# Natural in a traditional 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, Cloud White trim and Distance as the deep note, 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/natural-traditional

## The floor
- Natural, Natural finish on red oak: No stain · on red oak · 2-1/4 in strip
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/sherwin-williams-minwax-duraseal-stain-colors/natural

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 37
- CIELAB (D65): L* 67.2, a* 15.4, b* 31.5, chroma 35.1, hue 64 degrees
- Undertone: an amber undertone, warm and a little orange
- Natural has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.6 in L*): calm, but not flat.

## Paint
- 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. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/oc-26/silver-satin
- Or walls: Alabaster (Sherwin-Williams SW 7008, LRV 82.2, +45.3 from the floor). Its undertone leans green (hue 98°), which quiets the orange in Natural (hue 64°) instead of echoing it. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw7008-alabaster/
- Trim and ceilings: Cloud White (Benjamin Moore OC-130, LRV 85.1). 48 points over Natural in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.6) to read white, not blue, beside its amber undertone. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/oc-130/cloud-white
- Deep note: 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. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/blue-paint-colors/sw6243-distance/
- Lower cabinets or an island in Distance, uppers and trim in Cloud White. The floor at LRV 37 sits between the two (15 and 85).

## Wood, rugs and metals
- Wood a step darker: a warm gray brown wood, like our Warm Gray stain sample. About 19 points darker than Natural in L* (48 against 67), far enough to read as a choice.
- Wood a step lighter: black or painted pieces. Natural is lighter than any wood stain we photographed (L* 67), so contrast comes from black, painted or upholstered pieces.
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: walnut brown (#604a38). 16 in chroma, half the warmth of Natural (35), and 34 points darker in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: storm blue (#556975). Hue 244°, straight across the color wheel from the 64° of Natural, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: mocha (#675446). A deep note at L* 37, 30 points from the 67 of Natural, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: unlacquered brass. A warm metal that agrees with the amber undertone of Natural (hue 64°).
- Metal: aged brass. A second warm metal in a worn finish, so the brass beside Silver Satin walls never looks new and loud.
- Metal: matte black. Black works with every undertone; beside Natural at LRV 37 it gives the room its outline.

## Room by room
- Living room: Silver Satin walls, Cloud White trim and crown, a patterned rug in storm blue and mocha on the Natural floor, furniture in a warm gray brown wood, unlacquered brass lamps.
- Kitchen: Distance on the island, Cloud White cabinets, aged brass knobs, the Natural floor underfoot.
- Dining room: Alabaster walls, a table in a warm gray brown wood, chairs in walnut brown, an unlacquered brass chandelier.
- Bedroom: Silver Satin walls, walnut brown bedding, a storm blue throw, black or painted nightstands.

## What to avoid
- 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
- 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.
- Hardness: Northern red oak: Janka 1,290 lbf (the force to press a steel ball halfway into the wood; a higher number dents less under heels and chair legs)
- Finish: Stain on site, then clear coats (the color is in the wood, so a worn floor can be sanded and stained again)

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