If You Have Gray Wood Floors, These Are The 8 Best Cabinet Colors To Choose

Gray wood flooring, whether hardwood or luxury vinyl, has recently been trending all over home decor and design inspo pages. While some may argue that this floor color is on its way out, others argue that gray's versatility and ability to brighten a space will make it a mainstay in design trends for years to come. Gray flooring's popularity partially stems from its ability to visually make rooms appear more spacious, and some believe that it also lends a modern touch to otherwise outdated areas of the home. Gray wood has added a new dimension to wood flooring choices, too, where homeowners can now play with a new color palette. 

But with more design opportunities also come more questions, including what's the best furniture to use with gray flooring? What metals work with gray? And finally, what color palette should I choose for my kitchen with these floors? While design is all about personal choice, there are some factors to consider when narrowing in on your preferred kitchen design, particularly with cabinet colors. Whether you want a traditional feel or prefer a particular tone of wood will change up which cabinet colors you should choose. Neutrals like white, gray, and black will work, as well as brighter tones like green and navy, but it's crucial to consider the undertones in your gray flooring before deciding.

Earthy greens are a perfect pop of color that contrasts nicely with neutral gray floors. A great option for both kitchens and bathrooms, green-toned cabinets can help warm up a space without clashing with the cool-toned compositions from some gray flooring options. These greens will actually pair well with gray floors regardless of the wood's undertones, whether they be warm (with yellow undertones), cool (with blue undertones), or a mix of both. Green is one of those chameleon colors that runs the gamut on the cool to warm spectrum, so many shade options will work universally with gray floors.

Gray-on-gray is a visually-appealing way to style gray kitchen cabinets without making them look dated. Gray floors tend to make spaces feel a bit fresher and more modern, and when paired with gray cabinets (which some people think feel outdated at times), the combination can make both appear purposeful and contemporary. Keep the look modern with stainless steel appliances or updated hardware to lean into that modern style that gray wood floors skew towards. On the other hand, if you're going the other way and want a hint of a traditional look, opt for classic cabinet styles like shakers.

There's a certain quality about modern white cabinets that makes for a spacious, even tranquil environment, and with a gray wooden floor to match, it'll feel like your kitchen is straight out of a design magazine. When pairing, remember that white runs along a spectrum of tones — brighter, cool-toned whites with blue undertones evoke a sense of crispness, while warmer whites with yellow undertones can be muted and look less striking. Depending on the tone of gray wood floor you have in your home, you may want to choose a different sort of white from others.

Playing off the different variations of white toned cabinets, cream-colored cabinets are a lovely, warmer alternative to white. Cream can lean a little bit more traditional, so if you want to make your space feel more like a French-country chateau and a little less like a space age modern Jetsons room, then choose a creamy finish for your cabinets. While the gray floors can feel slightly more modern in contrast, you can infuse a classic aesthetic into the space by choosing decorative panel cabinet doors or utilizing warmer-toned kitchen hardware. 

The tones of your gray floors as well as what kind of black you choose will change up the overall feel of this versatile pairing. A jet black cabinet color choice with darker gray wooden floors screams dark academia with a modern twist, as dark gray and black feels sumptuous. Meanwhile, lighter, warm-toned gray floors with black cabinets will still feel luxe but can read more traditional than other variations. There are so many choices with this combination depending on what aesthetic you're hoping to achieve, making it another design chameleon.

Navy blue is another one of those complementary cabinet colors that will pair well with any gray wood flooring, whether it be warm-toned, cool-toned, or a mixture. Given both gray and navy's versatility, that leaves your kitchen canvas open to all sorts of other design choices. Lean more modern with a flat panel or slab cabinet door style or air on the more traditional side with any number of shaker variations. In either design aesthetic, the color combo of gray and blue won't look out of place.

Griege — a portmanteau for gray and beige — describes that perfect blend of our favorite neutrals, and one of the best ways to achieve this color on your cabinets is with a wood stain or white schmear-like paint that can be warmed up or cooled down. Depending on what undertone your gray floors contain, opt for a bluer gray to achieve that tone-on-tone effect or grab a more taupe-influenced stain if you find that your gray floors carry more warmth. Remember that naturally warm wood may be difficult to cool and vice versa, so try a patch test.

If you're a fan of natural wooden grains and woodworking, then this choice is perfect for you. Staining your cabinets with a warm, wooden finish will pair well with warmer-toned gray floors. Gray floors can even make wooden cabinets feel more modern, so you'll avoid any '90s-tastic design moments. Embrace the modern feel with slab cabinets, or take this combo in a more country-rustic direction with a darker stain and traditional cabinets. Just try to avoid a wood shade with overly-orange undertones, as that can make your space feel outdated and disjointed from the gray floors.