When you’re planning on painting a room in your home, you’re probably only thinking about four surfaces (or more, depending on the configuration of your interior walls). However, you should probably be looking down and considering your floors as well.

The color and material of your floors will affect the choice you make for the best interior wall color. Here are the five interesting ways it does so.

1. The Undertone Matters

Even if you think your flooring is a neutral color, it will have a tinted undertone. Your flooring is either warm- or cool-toned. While you don’t have to match your wall color to your flooring color exactly, as the effect will be too matchy-matchy, stick to the same tone family. If your flooring is warm-toned, only look at warm hues for your walls and vice versa.

2.Think about the Shade

If your flooring is already installed, you need to think about it when choosing your wall color. After all, it is easier to choose a different paint color than to replace your flooring from scratch.

Most painters recommend that your wall paint should be a few shades lighter than your flooring. Most rooms look like a gradient, with the lightest color on the ceiling and the darkest for the flooring. If the walls are darker than the floor or the same shade, the appearance is garish.

However, decorating rules are made to be broken as long as you do them with taste.

3.The Combined Effect of the Flooring and Walls Affects Your Room Size

Okay, painting your walls a different color won’t increase the square footage of your house. It will affect the perception of your room. Dark flooring and dark wall colors will make the room feel smaller, so make the walls lighter to make it feel more expansive. When you’re picking out paint, think about how the shade will look in combination with your flooring color.

4.The Material Also Matters

Many people focus on the color of the flooring when thinking about pairing it with new paint for their walls. However, the material also matters.

Laminate is one of the most popular flooring materials. However, it often contains multiple colors. To prevent your house from containing too much color in one room, use a color chart to identify the main two colors in your laminate.

Wood is easier to match as it contains less color. Wood does come with many undertones, so make sure you are matching cool wall colors to cool undertones and vice versa.

5.When in Doubt, Stick to Neutral Colors

Matching wall paint to your flooring is a harder task than you might have previously realized. You have to think about undertones, shades, and materials. If you already have flooring that acts as the centerpiece of a room, choosing neutral colors is the best option.

When choosing wall paint, think about your room holistically, including your flooring material.