Vision board · Dark and moody

Metro Brown in a dark and moody room

Metro Brown from the Shaw Floors Alpine Hickory line is a dark hickory hardwood with a warm greige undertone, measured from its own picture at LRV 7. Here it is with Thunder walls, Swiss Coffee trim, and Swiss Coffee on the 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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Metro Brown 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.

Metro Brown 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.

Metro Brown 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.

12 in

WallsThunderBM AF-685 · LRV 48

TrimSwiss CoffeeBM OC-45 · LRV 82

CabinetsSwiss CoffeeBM OC-45 · LRV 82

WoodA smoky gray brown woodLike our Dark Gray sample

The floor, measured

Read from its own picture, not from a name.

LRV: 7
Lightness L*: 31
Undertone: Greige
Hue: 55°

A warm greige: gray with a little brown in it. 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.

Metro Brown is calm and even from board to board (a spread of 1.6 in L*), so it reads as one quiet plane.

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

Thunder Benjamin Moore AF-685 · LRV 47.6 · +41 from the floor

A warm white or greige in the same soft family as Metro Brown (hue 92° against its 55°).

See it at Benjamin Moore

Or walls

Repose Gray Sherwin-Williams SW 7015 · LRV 58.2 · +52 from the floor

A warm white or greige in the same soft family as Metro Brown (hue 97° against its 55°).

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Trim and ceilings

Swiss Coffee Benjamin Moore OC-45 · LRV 81.9 · +75 from the floor

75 points over Metro Brown in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.7) to read white, not blue, beside its greige undertone.

See it at Benjamin Moore

Cabinets

Swiss Coffee Benjamin Moore OC-45 · LRV 81.9 · +75 from the floor

A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Metro Brown (a 75 point step in LRV).

See it at Benjamin Moore

Cabinets in Swiss Coffee or Swiss Coffee: 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	Metro Brown	Shaw Floors Alpine Hickory	7
Walls	Thunder	Benjamin Moore AF-685	47.6	+41
Or walls	Repose Gray	Sherwin-Williams SW 7015	58.2	+52
Trim and ceilings	Swiss Coffee	Benjamin Moore OC-45	81.9	+75
Cabinets	Swiss Coffee	Benjamin Moore OC-45	81.9	+75

Wood, rugs and metals

Contrast, not a match.

Wood furniture

A step lighter: a smoky gray brown woodAbout 14 points lighter than Metro Brown in L* (45 against 31). Like our Dark Gray stain sample.

Rugs and fabric

Tone on tone: smoke4 in chroma, half the warmth of Metro Brown (9), and 28 points lighter in L*.

Across the wheel: slate blueHue 235°, straight across the color wheel from the 55° of Metro Brown, softened to balance it.

Grounding: dove grayA light note at L* 76, 45 points from the 31 of Metro Brown, so a rug keeps its edge.

Metals

Aged brassA warm metal that agrees with the greige undertone of Metro Brown (hue 55°).

Champagne bronzeA paler warm metal, quieter than brass beside Thunder and Swiss Coffee.

Brushed nickelA soft satin nickel, quieter than chrome, for the greige of Metro Brown.

Room by room

The palette put to work around Metro Brown.

Living roomThunder walls and Swiss Coffee trim over Metro Brown, velvet in smoke with a slate blue pillow, aged brass lamps on low.
KitchenCabinets in Swiss Coffee so they float off Metro Brown, Swiss Coffee walls and trim, champagne bronze pulls.
BedroomRepose Gray walls, smoke bedding, nightstands in a smoky gray brown wood, brushed nickel on the lamps.
EntryA dove gray runner on Metro Brown, Swiss Coffee on the door, a champagne bronze mirror.

What to avoid

The near misses, by the numbers.

Walls at the lightness of Metro Brown: Black Fox (Sherwin-Williams SW 7020, LRV 6.7) sits within a point of its LRV of 7, so wall and floor would blur into one.
Wood that almost matches Metro Brown: a tone like our Ebony sample, 1.9 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
Stark blue whites everywhere: a greige floor like Metro Brown turns muddy beside them. Keep the whites a little warm.

Questions

About Metro Brown and color, answered from the numbers above.

What wall color goes with Metro Brown flooring?

Thunder (Benjamin Moore AF-685, LRV 47.6): a warm white or greige in the same soft family as Metro Brown (hue 92° against its 55°). It sits 41 LRV points from the floor (LRV 7), more than the 30 points that keep a wall and a floor reading apart. Or Repose Gray (Sherwin-Williams SW 7015, LRV 58.2).

What trim and ceiling color goes with Metro Brown?

Swiss Coffee (Benjamin Moore OC-45, LRV 81.9): 75 points over Metro Brown in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.7) to read white, not blue, beside its greige undertone.

What cabinet color goes with Metro Brown?

Swiss Coffee (Benjamin Moore OC-45, LRV 81.9): a light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Metro Brown (a 75 point step in LRV). Cabinets in Swiss Coffee or Swiss Coffee: a dark floor needs light cabinets to float above it.

What wood furniture goes with Metro Brown?

Contrast, not a match: a step lighter: a smoky gray brown wood (like our Dark Gray stain sample). A wood like our Ebony sample is only 1.9 apart (CIEDE2000) and reads as a near miss.

How do I put a room together around Metro Brown?

Living room: Thunder walls and Swiss Coffee trim over Metro Brown, velvet in smoke with a slate blue pillow, aged brass lamps on low. Kitchen: Cabinets in Swiss Coffee so they float off Metro Brown, Swiss Coffee walls and trim, champagne bronze pulls.

Is Metro Brown a light or a dark floor?

Dark: LRV 7 and L* 31, measured from its own picture, with a warm greige undertone. At LRV 7, Metro Brown 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 Metro Brown?

Walls at the lightness of Metro Brown: Black Fox (Sherwin-Williams SW 7020, LRV 6.7) sits within a point of its LRV of 7, so wall and floor would blur into one. Wood that almost matches Metro Brown: a tone like our Ebony sample, 1.9 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 7, Metro Brown 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 6.38 inches a board, Metro Brown lays about 23 boards across a 12 foot room.

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

HardnessHickory: Janka 1,820 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.

Metro Brown is lighter than 17 percent of the 1,739 hardwood floors we carry, measured the same way, and warmer than 5 percent of them.

A step lighter in the same line: DogwoodLRV 10, measured the same way, against 7 for Metro Brown.

The same look in waterproof vinyl or laminate: Terra, Fifth and Main Symbiotic 12, only 1.7 apart in color (CIEDE2000).

To get this color on an oak floor you already have, the nearest of our stains is Ebony (1.9 apart, CIEDE2000, from our own photographs on red oak).

Metro Brown, the specifications
Width	6.38 in
Thickness	3/8"
Edge	Micro bevel
Installation	Nail, staple, glue, floating
Species	Hickory
Construction	Engineered
Carton	30.48 sq ft

The floor

Every color, price and detail on its own page.

Metro Brown

Alpine Hickory · SW710-07065

Engineered hardwood · Hickory · 6.38 in

$6.09 per sq ft · $185.62 a carton

Material only. Delivery and installation extra.

Metro Brown: 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 National Wood Flooring Association species guide, Technical Publication A200 (2004), its relative hardness chart.

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.