Vision board · Modern farmhouse

Natural in a modern farmhouse room

Natural, a clear natural finish with no stain, is a mid tone finish on red oak with an amber undertone (measured from its own picture: LRV 37). Here it is with Silver Satin walls, Alabaster trim and Distance as the deep note, chosen by the numbers.

AI assisted The rooms are AI generated, simulated photos. The floor, the paint colors and every number are real.

See it in our rooms See it in your own room Share Pin it

Download the board

Natural finish on a red oak floor in the family room of our 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.

Natural finish on a red oak floor in the great room of our 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.

Natural finish on a red oak floor in the living room of our Cape with the dormers. CutPile Photoreal Rendering, an AI generated, simulated photo. — AI generated, simulated photo. Living room in daylight, The Cape with the dormers.

12 in

WallsSilver SatinBM OC-26 · LRV 75

TrimAlabasterSW 7008 · LRV 82

Deep noteDistanceSW 6243 · LRV 15

WoodA warm gray brown woodLike our Warm Gray sample

The floor, measured

Read from its own picture, not from a name.

LRV: 37
Lightness L*: 67
Undertone: Amber
Hue: 64°

An amber undertone, warm and a little orange. 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.

Natural has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.6 in L*): calm, but not flat.

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

Silver Satin Benjamin Moore OC-26 · LRV 74.9 · +38 from the floor

Its undertone leans green (hue 105°), which quiets the orange in Natural (hue 64°) instead of echoing it.

See it at Benjamin Moore

Or walls

Dover White Sherwin-Williams SW 6385 · LRV 82.5 · +46 from the floor

Its undertone leans green (hue 93°), which quiets the orange in Natural (hue 64°) instead of echoing it.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Trim and ceilings

Alabaster Sherwin-Williams SW 7008 · LRV 82.2 · +45 from the floor

45 points over Natural in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its amber undertone.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

The deep note

Distance Sherwin-Williams SW 6243 · LRV 15.2 · -22 from the floor

Deep and cool, about 168° around the color wheel from Natural and 22 points darker in LRV, so each makes the other look richer.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Lower cabinets or an island in Distance, uppers and trim in Alabaster. The floor at LRV 37 sits between the two (15 and 82).

The palette, by the numbers
Role	Color	Maker and code	LRV	From the floor
Floor	Natural	Natural finish on red oak	37
Walls	Silver Satin	Benjamin Moore OC-26	74.9	+38
Or walls	Dover White	Sherwin-Williams SW 6385	82.5	+46
Trim and ceilings	Alabaster	Sherwin-Williams SW 7008	82.2	+45
The deep note	Distance	Sherwin-Williams SW 6243	15.2	-22

Wood, rugs and metals

Contrast, not a match.

Wood furniture

A step darker: a warm gray brown woodAbout 19 points darker than Natural in L* (48 against 67), far enough to read as a choice. Like our Warm Gray stain sample.

A step lighter: black or painted piecesNatural is lighter than any wood stain we photographed (L* 67), so contrast comes from black, painted or upholstered pieces.

Rugs and fabric

Tone on tone: walnut brown16 in chroma, half the warmth of Natural (35), and 34 points darker in L*.

Across the wheel: storm blueHue 244°, straight across the color wheel from the 64° of Natural, softened to balance it.

Grounding: mochaA deep note at L* 37, 30 points from the 67 of Natural, so a rug keeps its edge.

Metals

Matte blackBlack works with every undertone; beside Natural at LRV 37 it gives the room its outline.

Aged brassA warm metal that agrees with the amber undertone of Natural (hue 64°).

Unlacquered brassA warm metal that agrees with the amber undertone of Natural (hue 64°).

What to avoid

The near misses, by the numbers.

Walls at the lightness of Natural: Jockey Hollow Gray (Benjamin Moore HC-108, LRV 39.5) sits 3 points from its LRV of 37, so wall and floor would blur into one.
Pink or peach beige walls: they pull more orange out of the amber undertone of Natural (hue 64°).

Questions

About Natural and color, answered from the numbers above.

What wall color goes with Natural flooring?

Silver Satin (Benjamin Moore OC-26, LRV 74.9): its undertone leans green (hue 105°), which quiets the orange in Natural (hue 64°) instead of echoing it. It sits 38 LRV points from the floor (LRV 37), more than the 30 points that keep a wall and a floor reading apart. Or Dover White (Sherwin-Williams SW 6385, LRV 82.5).

What trim and ceiling color goes with Natural?

Alabaster (Sherwin-Williams SW 7008, LRV 82.2): 45 points over Natural in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its amber undertone.

What accent color goes with Natural?

Distance (Sherwin-Williams SW 6243, LRV 15.2): deep and cool, about 168° around the color wheel from Natural and 22 points darker in LRV, so each makes the other look richer. Lower cabinets or an island in Distance, uppers and trim in Alabaster. The floor at LRV 37 sits between the two (15 and 82).

What wood furniture goes with Natural?

Contrast, not a match: a step darker: a warm gray brown wood (like our Warm Gray stain sample), or a step lighter: black or painted pieces.

Is Natural a light or a dark floor?

Mid tone: LRV 37 and L* 67, measured from its own picture, with an amber undertone. At LRV 37, Natural is a mid tone: it holds its color in a sunny room and hides everyday dust and pet hair better than a very dark or very light floor.

What colors should I avoid with Natural?

Walls at the lightness of Natural: Jockey Hollow Gray (Benjamin Moore HC-108, LRV 39.5) sits 3 points from its LRV of 37, so wall and floor would blur into one. Pink or peach beige walls: they pull more orange out of the amber undertone of Natural (hue 64°).

The room it suits

Light, size and wear, from the floor's own record.

At LRV 37, Natural is a mid tone: it holds its color in a sunny room and hides everyday dust and pet hair better than a very dark or very light floor.

At 2.25 inches a board, Natural 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.

HardnessNorthern red oak: Janka 1,290 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
FinishStain on site, then clear coatsThe color is in the wood, so a worn floor can be sanded and stained again.

From the floor's own record

What only this floor's data can say.

The same look in waterproof vinyl or laminate: Mandarin, Fifth and Main Color Range 20, only 3.5 apart in color (CIEDE2000).

The nearest of our other stains is Silvered Gray (8.8 apart, CIEDE2000, from our own photographs on red oak).

The floor

A stain we put on your own oak floor.

Natural finish

Natural

Natural finish on red oak

No stain · on red oak · 2-1/4 in strip

Natural on our stain page

Take it with you

Scan to open this board on your phone.

973-728-9717

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

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.