# Golden in a dark and moody room

Golden, from the Stanton Au Naturel line, is a dark vinyl plank with a golden undertone (measured from its own picture: LRV 10). Here it pairs with Mindful Gray walls, Greek Villa trim, and Upward 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/golden-dark-moody

## The floor
- Golden, Stanton Au Naturel: Waterproof vinyl plank · SPC · 4 in (SKU 80602)
- Price: $3.75 per sq ft · $96.90 a carton. Material only. Delivery and installation extra.
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/floors/stanton/au-naturel/golden

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 10
- CIELAB (D65): L* 38.3, a* 8.2, b* 25.1, chroma 26.4, hue 72 degrees
- Undertone: a golden undertone, warm without leaning red
- Golden has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.5 in L*): calm, but not flat.

## Paint
- Walls: Mindful Gray (Sherwin-Williams SW 7016, LRV 47.7, +37.5 from the floor). A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 90°), so Golden stays golden without turning yellow. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/neutral-paint-colors/sw7016-mindful-gray/
- Or walls: Thunder (Benjamin Moore AF-685, LRV 47.6, +37.4 from the floor). A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 92°), so Golden stays golden without turning yellow. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/af-685/thunder
- Trim and ceilings: Greek Villa (Sherwin-Williams SW 7551, LRV 84.2). 74 points over Golden in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its golden undertone. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw7551-greek-villa/
- Cabinets: Upward (Sherwin-Williams SW 6239, LRV 57.4). A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Golden (a 47 point step in LRV). Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/blue-paint-colors/sw6239-upward/
- Cabinets in Upward 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 True Black stain sample. About 17 points darker than Golden in L* (21 against 38), far enough to read as a choice.
- Wood a step lighter: a honey tone, like our Rustic Beige stain sample. About 17 points lighter than Golden in L* (55 against 38).
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: mushroom (#b09e8d). 12 in chroma, half the warmth of Golden (26), and 28 points lighter in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: mist blue (#97a9b7). Hue 252°, straight across the color wheel from the 72° of Golden, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: oatmeal (#dccdbf). A light note at L* 83, 45 points from the 38 of Golden, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: aged brass. A warm metal that agrees with the golden undertone of Golden (hue 72°).
- Metal: unlacquered brass. Left unsealed, it darkens with handling to a softer warm tone beside Mindful Gray walls.
- Metal: matte black. Black works with every undertone; beside Golden at LRV 10 it gives the room its outline.

## Room by room
- Living room: Mindful Gray walls and Greek Villa trim over Golden, velvet in mushroom with a mist blue pillow, aged brass lamps on low.
- Kitchen: Cabinets in Upward so they float off Golden, Greek Villa walls and trim, unlacquered brass pulls.
- Bedroom: Thunder walls, mushroom bedding, nightstands in a honey tone, matte black on the lamps.
- Entry: An oatmeal runner on Golden, Upward on the door, an unlacquered brass mirror.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Golden: Still Water (Sherwin-Williams SW 6223, LRV 10.1) sits within a point of its LRV of 10, so wall and floor would blur into one.
- Wood that almost matches Golden: a tone like our Chestnut sample, 6.0 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
- Walls that lean yellow: yellow on yellow flattens the golden undertone of Golden (hue 72°).

## The room it suits
- At LRV 10, Golden 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 4 inches a board, Golden lays about 36 boards across a 12 foot room.
- Golden 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.