# Early American in a traditional room

Early American, a DuraSeal stain, is a mid dark stain on red oak with an amber undertone (measured from its own picture: LRV 14). Here it is with Sea Salt walls, Greek Villa trim and Palladian Blue 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/early-american-traditional

## The floor
- Early American, DuraSeal stain on red oak: Stain · on red oak · 2-1/4 in strip
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/sherwin-williams-minwax-duraseal-stain-colors/early-american

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 14
- CIELAB (D65): L* 43.5, a* 13.9, b* 21.5, chroma 25.6, hue 57.1 degrees
- Undertone: an amber undertone, warm and a little orange
- Early American has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.3 in L*): calm, but not flat.

## Paint
- Walls: Sea Salt (Sherwin-Williams SW 6204, LRV 63.2, +49.7 from the floor). Its undertone leans green (hue 133°), which quiets the orange in Early American (hue 57°) instead of echoing it. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/green-paint-colors/sw6204-sea-salt/
- Or walls: Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-144, LRV 60.4, +46.9 from the floor). Its undertone leans green (hue 163°), which quiets the orange in Early American (hue 57°) instead of echoing it. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/hc-144/palladian-blue
- Trim and ceilings: Greek Villa (Sherwin-Williams SW 7551, LRV 84.2). 71 points over Early American in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its amber undertone. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw7551-greek-villa/
- Cabinets: Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-144, LRV 60.4). A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Early American (a 47 point step in LRV). Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/hc-144/palladian-blue
- Cabinets in Palladian Blue or Greek Villa: a dark floor needs light cabinets to float above it.

## Wood, rugs and metals
- Wood a step darker: a charcoal wood, like our Ebony stain sample. About 15 points darker than Early American in L* (29 against 44), far enough to read as a choice.
- Wood a step lighter: a light natural wood, like our Silvered Gray stain sample. About 18 points lighter than Early American in L* (61 against 44).
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: blush (#c2ab9e). 12 in chroma, half the warmth of Early American (26), and 28 points lighter in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: mist blue (#a1b8c4). Hue 237°, straight across the color wheel from the 57° of Early American, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: espresso (#3b2e26). A deep note at L* 20, 24 points from the 44 of Early American, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: unlacquered brass. A warm metal that agrees with the amber undertone of Early American (hue 57°).
- Metal: aged brass. A second warm metal in a worn finish, so the brass beside Sea Salt walls never looks new and loud.
- Metal: matte black. Black works with every undertone; beside Early American at LRV 14 it gives the room its outline.

## Room by room
- Living room: Sea Salt walls, Greek Villa trim and crown, a patterned rug in mist blue and espresso on the Early American floor, furniture in a charcoal wood, unlacquered brass lamps.
- Kitchen: Cabinets in Palladian Blue so they float off the Early American floor, Greek Villa walls and trim, aged brass pulls.
- Dining room: Palladian Blue walls, a table in a charcoal wood, chairs in blush, an unlacquered brass chandelier.
- Bedroom: Sea Salt walls, blush bedding, a mist blue throw, nightstands in a light natural wood.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Early American: Rosemary (Sherwin-Williams SW 6187, LRV 13.6) sits within a point of its LRV of 14, so wall and floor would blur into one.
- Wood that almost matches Early American: a tone like our Nutmeg sample, 1.4 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 Early American (hue 57°).

## The room it suits
- At LRV 14, Early American is mid 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, Early American 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.
- Hardness: Northern red oak: Janka 1,290 lbf (the force to press a steel ball halfway into the wood; a higher number dents less under heels and chair legs)
- Finish: Stain on site, then clear coats (the color is in the wood, so a worn floor can be sanded and stained again)

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