# Black in a dark and moody room

Black from the Stanton Nero Marquina line is a very dark vinyl tile with almost no undertone, with an LRV of 4 measured from its own picture. Here it is with Saybrook Sage walls, Chantilly Lace trim, and Silver Satin on the cabinets, chosen by the numbers.

A vision board by Powell Flooring, 1811 Union Valley Rd, West Milford, NJ 07480, 973-728-9717. AI assisted: the rooms are AI generated, simulated photos; the floor, the paint colors and every number are real.
Page: https://www.powellflooring.com/vision-boards/black-dark-moody

## The floor
- Black, Stanton Nero Marquina: Waterproof vinyl tile · SPC · 16 in (SKU 13511)
- Price: $4.49 per sq ft · $95.10 a carton. Material only. Delivery and installation extra.
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/floors/stanton/nero-marquina/black

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 4
- CIELAB (D65): L* 23.5, a* 2.6, b* 0.9, chroma 2.8, hue 18.6 degrees
- Undertone: a near gray, with almost no warmth
- Black is calm and even from board to board (a spread of 1.6 in L*), so it reads as one quiet plane.

## Paint
- Walls: Saybrook Sage (Benjamin Moore HC-114, LRV 45.5, +41.5 from the floor). A soft, cool leaning color (hue 121°) that keeps Black crisp and gray. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/hc-114/saybrook-sage
- Or walls: Clary Sage (Sherwin-Williams SW 6178, LRV 41, +37 from the floor). A soft, cool leaning color (hue 111°) that keeps Black crisp and gray. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/green-paint-colors/sw6178-clary-sage/
- Trim and ceilings: Chantilly Lace (Benjamin Moore OC-65, LRV 90). 86 points over Black in LRV, a clean white (chroma 2.7) that keeps Black crisp. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/oc-65/chantilly-lace
- Cabinets: Silver Satin (Benjamin Moore OC-26, LRV 74.9). A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Black (a 71 point step in LRV). Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/oc-26/silver-satin
- Cabinets in Silver Satin or Chantilly Lace: a dark floor needs light cabinets to float above it.

## Wood, rugs and metals
- Wood a step lighter: a mid brown wood, like our English Chestnut stain sample. About 15 points lighter than Black in L* (39 against 24).
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: pewter (#7d7a7a). 1 in chroma, half the warmth of Black (3), and 28 points lighter in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: slate blue (#6a8585). Hue 199°, straight across the color wheel from the 19° of Black, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: stone gray (#a9a6a6). A light note at L* 69, 45 points from the 24 of Black, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: aged brass. A warm metal that agrees with the warm pieces in the room.
- Metal: polished nickel. A bright nickel with a touch of warmth, for the gray undertone of Black (chroma 2.8).
- Metal: chrome. The brightest and coolest finish, crisp against Black at chroma 2.8.

## Room by room
- Living room: Saybrook Sage walls and Chantilly Lace trim over Black, velvet in pewter with a slate blue pillow, aged brass lamps on low.
- Kitchen: Cabinets in Silver Satin so they float off Black, Chantilly Lace walls and trim, polished nickel pulls.
- Bedroom: Clary Sage walls, pewter bedding, nightstands in a mid brown wood, chrome on the lamps.
- Entry: A stone gray runner on Black, Silver Satin on the door, a polished nickel mirror.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Black: Cascades (Sherwin-Williams SW 7623, LRV 4.2) sits within a point of its LRV of 4, so wall and floor would blur into one.
- Wood that almost matches Black: a tone like our True Black sample, 3.2 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
- Whites that lean yellow: beside Black, a near gray, they look dingy.

## The room it suits
- At LRV 4, Black is very dark: it is at its best in a big room with good light and warm lamps, and it shows dust, pet hair and fine scratches more than a mid tone.
- At 16 inches a tile, a 12 foot room is about 9 tiles across.
- Black is waterproof, so it belongs in kitchens, baths, mudrooms and basements as well as living spaces.
- Core: SPC, a rigid stone polymer core (firm underfoot and resists dents from furniture)
- Water: Waterproof (the maker's word) (wet mopping is fine; a flood is not)

## Sources
- 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.