Sunset Magazine: Are Gray Floors Ever Okay?
Designers share their honest opinions. Discover their hot takes on this cooling trend.
Featured in Sunset Magazine | By Kelsey Mulvey | October 8, 2026
The biggest decorating conundrum is happening right under your nose. And, no, we’re not talking about how to pick a properly proportional rug for your room. Instead, the entire design community is laser-focused on your floors. More specifically? The color of ‘em.
Vancouver-based designer Trish Knight says there’s a time and place for most details. “I don’t really believe that any material is completely in or out,” says Knight, who is one-half of a design firm called Knight Varga Interiors. “It’s always about how it’s used and whether it makes sense for the space and the client.”
Knight recently used a Hakwood grey oak hardwood in a residential project and said the cooler tones paired grayed-out blues and greens in the kitchen millwork and soap tile on the column. “Getting the right gray in hardwood is difficult, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be beautiful,” she shares. “If the tone is right and it works with the rest of the palette, I would absolutely use it again.”Instead, make the most of your prep zone with uniform countertops.