Congrats on your first home! What are you disliking about your new floor? On my monitor, I don't see any glaring issue and it looks a lot like the one in your first inspiration picture. You're not looking for your furniture to match your floor, are you? Were you planning area rugs for any of the rooms?

Thank you. It has both red/brown as well as blue/grey in it, and for instance when I put light oak on it, it just doesn't look very nice. It doesn't work/match. So I don't know what would work. I might be imagining things, because I also notice the difference in wood in the first picture, between floor and cabinet, and it doesn't bother me there. For some reason it does bother me in my living room. Can't really explain that very well.

Yes I'm definitely intending to have area rugs. At least in the sitting area, and maybe also the dining area. No inspiration there yet either though.

Edit : actually I think the floor in the first inspirational picture is more red, but also more quiet. It doesn't have so much going on.

Yes, I see all those colours in the first pic but they look to be very light. Obviously, I'm looking at a picture on my monitor and not seeing the exact same thing you are in the actual space, with the light throughout the day, but I think your floor is subtle enough not to be a hindrance when you furnish your rooms. It doesn't look to be a bossy design element. If you're planning a rug for a room, start with that as your foundation. Make the rug large enough so that all the seating is on it and it doesn't look like a postage stamp in the room. The hardwood will end up as the room perimeter and fade into the background.

What would be your suggestion for a rug? I just want to prevent spending money on stuff I need to get rid of again because it doesn't look right..

First get your furniture then worry about a rug. I don’t see an issue with the floor I would keep all the furniture light like white sofas , light wood and then maybe add in a darker color fo 2 chairs or one really nice one with an ottoman. Then add a rug with pale colors like blue and green in the size that fits with the furniture. Get art you love do not think about if it goes with anything just get it because you love it it will always work.

Thanks.

I already got a light grey couch which is coming in soon in the next two weeks or so. The thing is to my eye whenever I add light wood, it just looks ugly. It doesn't work with the floor. What am I seeing or doing wrong? I mean, clearly it's ugly? Am I crazy?

Look, maybe this picture shows what I mean:

That doesn't match, right? (note of course the shadows camouflage some of the issue)

Sounds like you're wanting furniture that matches the flooring. That won't work and you'll pull your hair out for sure. Do you have access to Scandi or MCM furniture stores?

Well apart from IKEA there are some online sources (I'm Dutch), like https://www.gewoonstijl.nl/ , https://www.made.com , https://www.musthaves.nl , but I think for instance cb2 also ships to the Netherlands (although they are mostly out of my price range). We don't have a lot of physical stores with this style of furniture.

I could also go second hand of course. What sort of style or what direction of combining would you take?

On my phone now, looking at your latest picture with the dining table and it looks fine. The style you want would work in your space. If you share a pic of your new couch (warm grey? Cool grey?) along with a layout of your living room with measurements, I’m sure people will have furnishing ideas. Had a peek at Made’s rugs and they have a few nice modern neutral options. What are your favourite colours?

I don't usually love that style of flooring but it looks wonderful in your space. I think your dining table is perfect, both with the flooring and the style you're trying to achieve. Mixing warm and cool colors can be difficult but can be done.

Please don't forget that the first 3 pictures you posted are professionally lighted. There are very few homes that look like that in real life.

What pieces do you need to purchase and what is your budget? I can see your space working well with either a chunky off white area rug or something like a natural jute. Can you post a picture of the sofa you've ordered?

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I don’t think your table clashes with the floor. But you need a centerpiece on the table so there is something else to focus on.

I also agree that it the dining table and flooring looks great together they’re not exactly the same shade, your table is a tad lighter but if it bothers you why not look for a rug in the shade of blue you like and also give your table a little decorative accent plus I love the chairs but can you find one with a little more height?

Your table and floor are fine together. Your light gray couch will probably work as well. What I want to scream is OPEN THE BLINDS AND THE CURTAINS! That's how you get light in the space.

Well, N.A., I‘m surprised to hear about your lack of brick and mortar stores. Where in the Netherlands do you live? Scandi/modern/minimalist is still to be found everywhere, modern and minimalism are in the Dutch design dna. There’s absolutely no need to order furniture from the US.

Being Dutch myself, I’d be happy to help. What brand is your laminate flooring? What furniture shops did you visit so far? Which sofa did you order and in what colour? And another thing, would you consider hiring a professional to make a design plan for your space and help you source furniture?

I'm in the Maastricht area. I might be oblivious to the stores available to me. It's not that we lack brick and mortar stores, it's that they don't have the style I'm looking for. So far I've visited the woonboulevard in Heerlen but they don't really have much of the style I'm looking for there. It's a lot of ... sort of timeless contemporary stuff, sort of bland feeling.

I would consider hiring someone to help out, but I'm not wealthy or anything so I wouldn't be able to invest a lot of money in that, and I'd probably need to make some kind of plan to buy pieces one at a time instead of furnishing the whole thing at once.

This is the couch I ordered. Mine has black legs though.

Ok so I think this shows my issue with light wood in combination with this floor. If this doesn't convince, then I guess it has to be me who is just going crazy.

To me, it looks off, not a good combination. I'm not saying I should combine it with exactly the same kind of wood as the floor -- just that it needs to match/work. But again, I can also imagine I'm overfocusing.

Yes I did change my name haha. sorry for the confusion. Ok I changed my profile settings. You should be able to message me now.

I'm thinking now it would be good to do a white / black / grey style, with a bit of wood here and there, e.g. a wooden coffee table on a rug, rug I was thinking something light, like maybe mostly white/off-white with some accents of black or grey.

Since the wood grain isn't strong in your wood chair leg, it simply reads "cream or super light yellow" to me and looks fine with your floor.

You are overfocusing on the floor. Your floor is a neutral background. I don't even agree that the legs of the chair don't go. They look fine. Look at the wood tones in your inspiration photos. They are all over the place.

If it bothers you that much, you can always get a rug.

Why hire someone to help? You have a sofa, chair, tv, dining table, plant. You just need a rug and Houzz will help you choose one, just ask!

Groveraxle’s rug is lovely. Now to find something in the Netherlands :) Unfortunately I have no access to my desktop computer at the moment and I’m kinda lost on my iPad, so no posting pictures for me. You could take a look at loods5, for example, or vloerkledenwinkel.nl (huge stock), Muuto has some nice rugs, and I always love the black-and-white stripe from IKEA. You’ll probably need 1.70 x 2.40. Good luck!

I agree that you're focusing too much on the floor. Your dining table and chair legs both coordinate well with the floor. You'll never get the exact same color, but your colors so far work well. I like the sofa you have ordered. I think you can make it fit well in the space with the right rug.

Good morning, rcrdlclr, I woke up with some more possible online sources for rugs. Eijkelenkamp and Fonq. (Ik ben op vakantie en doe het uit mijn hoofd. Fijne dag!)

Anyone remember what rcrdlclr's original user name was? I closed her file and now I can't find it.

N A, I believe. I seem to remember a guy's picture as the avatar.

Thanks, tartan.

Why the question about my original username?

Thanks for the input everyone :-) It's been very useful. I'm taking it all in and I will post updates as things progress. I'm going to wait until my couch arrives first.

I'm guessing Groveraxle had an ideabook started for you under your original name. If she closes that tab and forgets your original name, she'll have trouble retrieving it. :)

Exactly right, tartanmeup. Actually, it's a folder on my hard drive and I have about a gazillion of them, so when people change their user names, they pretty much are lost to me. ;-)

Neat. I have my own little place on your hard drive :-)