Vision board · Warm modern

Secret Beach in a warm modern room

Secret Beach, from the Robbins Coastside 7-1/2" line, is a mid dark white oak hardwood with a golden undertone (measured from its own picture: LRV 13). Here it is with Colonnade Gray walls, Alabaster trim, and Upward on the cabinets, chosen by the numbers.

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

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Secret Beach hardwood flooring in the great room of the 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.

Secret Beach hardwood flooring in the family room of the 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.

Secret Beach hardwood flooring in the living room of the lake house on the cove. CutPile Photoreal Rendering, an AI generated, simulated photo. — AI generated, simulated photo. Living room in daylight, The lake house on the cove.

12 in

WallsColonnade GraySW 7641 · LRV 53

TrimAlabasterSW 7008 · LRV 82

CabinetsUpwardSW 6239 · LRV 57

WoodA charcoal woodLike our Royal Mahogany sample

The floor, measured

Read from its own picture, not from a name.

LRV: 13
Lightness L*: 43
Undertone: Golden
Hue: 70°

A golden undertone, warm without leaning red. 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.

Secret Beach has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.1 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

Colonnade Gray Sherwin-Williams SW 7641 · LRV 53 · +40 from the floor

A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 87°), so Secret Beach stays golden without turning yellow.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Or walls

Revere Pewter Benjamin Moore HC-172 · LRV 55.1 · +42 from the floor

A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 95°), so Secret Beach stays golden without turning yellow.

See it at Benjamin Moore

Trim and ceilings

Alabaster Sherwin-Williams SW 7008 · LRV 82.2 · +69 from the floor

69 points over Secret Beach in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its golden undertone.

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Cabinets

Upward Sherwin-Williams SW 6239 · LRV 57.4 · +45 from the floor

A light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Secret Beach (a 45 point step in LRV).

See it at Sherwin-Williams

Cabinets in Upward or Alabaster: a dark floor needs light cabinets to float above it.

The palette, by the numbers
Role	Color	Maker and code	LRV	From the floor
Floor	Secret Beach	Robbins Coastside 7-1/2"	13
Walls	Colonnade Gray	Sherwin-Williams SW 7641	53	+40
Or walls	Revere Pewter	Benjamin Moore HC-172	55.1	+42
Trim and ceilings	Alabaster	Sherwin-Williams SW 7008	82.2	+69
Cabinets	Upward	Sherwin-Williams SW 6239	57.4	+45

Wood, rugs and metals

Contrast, not a match.

Wood furniture

A step darker: a charcoal woodAbout 17 points darker than Secret Beach in L* (26 against 43), far enough to read as a choice. Like our Royal Mahogany stain sample.

A step lighter: a light natural woodAbout 19 points lighter than Secret Beach in L* (61 against 43). Like our Silvered Gray stain sample.

Rugs and fabric

Tone on tone: putty13 in chroma, half the warmth of Secret Beach (29), and 28 points lighter in L*.

Across the wheel: mist blueHue 250°, straight across the color wheel from the 70° of Secret Beach, softened to balance it.

Grounding: espressoA deep note at L* 20, 23 points from the 43 of Secret Beach, so a rug keeps its edge.

Metals

Aged brassA warm metal that agrees with the golden undertone of Secret Beach (hue 70°).

Unlacquered brassLeft unsealed, it darkens with handling to a softer warm tone beside Colonnade Gray walls.

Matte blackBlack works with every undertone; beside Secret Beach at LRV 13 it gives the room its outline.

Room by room

The palette put to work around Secret Beach.

Living roomColonnade Gray walls and Alabaster trim around Secret Beach, a putty rug with an espresso border, a coffee table in a charcoal wood, aged brass lamps.
KitchenCabinets in Upward so they float off Secret Beach, Alabaster walls and trim, unlacquered brass pulls.
BedroomRevere Pewter walls, bedding in putty with one mist blue pillow, nightstands in a light natural wood.
EntryAn espresso runner on Secret Beach, Upward on the front door, a matte black mirror.

