# Monterey Oak in a warm modern room

Monterey Oak from the COREtec Pro Classics line is a mid dark vinyl plank with a golden undertone, measured from its own picture with LRV 15. Here it is with Pure White walls, Alabaster 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/monterey-oak-warm-modern

## The floor
- Monterey Oak, COREtec Pro Classics: Waterproof vinyl plank · SPC · 7 in (SKU VV017-01004)
- Price: $4.09 per sq ft · $117.96 a carton. Material only. Delivery and installation extra.
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/floors/coretec/coretec-pro-classics-vv017/monterey-oak

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 15
- CIELAB (D65): L* 44.9, a* 9.2, b* 21.2, chroma 23.1, hue 66.6 degrees
- Undertone: a golden undertone, warm without leaning red
- The grain and color of Monterey Oak move from board to board (a spread of 3.2 in L*), which helps hide everyday wear.

## Paint
- Walls: Pure White (Sherwin-Williams SW 7005, LRV 84, +69.5 from the floor). A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 103°), so Monterey Oak stays golden without turning yellow. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw7005-pure-white/
- Or walls: Revere Pewter (Benjamin Moore HC-172, LRV 55.1, +40.6 from the floor). A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 95°), so Monterey Oak stays golden without turning yellow. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/hc-172/revere-pewter
- Trim and ceilings: Alabaster (Sherwin-Williams SW 7008, LRV 82.2). 68 points over Monterey Oak 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/sw7008-alabaster/
- Cabinets: Upward (Sherwin-Williams SW 6239, LRV 57.4). A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Monterey Oak (a 43 point step in LRV). Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/blue-paint-colors/sw6239-upward/
- Cabinets in Upward or Alabaster: 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 16 points darker than Monterey Oak in L* (29 against 45), far enough to read as a choice.
- Wood a step lighter: a light natural wood, like our Silvered Gray stain sample. About 16 points lighter than Monterey Oak in L* (61 against 45).
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: putty (#c2b0a2). 10 in chroma, half the warmth of Monterey Oak (23), and 28 points lighter in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: mist blue (#a7bbc9). Hue 247°, straight across the color wheel from the 67° of Monterey Oak, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: espresso (#392e26). A deep note at L* 20, 25 points from the 45 of Monterey Oak, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: aged brass. A warm metal that agrees with the golden undertone of Monterey Oak (hue 67°).
- Metal: unlacquered brass. Left unsealed, it darkens with handling to a softer warm tone beside Pure White walls.
- Metal: matte black. Black works with every undertone; beside Monterey Oak at LRV 15 it gives the room its outline.

## Room by room
- Living room: Pure White walls and Alabaster trim around Monterey Oak, a putty rug with an espresso border, a coffee table in a charcoal wood, aged brass lamps.
- Kitchen: Cabinets in Upward so they float off Monterey Oak, Alabaster walls and trim, unlacquered brass pulls.
- Bedroom: Revere Pewter walls, bedding in putty with one mist blue pillow, nightstands in a light natural wood.
- Entry: An espresso runner on Monterey Oak, Upward on the front door, a matte black mirror.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Monterey Oak: Kendall Charcoal (Benjamin Moore HC-166, LRV 14.6) sits within a point of its LRV of 15, so wall and floor would blur into one.
- Wood that almost matches Monterey Oak: a tone like our Nutmeg sample, 2.9 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
- Walls that lean yellow: yellow on yellow flattens the golden undertone of Monterey Oak (hue 67°).

## The room it suits
- At LRV 15, Monterey Oak 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 7 inches a board, Monterey Oak lays about 21 boards across a 12 foot room, so the room reads open with few seams.
- Monterey Oak is waterproof, so it belongs in kitchens, baths, mudrooms and basements as well as living spaces.
- Wear layer: 20 mil (about 0.51 mm of clear protection over the printed wood, the part that takes the traffic)
- Core: SPC, a rigid stone polymer core (firm underfoot and resists dents from furniture)
- Finish: UV Acrylic
- 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.