw wood because the particles that are on the surface of the wood would be the ones that you are breathing in. We all can recognise the smell of a nice piece of wood, but many times this comes altered by the stains, treatments, and varnishes that have been applied to the surface.

Look out for products that have the GreenGuard, GreenGuard Gold, or FloorScore certification listed. These certifications indicate low emissions of toxic particles. This is especially important for people with allergies since being surrounded by natural materials like wood with low emission finishes can be a great booster to their mental and physical health.