Wenge Color in Interior Design: Dark and Light Furniture Designs, Combination with Other Tones

Today this name is generic, and it is actively used in furniture and interior design production.

What is the wenge color and where did the name come from?

The wenge color got its name from a variety of tropical trees, whose homeland is Central Africa. The vegetation can reach up to 20 meters in height and a trunk diameter of up to 1 meter. Often, designers use not the characteristic shade but the exclusive wood itself, which conveys an unusual texture and aesthetic of the material.

The tropical trees themselves can have a diverse palette of dark brown saturated tones. Predominantly, these are dark shades, among which one can find dark burgundy, coffee, chocolate, and violet tones. However, the wenge shades are most prominently expressed by the distinctive wood grain structure.

This wood is considered a costly material. Besides its visual appeal, it has practical qualities such as resistance to mechanical impacts, humidity, deformation, and other factors. The high cost of the material is compensated by its durability and universal application.

The wenge color in interior design complements various styles. Primarily, it is classic, which is highlighted by natural and high-quality materials. The color will also pair well with modern styles. It can serve as a bright and interesting accent in hi-tech, minimalist, modern, and other styles. The wenge color in interior design can become a contemporary alternative to familiar oak, beech, pine, and spruce. If one looks at interior design photos and compares wenge with other wood species, the dominance of this valuable species will be obvious, as it is striking for its nobility and sophistication.

Design: Architect Nikita Morozov

Features of Application in Interior Design

Today, manufacturers have learned to reproduce such a color in furniture and decorative items, so it is not necessary to hunt for natural wenge wood to use it in interior design.

To make the design look better and more favorable, it is advisable to learn several simple rules for applying wenge in interior design.

Design: Irina Lavrentieva

• Dark wenge will best highlight light interiors or bright tones.

• In a room with furniture or finishes of this color, good lighting should be planned to avoid visually reducing it and creating a feeling of crowding.

• In small spaces, one should not overdo items of this shade and use them as accents. For example, in the form of frames for photos and pictures, for bed backs, pillows, or curtains.

• Manufacturers have already taken into account the preferences of lovers and offer a sufficient assortment, so wenge furniture can be used in interior design, for example, sofas or armchairs, beds.

• If a suitable piece of furniture is chosen, it is not advisable to place materials of the same shade on the floor; instead, choose a lighter tone to balance the room's color palette.

• Designers mention such a technique: create horizontal surfaces in the room with contrast to vertical ones. For example, dark legs of a coffee table will look great on a light floor.

Wenge Color Tones and Combination with Other Colors

Since it originated from the natural color of such a wood species, it can be various shades — no two trees will have exactly the same color.

The variety of shades is impressive. These include dark brown, burgundy, dark violet, and even nearly black tones.

Light and dark wenge are distinguished. Light wenge is not necessarily beige or white, but it contains more golden tones. Dark wenge has more black streaks.

Wenge oak has a dark shade that perfectly suits living rooms or bedrooms in both classic and modern interiors.

Design: Maria Ivanova

The wenge color in interior design can be combined with many tones to fully reveal it. Which ones exactly?

Almost in any design style, designers apply combinations of wenge and milk-white color. This adds solemnity and freshness to the interior, although some may find this approach a bit dull. To avoid such associations, it is recommended to add bright accents to such rooms: pillows, window textiles, or carpets. This adds coherence to the interior and diversifies it.

A favorable combination is wenge and beige color. Designers recommend using it in bedrooms or living rooms if one wants to make them more comfortable and “warmer.” Adding golden “notes” to such an interior makes it richer and more solid. A great idea for classic interiors.

Wenge and olive green — a natural combination, perfectly suitable for eco-style interiors. Also works well with any shade of green.

Design: S-Style Studio

To add vibrancy and dynamism to interior design, red and orange colors are often used. The harmony of dark wood and contrasting bright color always looks successful.

Blue color and wenge also pair beautifully with each other.

For modern interiors in minimalist style and hi-tech design, designers often combine dark wenge with white and gray colors. However, one should not “overdo” overly dark shades for decoration; it is sufficient to have dark furniture, while wall and floor finishes should contrast with it.

Design: Zi-design

Application of Wenge Color in Design

Dark brown tones and various shades possess a very important feature for residential interior design. They do not distract, irritate, or strain people in the room with such a design; on the contrary, they add calmness and help create a positive atmosphere. This is a well-known fact from color psychology — each shade influences human behavior and mood in its own way.

Thus, the wenge color is a successful choice for residential interiors, and it can be used in different rooms equally effectively. Let’s note which accents of this color are relevant for spaces of different purposes.

Design: Couture Interiors

Living Room

The living room should facilitate relaxation and rest. Deep brown shades can help with this. For living room wall finishing, wooden panels of the mentioned shade can be used if that fits the designer's concept. Also appropriate would be a sofa with upholstery of this color, an armchair, or a table. However, one should remember the rule: if dark furniture is chosen, it is not advisable to make the floor and walls the same dark color; instead, choose contrasting solutions.

