# Montrose Oak in a warm modern room

Montrose Oak from the COREtec Plus XL line is a mid dark vinyl plank with an amber undertone, with an LRV of 15 measured from its own picture. Here it is with Dover White 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/montrose-oak-warm-modern

## The floor
- Montrose Oak, COREtec Plus XL: Waterproof vinyl plank · WPC · 9 in (SKU VV034-00609)
- Price: $7.99 per sq ft · $215.33 a carton. Material only. Delivery and installation extra.
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/floors/coretec/coretec-plus-xl/montrose-oak

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 15
- CIELAB (D65): L* 45.3, a* 9.7, b* 19.4, chroma 21.7, hue 63.4 degrees
- Undertone: an amber undertone, warm and a little orange
- The grain and color of Montrose Oak move from board to board (a spread of 4.9 in L*), which helps hide everyday wear.

## Paint
- Walls: Dover White (Sherwin-Williams SW 6385, LRV 82.5, +67.7 from the floor). Its undertone leans green (hue 93°), which quiets the orange in Montrose Oak (hue 63°) instead of echoing it. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw6385-dover-white/
- Or walls: Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-144, LRV 60.4, +45.6 from the floor). Its undertone leans green (hue 163°), which quiets the orange in Montrose Oak (hue 63°) 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). 69 points over Montrose Oak 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: Upward (Sherwin-Williams SW 6239, LRV 57.4). A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Montrose 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 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 16 points darker than Montrose 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 Montrose Oak in L* (61 against 45).
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: putty (#c3b1a4). 10 in chroma, half the warmth of Montrose Oak (22), and 28 points lighter in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: mist blue (#a8bdca). Hue 243°, straight across the color wheel from the 63° of Montrose Oak, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: espresso (#392e27). A deep note at L* 20, 25 points from the 45 of Montrose Oak, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: aged brass. A warm metal that agrees with the amber undertone of Montrose Oak (hue 63°).
- Metal: unlacquered brass. Left unsealed, it darkens with handling to a softer warm tone beside Dover White walls.
- Metal: matte black. Black works with every undertone; beside Montrose Oak at LRV 15 it gives the room its outline.

## Room by room
- Living room: Dover White walls and Greek Villa trim around Montrose 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 Montrose Oak, Greek Villa walls and trim, unlacquered brass pulls.
- Bedroom: Palladian Blue walls, bedding in putty with one mist blue pillow, nightstands in a light natural wood.
- Entry: An espresso runner on Montrose Oak, Upward on the front door, a matte black mirror.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Montrose 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 Montrose Oak: a tone like our Nutmeg sample, 2.7 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 Montrose Oak (hue 63°).

## The room it suits
- At LRV 15, Montrose 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 9 inches a board, Montrose Oak lays about 16 boards across a 12 foot room, so the room reads open with few seams.
- Montrose 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: WPC, a wood plastic composite core (a little softer and quieter underfoot)
- 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.