# Oxide in a dark and moody room

Oxide, from the Fifth and Main Ferrous line, is a mid dark vinyl tile with a soft greige undertone (measured from its own picture: LRV 12). Here it is with Amazing Gray walls, Greek Villa trim and Swiss Coffee 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/oxide-dark-moody

## The floor
- Oxide, Fifth and Main Ferrous: Vinyl tile · 18 in (SKU 5M311-00520)
- Price: $4.25 per sq ft · $95.63 a carton. Material only. Delivery and installation extra.
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/floors/fifthandmain/ferrous/oxide

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 12
- CIELAB (D65): L* 41.7, a* 2.1, b* 5.2, chroma 5.6, hue 68.2 degrees
- Undertone: a greige: soft gray with a little warmth
- Oxide is calm and even from board to board (a spread of 1.6 in L*), so it reads as one quiet plane.

## Paint
- Walls: Amazing Gray (Sherwin-Williams SW 7044, LRV 46.9, +34.6 from the floor). A warm white or greige in the same soft family as Oxide (hue 81° against its 68°). Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/neutral-paint-colors/sw7044-amazing-gray/
- Or walls: Thunder (Benjamin Moore AF-685, LRV 47.6, +35.3 from the floor). A warm white or greige in the same soft family as Oxide (hue 92° against its 68°). Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/af-685/thunder
- Trim and ceilings: Greek Villa (Sherwin-Williams SW 7551, LRV 84.2). 72 points over Oxide in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its greige undertone. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw7551-greek-villa/
- Cabinets: Swiss Coffee (Benjamin Moore OC-45, LRV 81.9). A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Oxide (a 70 point step in LRV). Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/oc-45/swiss-coffee
- Cabinets in Swiss Coffee 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 Royal Mahogany stain sample. About 16 points darker than Oxide in L* (26 against 42), far enough to read as a choice.
- Wood a step lighter: a light natural wood, like our Neutral stain sample. About 14 points lighter than Oxide in L* (56 against 42).
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: dove gray (#aeaaa6). 3 in chroma, half the warmth of Oxide (6), and 28 points lighter in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: mist blue (#9fb2c0). Hue 248°, straight across the color wheel from the 68° of Oxide, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: fog gray (#dcd8d6). A light note at L* 87, 45 points from the 42 of Oxide, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: aged brass. A warm metal that agrees with the greige undertone of Oxide (hue 68°).
- Metal: champagne bronze. A paler warm metal, quieter than brass beside Amazing Gray and Greek Villa.
- Metal: brushed nickel. A soft satin nickel, quieter than chrome, for the greige of Oxide.

## Room by room
- Living room: Amazing Gray walls and Greek Villa trim over Oxide, velvet in dove gray with a mist blue pillow, aged brass lamps on low.
- Kitchen: Cabinets in Swiss Coffee so they float off Oxide, Greek Villa walls and trim, champagne bronze pulls.
- Bedroom: Thunder walls, dove gray bedding, nightstands in a light natural wood, brushed nickel on the lamps.
- Entry: A fog gray runner on Oxide, Swiss Coffee on the door, a champagne bronze mirror.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Oxide: Van Deusen Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-156, LRV 12) sits within a point of its LRV of 12, so wall and floor would blur into one.
- Wood that almost matches Oxide: a tone like our Classic Gray sample, 2.4 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
- Stark blue whites everywhere: a greige floor like Oxide turns muddy beside them. Keep the whites a little warm.

## The room it suits
- At LRV 12, Oxide 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 18 inches a tile, a 12 foot room is about 8 tiles across.
- Living spaces and bedrooms; ask us about wet rooms.
- Wear layer: 20 mil (about 0.51 mm of clear protection over the printed design, the part that takes the traffic)
- Finish: ExoGuard®

## 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.