hi all.. dlm...I love the photo you posted...that's my taste...in fact that is similar to my kitchen I believe..at least on my monitor that's what my cabs look like..dark chocolate brown... I'm going to post a picture of my kitchen...(if you are ever on the kitchen forum you've seen it 100,000,000 times...sorry!) which has the same flooring and wall color as my dining room..so you can see my palette.. Do you still think gray would work? Or maybe a "griege"? I don't have any aqua going on in the dining/living room so I'm having a hard time with that one...does aqua go with rust and mustard accents?? I'm loving all the suggestions because it helps me to open my mind to ideas I would never have considered... KA:) my kitchen which is just off the dining room..same floor and wall color

Or Latte. Casey Here is a link that might be useful: SW Latte

like the grain and hardness, harder than maple. i do not like the mdf plastic look, want something more contemporary but still maintaining a classical or traditional feel

only one small window. I think a beautiful white will be great.I like true browns [counter top] with whites. then you can choose hardware in a softer satin nickel or brushed chrome. and you have a pop of blue w the lights. this is definitely a cool toned theme but there are various whites in "cool" up to "neutral" avoid yellow undertones. go to sherwin williams or Benjamin moore and they will point out the whites that cabinet painters are using [there are usually a few favorites] ....avoid really warm whites. I like pic 1 and 2.... third and 4th are colder/more clinical whites. Maybe the handyman thinks whites end up like 3 and 4. there are softer whites that still are not yellowish that will work with your brown.