Bedroom

The bedroom is the most intimate room. Of course, it’s not necessary to make its interior calm and “soft,” which is not an axiom. But if the goal is to create a peaceful atmosphere, making residents feel relaxed, sleep well, and wake up refreshed, then an interior in pastel tones with bright accents is what’s needed. Furniture of this color can become those very accents that are necessary. For example, the bed headboard, pillows in color, or window curtains.

Design: Antonina Sinchugova

Kitchen

If one wishes to use it in the kitchen, one should base the decision on its size and choose where exactly to apply the shade. If the space is small, it’s appropriate to use the dark color as an accent. For example, make a backsplash of tiles in this wood tone and “support” it with matching textiles.

If the room size allows, one can choose a dark-colored kitchen cabinet or buy a dining set in this variant.

Combination with olive green and blue color is also suitable for the kitchen. If one wants vibrancy, one can place contrast-colored chairs and hang a picture of the same shade.

Bathroom

It might seem that wood and the bathroom have nothing to do with each other. Today, wooden patterns are very actively used in bathroom and toilet interiors. This makes them cozier, as traditionally these spaces are not associated with coziness exactly due to the cold ceramic tiles. However, the diversity of modern building and furniture markets is changing these norms. Wenge furniture in the bathroom will look very well, just as accessories (e.g., towels, laundry baskets, or candles). Also, one can find ceramic tiles with wooden patterns in building stores and use them for floor or wall finishing.

Design: Maria Pilypenko and Ekaterina Fedorova

Entry Hall

In the entry hall, dark walls are usually not made, as this space is rarely illuminated by natural light, and making it even darker is rarely a good idea. But sometimes designers resort to a special technique — make passageways and entry halls dark, while the rooms they lead to are light-colored, making the latter appear even larger and more “airy.”

Also, wenge furniture or picture frames of the same shade can be used in entry halls.

Room Finishing

Since wenge is a noble color and material at the same time, it has a rather limited sphere of application. Rarely can one see wenge wood-decorated walls in interiors. However, as separate panels, this is a more relevant option. This material can be used for decorating partitions, niches, shelves, and entire wardrobes can be made from it.

Structurally, wood is very durable and able to withstand significant loads. It is used to make staircases, floor coverings in the form of parquet or laminate. Tropical trees can be used to decorate door frames and window openings. They look great on a light background. Wenge is used to make elite interior doors that provide good sound insulation.

From tropical wood, one can buy furniture for interiors: tables, chairs, stands, cabinets, mini sideboards. Usually, they are distinguished by simple forms and minimalist design. For decoration, one can choose elements with complex textures, with deep saturated tones. To decorate a room in wenge color, one should select only one component. For example, floors, doors and window frames, furniture, wardrobes, individual items, accessories, dining table. Even neutral and muted wenge wood tones should be accents in the room, as otherwise there is no point in using them.

Ceiling

As is known, dark-colored ceilings are a rare choice in residential spaces, as they “steal” space and “hover,” creating a suffocating feeling. Therefore, it is not recommended to make them completely dark, but in spacious houses or apartments, one can make wooden beams on the ceiling of this color if it is appropriate. This may be relevant for interiors in loft, timber frame, and industrial styles.

Floor

Dark floors are the most rational solution in applying this color. Today, one can find laminate in almost any color, including wenge, as well as parquet boards. The construction market is full of ceramic tiles of this shade.

Walls

Wenge-colored walls would be appropriate in spacious rooms, as dark color visually reduces the room. Also, one can make an accent wall or choose wooden panels of this shade. In any case, it will look noble and beautiful.

Design: Antonina Sinchugova

Where is it Used in Interior Design? Furniture

Furniture of rare African wood looks great against light walls and suits interiors in various styles: minimalism, hi-tech, classic, modern, Asian. Of course, it is not necessary to seek furniture from rare natural species; among manufacturers, wood veneer in wenge tone is popular, which replaces the real material. Favorable combinations with such furniture can be seen in photos.

Doors

Dark doors look magnificent and highlight the interior of any room. If they are light, such door finishing will look even more favorable. Examples can be seen in real projects.

Window Treatments, Textiles, Decor

Final finishing to an interior is provided by decor: textiles, pillows, curtains, pictures, and other appropriate decorations. Decor elements in wenge color can serve as excellent accents for a light interior and complement the design of any room.

Interior Design Photos in Wenge Color

Design: 3L Decor Bureau
Design: Architect Nikita Morozov
Design: Olga Kulikovskaya-Eshbi
Design: S-Style Studio
Design: Studio LINES

Video

The wenge color in interior design is a successful choice, appropriate in the design of various styles.

On the cover is the design project by Natalia Chayka and Grigory Sevastyanov.