The beauty and durability of wood may inspire you to lavish the material on both cabinets and floors in your kitchen. For long-term harmony, be sure the two surfaces are visually compatible. People often assume that because “wood is wood,” any kind of wood cabinetry and wood flooring will naturally look good together. Though some woods do make happy couples (cherry typically complements oak, and hickory blends well with most other species), other pairings, such as oak floor with maple cabinets, simply aren’t as successful. To head off an unhappy marriage of woods, consider this advice.

Avoid matchmaking. Matching flooring to cabinetry—oak with oak, maple with maple—creates a consistent, unified look, but it can be hard to make an exact match. There are subtle color and grain variations within a single wood type, and stains and finishes can give the same species different personalities. If you’re incorporating new cabinets with an existing wood floor, aging and wear complicate matters.

Treat woods like paint colors. You may want to match them exactly or stay at least three shades away. As with paint, when two wood surfaces vary only slightly, they clash and look like a mistake. Designers recommend: If you can’t match it, don’t try to.

Let opposites attract. A degree of contrast between cabinetry and flooring—lighter cabinets with a darker floor or vice versa—lets each element have its own character. However, as with paint colors, it helps if the two woods have similar sheen, texture, and color undertones. Grain patterns can also tie together contrasting woods.

Look before leaping. It’s important to get large samples of both your flooring and cabinet choices and examine them carefully in the kind of light that will illuminate your kitchen.