Are you drawn to wood floors with the rich colors and variation shown here? It may seem complex to decorate a room with this floor, but this dining room takes full advantage of the color and feel of this floor.

When you choose a floor like this, it will always take a front-and center position in your home. Your best design decision is to let it shine, and use your furniture and accessories to accent its strong and inviting personality.

Choosing black for the primary furniture finish allows it to pop against the lighter flooring. Red cushions pull the red shades from the wood. Together, the black and red feels as though the two colors are actually a breakdown of the wood tones from the floor. When you add rich colors to rich colors, everything plays off everything else, creating an inviting expressive combination.

Using ivory walls and white baseboards keep the rest of the room toward the background of the design. Red shows up on the curtains and accessories, but the choices are simple, allowing the flooring and furniture to take center stage.

You could reverse the woods and create an equally-dramatic room. Consider ebony-finished wood flooring and dining furniture in rosewood, cherry or another vivid wood. A rich area rug with lots of red could add that extra burst of color. On this floor, an area rug might work also, but adding another color such as a dull gold or ivory to coordinate with the walls may be the way to go.

When you’re decorating a room, start with the flooring you love and let your design flow from there. You will be pleasantly surprised with the results.