My first reaction is that if the spaces are all open to each other your choices would seem to fight with each other because they are so different. With open spaces I like the color to be continuous. However, that's just me. Paint forum or decorating forum has some pretty knowledgeable people participating and if you include some pictures I think you will get some sage advice. Good Luck!

There are lots of interesting, comfy chairs, bu tit's hard to advise without knowing what you like. Here are some random thoughts: They look like IKEA chairs. i also really like IKEA Henriksdal. They're quite big, however, some with a wide range of slip covers. From strictlysimplestyle.blogspot.com

You are so BRAVE! I can't do it! I cannot post on here because inevitably when you post to ask about colors people comment on your lighting and pick your stools! :) Your kitchen is a beautiful neutral, actually, and perhaps choosing a subtle pattern would work. If you prefer a bold pattern--the rug or the buffalo check stools-- choose one and then work around it with colors that compliment. Keep those colors throughout. What helps me the most is to try it out in your kitchen--keep your receipts and make sure you can return, if necessary. I had 3 rugs under my dining room table before I found the right fit! And stools, to me, are a personal fit. I hated swivel with my kids (and it was one more thing that could break) and my sister's stools are so uncomfortable to me and she sits on them all day long! Bring home some testers and have fun!

Hi ChanD- If you want to hang up artwork you can look for depictions of fruit or vegetables. I like vintage looking ones like the ones tqtqtbw showed above, and like the ones on the cover of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine. Or you can find more modern pop-art versions of fruit and vegetables. Or you can get plants and flowers, whatever is your fancy. You can buy these or make them inexpensively from pictures from a calendar or from a book from a secondhand book store or royalty picture from the internet. If you would like something a little more three- dimensional you can look for majolica on line. There is vintage majolica and modern reproductions. It doesn’t matter which, just get what you like. It can be all green with leaves all over, or leaves with fruits or vegetables, or flowers. They can be plates or serving pieces. You can buy plate hangers and hang them or use plate stands and display them and in either case, still use them as serveware. You might want to do a bit of cruising online and reading about majolica and looking at images before you invest. A few pieces of majolica or vintage botanical prints won’t turn a modern or transitional kitchen country. And speaking of investing, don’t spend tons of money on it. It’s not bone china or high fire porcelain and can chip and break easily. It’s a lot of fun, I love it, but don’t go crazy with the $$$. Another thing, if you live in an area where there are hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes, please make sure that they are well-secured if you hang them, or cushioned in the cabinet. You can also add green to your kitchen with green glass plates and bowls.These are vintage, too. Some people (Martha Stewart) like to collect vintage jade glass plates and bowls and serveware. Make sure the water in your area is not hard or putting these in the dishwasher can etch them unless you have a whole house water softener. Another way to add green to your kitchen(and add life and energy and oxygen and purify the air) is to add live green plants. A big bushy Pothos plant would look great as would a Philodendron. Coleus is great too and comes in many different varieties in green and red, green and pink, etc. You can also have several stems of Lucky Bamboo ( which is really dracaena) in an odd number, some straight, some curlicue in a simple vase or a glass vase with peoples or marbles at the bottom with water in it. If you have plants in the kitchen just take them down and wash the whole thing leaves and all at least once a week. The leaves can collect dust and little spiders and you don’t want that coming onto or being blown into your food. Are you planning to keep the shelves? I use trays a lot, do you? If yours are attractive, you can put a tray or two on there and display it standing up and put something in front of it too. For example, if your dishes are pretty, you can display a covered vegetable dish or a soup tureen. Even if they are just plain white you can still display them because their shapes are intrinsically pleasing. Hope this helps!