# Natural Walnut in a warm modern room

Natural Walnut, from the Robbins Timber Legends 8-1/2" Walnut line, is a mid dark walnut hardwood with an amber undertone (LRV 14, measured from its own picture). Here it is with Edgecomb Gray walls, Swiss Coffee 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/natural-walnut-warm-modern

## The floor
- Natural Walnut, Robbins Timber Legends 8-1/2" Walnut: Engineered hardwood · Walnut · 8.5 in (SKU HPEW801W)
- Price: $12.49 per sq ft · $399.68 a carton. Material only. Delivery and installation extra.
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/floors/robbins/timber-legends-8-1-2-walnut/natural

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 14
- CIELAB (D65): L* 44.1, a* 13.9, b* 19.8, chroma 24.2, hue 54.9 degrees
- Undertone: an amber undertone, warm and a little orange
- The grain and color of Natural Walnut move from board to board (a spread of 3.9 in L*), which helps hide everyday wear.

## Paint
- Walls: Edgecomb Gray (Benjamin Moore HC-173, LRV 63.1, +49.2 from the floor). Its undertone leans green (hue 94°), which quiets the orange in Natural Walnut (hue 55°) instead of echoing it. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/hc-173/edgecomb-gray
- Or walls: Sea Salt (Sherwin-Williams SW 6204, LRV 63.2, +49.3 from the floor). Its undertone leans green (hue 133°), which quiets the orange in Natural Walnut (hue 55°) instead of echoing it. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/green-paint-colors/sw6204-sea-salt/
- Trim and ceilings: Swiss Coffee (Benjamin Moore OC-45, LRV 81.9). 68 points over Natural Walnut in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.7) to read white, not blue, beside its amber undertone. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/oc-45/swiss-coffee
- Cabinets: Upward (Sherwin-Williams SW 6239, LRV 57.4). A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Natural Walnut (a 44 point step in LRV). Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/blue-paint-colors/sw6239-upward/
- Cabinets in Upward or Swiss Coffee: 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 15 points darker than Natural Walnut in L* (29 against 44), far enough to read as a choice.
- Wood a step lighter: a light natural wood, like our Silvered Gray stain sample. About 17 points lighter than Natural Walnut in L* (61 against 44).
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: blush (#c3aca1). 11 in chroma, half the warmth of Natural Walnut (24), and 28 points lighter in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: mist blue (#a2bac5). Hue 235°, straight across the color wheel from the 55° of Natural Walnut, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: espresso (#3b2e26). A deep note at L* 20, 24 points from the 44 of Natural Walnut, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: aged brass. A warm metal that agrees with the amber undertone of Natural Walnut (hue 55°).
- Metal: unlacquered brass. Left unsealed, it darkens with handling to a softer warm tone beside Edgecomb Gray walls.
- Metal: matte black. Black works with every undertone; beside Natural Walnut at LRV 14 it gives the room its outline.

## Room by room
- Living room: Edgecomb Gray walls and Swiss Coffee trim around Natural Walnut, a blush rug with an espresso border, a coffee table in a charcoal wood, aged brass lamps.
- Kitchen: Cabinets in Upward so they float off Natural Walnut, Swiss Coffee walls and trim, unlacquered brass pulls.
- Bedroom: Sea Salt walls, bedding in blush with one mist blue pillow, nightstands in a light natural wood.
- Entry: An espresso runner on Natural Walnut, Upward on the front door, a matte black mirror.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Natural Walnut: Rosemary (Sherwin-Williams SW 6187, LRV 13.6) sits within a point of its LRV of 14, so wall and floor would blur into one.
- Wood that almost matches Natural Walnut: a tone like our Early American sample, 1.6 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 Natural Walnut (hue 55°).

## The room it suits
- At LRV 14, Natural Walnut 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 8.5 inches a board, Natural Walnut lays about 17 boards across a 12 foot room, so the room reads open with few seams.
- Engineered hardwood: living spaces and bedrooms on every level, kept out of full baths.
- Hardness: Black walnut: Janka 1,010 lbf (the force to press a steel ball halfway into the wood; a higher number dents less under heels and chair legs)
- Construction: Engineered hardwood (a real wood face over a stable core, so it moves less with the seasons)
- Finish: Urethane

## 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.