I love the right blue with a cherry red as you described. What I mean by right blue, is the right blue for a kitchen. Personally, I don't care for blue wall colors in kitchens unless it has a fair amount of green to it. A crisp, fresh, snappy, turquoise-y blue with the red could be very fun and retro. The old Martha colors at SW had some GREAT ones, but that palette has long since been discontinued. Pratt & Lambert is probably where I'd start looking for a blue as I described.

Thank you so much for all these suggestions! I've looked online at all the colors mentioned here, and they all look delicious... now to have fun with paint chips. I'm in Canada so we don't have Lowe's or Calico Corners but I'm sure I'll find something nice up here. Bubbamommie, I love all the colors in that palette you linked me to. Thanks! I take ages and AGES to make these kinds of decisions, as I like to look at it from every angle (literally, in this case) and consider all the possibilities. That's a conflict with the rest of my family, who will point to one shade and say "That's nice, let's get it." But of course these are the same people sho don't notice that there's a new shelf display in the bathroom :) Cameron and johnatemp, thanks for the compliments on the windows. We love them. It was one of those projects that took a hold of itself and evolved over the course of a year. There is blood, sweat and tears in that room - our teens helped us with so much - knocking out the plaster, removing the bricks, staining and varnishing the wood -- tough work but so rewarding, taught them a lot, and we have a new room that everyone loves. Chinchette, I found Beach Haven, and it's lighter than the other suggestions, very pretty - thank you! More to choose from, which I love. Will investigate the real color chips and get back to you! Pam

You need some warm accents. Right now it is a very “chilly” scheme. Your whites are different…floor is a stark white, your upper cabs are creamier and you're adding another white for the counter. I’d start with a backsplash, blending all the tones, going as warm as possible. For the walls, give a thought to red…specifically B.M. Burnt Russet…a delicious warm red.

I would not use a really dark stain (Jacobean, Espresso) - too hard to keep clean. I would not use a gray/weathered stain - will scream "Gray Trend" in 5 years. I really like to see some contrast with white walls, so I would go for a medium dark wood stain. Beyond that, you really need to test the stains in your home. Don't forget to test with your current wood furniture as well as the wall color. You want your furniture to look good with the flooring not match the flooring. Here is a great blog post from someone who had to pick floor stain and walks you through her process. https://decorhint.com/hardwood-floor-stains-on-red-oak/