Vision board · Warm modern

Alla Prima in a warm modern room

Alla Prima, from the Shaw Floors Expressions line, is a midtone white oak hardwood with a golden undertone (measured from its own picture: LRV 26). Here it is with Swiss Coffee walls, Alabaster trim, and Newburg Green as the deep note, chosen by the numbers.

AI assisted The rooms are AI generated, simulated photos. The floor, the paint colors and every number are real.

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Alla Prima hardwood flooring in the great room of the cabin in the hemlocks. CutPile Photoreal Rendering, an AI generated, simulated photo. — AI generated, simulated photo. Great room in daylight, The cabin in the hemlocks.

Alla Prima hardwood flooring in the family room of the colonial on the cul-de-sac. CutPile Photoreal Rendering, an AI generated, simulated photo. — AI generated, simulated photo. Family room in daylight, The colonial on the cul-de-sac.

Alla Prima hardwood flooring in the living room of the lake house on the cove. CutPile Photoreal Rendering, an AI generated, simulated photo. — AI generated, simulated photo. Living room in daylight, The lake house on the cove.

12 in

WallsSwiss CoffeeBM OC-45 · LRV 82

TrimAlabasterSW 7008 · LRV 82

Deep noteNewburg GreenBM HC-158 · LRV 11

WoodA mid brown woodLike our Chestnut sample

The floor, measured

Read from its own picture, not from a name.

LRV: 26
Lightness L*: 58
Undertone: Golden
Hue: 71°

A golden undertone, warm without leaning red. LRV is light reflectance value, the share of light a surface sends back, the same scale paint makers print on every chip: 0 is black, 100 is white.

Alla Prima has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.1 in L*): calm, but not flat.

The shaded band is within 30 points of the floor. A wall inside it blurs into the floor; BS 8300 asks for at least 30 points between surfaces that meet.

Walls, trim and cabinets

Named colors with the maker's code and LRV, each linked to its page.

Walls

Swiss Coffee Benjamin Moore OC-45 · LRV 81.9 · +56 from the floor

A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 103°), so Alla Prima stays golden without turning yellow.

See it at Benjamin Moore

Or walls

Dover White Sherwin-Williams SW 6385 · LRV 82.5 · +56 from the floor

A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 93°), so Alla Prima stays golden without turning yellow.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Trim and ceilings

Alabaster Sherwin-Williams SW 7008 · LRV 82.2 · +56 from the floor

56 points over Alla Prima in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its golden undertone.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

The deep note

Newburg Green Benjamin Moore HC-158 · LRV 10.6 · -16 from the floor

Deep and cool, about 164° around the color wheel from Alla Prima and 16 points darker in LRV, so each makes the other look richer.

See it at Benjamin Moore

Lower cabinets or an island in Newburg Green, uppers and trim in Alabaster. The floor at LRV 26 sits between the two (11 and 82).

The palette, by the numbers
Role	Color	Maker and code	LRV	From the floor
Floor	Alla Prima	Shaw Floors Expressions	26
Walls	Swiss Coffee	Benjamin Moore OC-45	81.9	+56
Or walls	Dover White	Sherwin-Williams SW 6385	82.5	+56
Trim and ceilings	Alabaster	Sherwin-Williams SW 7008	82.2	+56
The deep note	Newburg Green	Benjamin Moore HC-158	10.6	-16

Wood, rugs and metals

Contrast, not a match.

Wood furniture

A step darker: a mid brown woodAbout 20 points darker than Alla Prima in L* (38 against 58), far enough to read as a choice. Like our Chestnut stain sample.

A step lighter: a pale, bleached woodAbout 14 points lighter than Alla Prima in L* (72 against 58). Like our Country White stain sample.

Rugs and fabric

Tone on tone: linen10 in chroma, half the warmth of Alla Prima (22), and 28 points lighter in L*.

Across the wheel: graphiteHue 251°, straight across the color wheel from the 71° of Alla Prima, softened to balance it.

Grounding: walnut brownA deep note at L* 28, 30 points from the 58 of Alla Prima, so a rug keeps its edge.

Metals

Aged brassA warm metal that agrees with the golden undertone of Alla Prima (hue 71°).

Unlacquered brassLeft unsealed, it darkens with handling to a softer warm tone beside Swiss Coffee walls.

Matte blackBlack works with every undertone; beside Alla Prima at LRV 26 it gives the room its outline.

Room by room

The palette put to work around Alla Prima.

Living roomSwiss Coffee walls and Alabaster trim around Alla Prima, a linen rug with a walnut brown border, a coffee table in a mid brown wood, aged brass lamps.
KitchenNewburg Green on the island or the lower cabinets, Alabaster uppers, unlacquered brass pulls, Alla Prima underfoot.
BedroomDover White walls, bedding in linen with one graphite pillow, nightstands in a pale, bleached wood.
EntryA walnut brown runner on Alla Prima, Newburg Green on the front door, a matte black mirror.

What to avoid

The near misses, by the numbers.

