In her “No Demo Reno” episode, Jenn Todryk didn’t have the budget to change both the cabinets and the cherry wood floors, but she proves that you don’t always have to do a massive overhaul to brighten up a home. The right color combinations can make a dark floor blend in seamlessly to a fresh, new look. Todryk opted to repaint the cabinets in a light, warm-toned gray to tone down the red of the flooring and reflect more light throughout the space. When it came time to install a faux wood beam, she needed to find the perfect wood stain. “We’ve got these very red floors, so I have to pick a stain color that fits in with my new modern design and what we’re doing, but also doesn’t make this [floor] look horrible and disgusting,” said Todryk (via Instagram).
To figure out which stain would look best in the space, Todryk painted each corner of a wooden board in a different shade, then examined the board against the deep, cherry floors. After narrowing her choices down to espresso or Jacobean, Todryk ultimately decided on the lighter of the two. The key to the winning color was that it held notes of red like the cherry wood, but it didn’t clash with the cherry or add more darkness to the room. “This [espresso] brown right here kind of makes this red disappear, but it also fits in with everything else I’ve got going on in the house,” she explained.