What to avoid

The near misses, by the numbers.

Walls at the lightness of Secret Beach: Rosemary (Sherwin-Williams SW 6187, LRV 13.6) sits within a point of its LRV of 13, so wall and floor would blur into one.
Wood that almost matches Secret Beach: a tone like our Nutmeg sample, 4.2 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
Walls that lean yellow: yellow on yellow flattens the golden undertone of Secret Beach (hue 70°).

Questions

About Secret Beach and color, answered from the numbers above.

What wall color goes with Secret Beach flooring?

Colonnade Gray (Sherwin-Williams SW 7641, LRV 53): a soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 87°), so Secret Beach stays golden without turning yellow. It sits 40 LRV points from the floor (LRV 13), more than the 30 points that keep a wall and a floor reading apart. Or Revere Pewter (Benjamin Moore HC-172, LRV 55.1).

What trim and ceiling color goes with Secret Beach?

Alabaster (Sherwin-Williams SW 7008, LRV 82.2): 69 points over Secret Beach in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its golden undertone.

What cabinet color goes with Secret Beach?

Upward (Sherwin-Williams SW 6239, LRV 57.4): a light color with some life in it, so cabinets float off Secret Beach (a 45 point step in LRV). Cabinets in Upward or Alabaster: a dark floor needs light cabinets to float above it.

What wood furniture goes with Secret Beach?

Contrast, not a match: a step darker: a charcoal wood (like our Royal Mahogany stain sample), or a step lighter: a light natural wood (like our Silvered Gray stain sample). A wood like our Nutmeg sample is only 4.2 apart (CIEDE2000) and reads as a near miss.

How do I put a room together around Secret Beach?

Living room: Colonnade Gray walls and Alabaster trim around Secret Beach, 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 Secret Beach, Alabaster walls and trim, unlacquered brass pulls.

Is Secret Beach a light or a dark floor?

Mid dark: LRV 13 and L* 43, measured from its own picture, with a golden undertone. At LRV 13, Secret Beach 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.

What colors should I avoid with Secret Beach?

Walls at the lightness of Secret Beach: Rosemary (Sherwin-Williams SW 6187, LRV 13.6) sits within a point of its LRV of 13, so wall and floor would blur into one. Wood that almost matches Secret Beach: a tone like our Nutmeg sample, 4.2 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.

The room it suits

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

At LRV 13, Secret Beach 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 7.5 inches a board, Secret Beach lays about 20 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.

HardnessWhite oak: Janka 1,360 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
ConstructionEngineered hardwoodA real wood face over a stable core, so it moves less with the seasons.
FinishUrethane with AIOx

From the floor's own record

What only this floor's data can say.

One of our most-asked-for floors: estimated 2 times since 2026.

Secret Beach is lighter than 35 percent of the 1,744 hardwood floors we carry, measured the same way, and warmer than 77 percent of them.

A step lighter in the same line: Santa BarbaraLRV 16, measured the same way, against 13 for Secret Beach.

A step darker in the same line: Manhattan BeachLRV 12, measured the same way, against 13 for Secret Beach.

The same look in waterproof vinyl or laminate: Cabin, Stanton Flex II, only 1.8 apart in color (CIEDE2000).

To get this color on an oak floor you already have, the nearest of our stains is Nutmeg (4.2 apart, CIEDE2000, from our own photographs on red oak).

Secret Beach, the specifications
Width	7.5 in
Thickness	5/8"
Wear layer	4 mm
Finish	Urethane with AIOx
Installation	Glue, float, staple with glue assist
Species	White oak
Construction	Engineered Hardwood
Carton	23.48 sq ft

The floor

Every color, price and detail on its own page.

Secret Beach

Coastside 7-1/2" · CSEK727W

Engineered hardwood · White oak · 7.5 in

$8.25 per sq ft · $193.71 a carton

Material only. Delivery and installation extra.

Secret Beach: price, specs and samples

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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.