Vision board · Traditional

Chestnut in a traditional room

Chestnut, a DuraSeal stain, is dark on red oak with an amber undertone (LRV 10, measured from its own picture). Here it is with Palladian Blue walls, Greek Villa trim, and Palladian Blue cabinets, 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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Chestnut stain on a red oak floor in the living room of the farmhouse on the rise. CutPile Photoreal Rendering, an AI generated, simulated photo. — AI generated, simulated photo. Living room in daylight, The farmhouse on the rise.

Chestnut stain on a red oak floor 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.

Chestnut stain on a red oak floor 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.

12 in

WallsPalladian BlueBM HC-144 · LRV 60

TrimGreek VillaSW 7551 · LRV 84

CabinetsPalladian BlueBM HC-144 · LRV 60

WoodA charcoal woodLike our True Black sample

The floor, measured

Read from its own picture, not from a name.

LRV: 10
Lightness L*: 38
Undertone: Amber
Hue: 57°

An amber undertone, warm and a little orange. 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.

Chestnut has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.4 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

Palladian Blue Benjamin Moore HC-144 · LRV 60.4 · +50 from the floor

Its undertone leans green (hue 163°), which quiets the orange in Chestnut (hue 57°) instead of echoing it.

See it at Benjamin Moore

Or walls

Sea Salt Sherwin-Williams SW 6204 · LRV 63.2 · +53 from the floor

Its undertone leans green (hue 133°), which quiets the orange in Chestnut (hue 57°) instead of echoing it.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Trim and ceilings

Greek Villa Sherwin-Williams SW 7551 · LRV 84.2 · +74 from the floor

74 points over Chestnut in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its amber undertone.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Cabinets

Palladian Blue Benjamin Moore HC-144 · LRV 60.4 · +50 from the floor

A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Chestnut (a 50 point step in LRV).

See it at Benjamin Moore

Cabinets in Palladian Blue or Greek Villa: a dark floor needs light cabinets to float above it.

The palette, by the numbers
Role	Color	Maker and code	LRV	From the floor
Floor	Chestnut	DuraSeal stain on red oak	10
Walls	Palladian Blue	Benjamin Moore HC-144	60.4	+50
Or walls	Sea Salt	Sherwin-Williams SW 6204	63.2	+53
Trim and ceilings	Greek Villa	Sherwin-Williams SW 7551	84.2	+74
Cabinets	Palladian Blue	Benjamin Moore HC-144	60.4	+50

Wood, rugs and metals

Contrast, not a match.

Wood furniture

A step darker: a charcoal woodAbout 17 points darker than Chestnut in L* (21 against 38), far enough to read as a choice. Like our True Black stain sample.

A step lighter: a honey toneAbout 15 points lighter than Chestnut in L* (53 against 38). Like our Golden Pecan stain sample.

Rugs and fabric

Tone on tone: mushroom9 in chroma, half the warmth of Chestnut (21), and 28 points lighter in L*.

Across the wheel: mist blueHue 237°, straight across the color wheel from the 57° of Chestnut, softened to balance it.

Grounding: fog grayA light note at L* 83, 45 points from the 38 of Chestnut, so a rug keeps its edge.

Metals

Unlacquered brassA warm metal that agrees with the amber undertone of Chestnut (hue 57°).

Aged brassA second warm metal in a worn finish, so the brass beside Palladian Blue walls never looks new and loud.

Matte blackBlack works with every undertone; beside Chestnut at LRV 10 it gives the room its outline.

Room by room

The palette put to work around Chestnut.

Living roomPalladian Blue walls, Greek Villa trim and crown, a patterned rug in mist blue and fog gray on the Chestnut floor, furniture in a charcoal wood, unlacquered brass lamps.
KitchenCabinets in Palladian Blue so they float off the Chestnut floor, Greek Villa walls and trim, aged brass pulls.
Dining roomSea Salt walls, a table in a charcoal wood, chairs in mushroom, an unlacquered brass chandelier.
BedroomPalladian Blue walls, mushroom bedding, a mist blue throw, nightstands in a honey tone.

What to avoid

The near misses, by the numbers.

Walls at the lightness of Chestnut: Lafayette Green (Benjamin Moore HC-135, LRV 10.5) sits within a point of its LRV of 10, so wall and floor would blur into one.
Wood that almost matches Chestnut: a tone like our Provincial sample, 0.6 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
Pink or peach beige walls: they pull more orange out of the amber undertone of Chestnut (hue 57°).

Questions

About Chestnut and color, answered from the numbers above.

What wall color goes with Chestnut flooring?

Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-144, LRV 60.4): its undertone leans green (hue 163°), which quiets the orange in Chestnut (hue 57°) instead of echoing it. It sits 50 LRV points from the floor (LRV 10), more than the 30 points that keep a wall and a floor reading apart. Or Sea Salt (Sherwin-Williams SW 6204, LRV 63.2).

What trim and ceiling color goes with Chestnut?

Greek Villa (Sherwin-Williams SW 7551, LRV 84.2): 74 points over Chestnut in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its amber undertone.

What cabinet color goes with Chestnut?

Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-144, LRV 60.4): a light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Chestnut (a 50 point step in LRV). Cabinets in Palladian Blue or Greek Villa: a dark floor needs light cabinets to float above it.

What wood furniture goes with Chestnut?

Contrast, not a match: a step darker: a charcoal wood (like our True Black stain sample), or a step lighter: a honey tone (like our Golden Pecan stain sample). A wood like our Provincial sample is only 0.6 apart (CIEDE2000) and reads as a near miss.

How do I put a room together around Chestnut?

Living room: Palladian Blue walls, Greek Villa trim and crown, a patterned rug in mist blue and fog gray on the Chestnut floor, furniture in a charcoal wood, unlacquered brass lamps. Kitchen: Cabinets in Palladian Blue so they float off the Chestnut floor, Greek Villa walls and trim, aged brass pulls.

Is Chestnut a light or a dark floor?

Dark: LRV 10 and L* 38, measured from its own picture, with an amber undertone. At LRV 10, Chestnut is 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.

What colors should I avoid with Chestnut?

Walls at the lightness of Chestnut: Lafayette Green (Benjamin Moore HC-135, LRV 10.5) sits within a point of its LRV of 10, so wall and floor would blur into one. Wood that almost matches Chestnut: a tone like our Provincial sample, 0.6 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 10, Chestnut is 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 2.25 inches a board, Chestnut lays about 64 boards across a 12 foot room, the busy, tailored look of a classic strip floor.

A sand and finish of red oak strip floors in any room above grade.

HardnessNorthern red oak: Janka 1,290 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
FinishStain on site, then clear coatsThe color is in the wood, so a worn floor can be sanded and stained again.

From the floor's own record

What only this floor's data can say.

The same look in waterproof vinyl or laminate: Ralston Walnut, COREtec COREtec Originals Premium VV458, only 1.3 apart in color (CIEDE2000).

The nearest of our other stains is Provincial (0.6 apart, CIEDE2000, from our own photographs on red oak).

The floor

A stain we put on your own oak floor.

DuraSeal

Chestnut

Stain on red oak

Stain · on red oak · 2-1/4 in strip

Chestnut on our stain page

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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.