Walls at the lightness of Alla Prima: Evergreen Fog (Sherwin-Williams SW 9130, LRV 30.4) sits 4 points from its LRV of 26, so wall and floor would blur into one.
Wood that almost matches Alla Prima: a tone like our Weathered Oak sample, 3.3 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
Walls that lean yellow: yellow on yellow flattens the golden undertone of Alla Prima (hue 71°).

Questions

About Alla Prima and color, answered from the numbers above.

What wall color goes with Alla Prima flooring?

Swiss Coffee (Benjamin Moore OC-45, LRV 81.9): a soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 103°), so Alla Prima stays golden without turning yellow. It sits 56 LRV points from the floor (LRV 26), more than the 30 points that keep a wall and a floor reading apart. Or Dover White (Sherwin-Williams SW 6385, LRV 82.5).

What trim and ceiling color goes with Alla Prima?

Alabaster (Sherwin-Williams SW 7008, LRV 82.2): 56 points over Alla Prima in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its golden undertone.

What accent color goes with Alla Prima?

Newburg Green (Benjamin Moore HC-158, LRV 10.6): deep and cool, about 164° around the color wheel from Alla Prima and 16 points darker in LRV, so each makes the other look richer. Lower cabinets or an island in Newburg Green, uppers and trim in Alabaster. The floor at LRV 26 sits between the two (11 and 82).

What wood furniture goes with Alla Prima?

Contrast, not a match: a step darker: a mid brown wood (like our Chestnut stain sample), or a step lighter: a pale, bleached wood (like our Country White stain sample). A wood like our Weathered Oak sample is only 3.3 apart (CIEDE2000) and reads as a near miss.

How do I put a room together around Alla Prima?

Living room: Swiss Coffee walls and Alabaster trim around Alla Prima, a linen rug with a walnut brown border, a coffee table in a mid brown wood, aged brass lamps. Kitchen: Newburg Green on the island or the lower cabinets, Alabaster uppers, unlacquered brass pulls, Alla Prima underfoot.

Is Alla Prima a light or a dark floor?

Mid tone: LRV 26 and L* 58, measured from its own picture, with a golden undertone. At LRV 26, Alla Prima is a mid tone: it holds its color in a sunny room and hides everyday dust and pet hair better than a very dark or very light floor.

What colors should I avoid with Alla Prima?

Walls at the lightness of Alla Prima: Evergreen Fog (Sherwin-Williams SW 9130, LRV 30.4) sits 4 points from its LRV of 26, so wall and floor would blur into one. Wood that almost matches Alla Prima: a tone like our Weathered Oak sample, 3.3 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.

The room it suits

Light, size and wear, from the floor's own record.

At LRV 26, Alla Prima is a mid tone: it holds its color in a sunny room and hides everyday dust and pet hair better than a very dark or very light floor.

At 7.5 inches a board, Alla Prima lays about 20 boards across a 12 foot room, so the room reads open with few seams.

Engineered hardwood: living spaces and bedrooms on every level, kept out of full baths.

HardnessWhite oak: Janka 1,360 lbfThe force to press a steel ball halfway into the wood; a higher number dents less under heels and chair legs. How hard is that? The Janka scale
ConstructionEngineeredA real wood face over a stable core, so it moves less with the seasons.

From the floor's own record

What only this floor's data can say.

Alla Prima is lighter than 62 percent of the 1,744 hardwood floors we carry, measured the same way, and warmer than 56 percent of them.

A step lighter in the same line: MuralLRV 28, measured the same way, against 26 for Alla Prima.

A step darker in the same line: ArtistryLRV 22, measured the same way, against 26 for Alla Prima.

The same look in waterproof vinyl or laminate: Cairo Oak, COREtec COREtec Pro Enhanced VV491, only 1.2 apart in color (CIEDE2000).

To get this color on an oak floor you already have, the nearest of our stains is Weathered Oak (3.3 apart, CIEDE2000, from our own photographs on red oak).

Alla Prima, the specifications
Width	7.5 in
Thickness	5/8"
Edge	Micro bevel
Installation	Nail, staple, glue, floating
Species	White oak
Construction	Engineered
Carton	23.31 sq ft

The floor

Every color, price and detail on its own page.

Alla Prima

Expressions · SW707-01094

Engineered hardwood · White oak · 7.5 in

$11.39 per sq ft · $265.50 a carton

Material only. Delivery and installation extra.

Alla Prima: price, specs and samples

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Powell Flooring, 1811 Union Valley Rd, West Milford, NJ 07480

Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm · Open later by request

How we chose

Paint names, codes, hex and LRV as Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore publish them (each color links to its page).

BS 8300-2:2018 asks for a difference of at least 30 LRV points between adjacent surfaces, such as a floor and a wall, so the surfaces read apart.

The floor measured from its own picture in CIELAB (D65); the wood tones from our own photographs of 37 stains on oak.

Janka hardness from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook (2021), Table 5-3b, at 12 percent moisture.

A picture's lightness depends a little on how it was lit, so the floor's LRV is read from the evenly lit field the visualizer lays and rounded. See the real floor before you choose paint: visit the showroom, or ask for a free measure and estimate.