Linda, your home is lovely as is. IMO, if you darken the cabinets in a room without much natural light, it may get claustrophobic. I like the airiness you currently have and if you absolutely must redo the cabinets, could you consider lightening them or going off-white to work with your appliances? But leaving them as is works well since they blend with the lighter toned woods throughout. Try new hardware before stain or paint. It's a relatively inexpensive way to provide fun and oomph! Consider changing the dark valance to either a valance or roman shade in the colors you love -- watery aqua & chocolate wide stripe or print -- but only if you slip-cover the sofa and chairs. A flat, non-shirred valance in aqua banded in chocolate might look fresh. You can then slip-cover the sofa in a less imposing tone and reupholster the chairs in a complementary print. If you stay with the current upholstery, then pull your valance colors from the chairs, rug & marble. I'd opt for the simpler style my3dogs used in her office/sewing room. Stick with a solid and contrasting band so they don't compete with the chairs. Your wall color can then flow from the valance colors. Just remember, one change usually leads to many others as each component impacts the whole. I'd reposition some of the furniture to make the most of what you have. Try putting the lamp and table on the other side of sofa so that the area opens up a bit. Or you could place the table between the chairs and exchange with the smaller lamp, but in any event you still need to get the sofa as far away from the tv wall as it will go so it doesn't seem so squished. The area on the tv wall to the left of the fireplace is calling for a large airy palm or another tall plant. And the TIVO storage is too close to the lovely buffet. A mantle might be nice but you definitely need a large beautiful print over the fireplace in colors and theme that makes YOU feel peaceful and happy. The storage box under the window in the breakfast area is disproportionally small. Can you find or make a console (even a shelf ledge that will fit) even if you need to keep the storage under it? On my monitor your neutral paint looks good from the hall. If you change colors, I wouldn't go darker than the 2nd color on any of the strips. My preference would be #2 on the last strip or #2 on the 2nd photo. Let your upholstery decision and marble tones guide. Please buy a $5 SW sample and put a large swatch up for several days so you can live with it in all light conditions before you decide. Most of all, enjoy the process of finding what brings you and your husband joy in this phase.

The picture didn't get here, can you try again?

I think you can still get a contemporary look with multiple pieces, but they still need to be fairly large for that space. Maybe 3 vertical rectangular canvases hung next to each other. Or if you found 40x40" pieces that you love and can find 4 that look good together, hang them in a square with 2 up and 2 down. Or how about a contemporary canvas floor cloth or tapestry hung with clips from a curtain rod with cool modern finials? You could hang one or three depending on what you find. (Odd numbers seem to work best; 2 might feel like it's dividing the wall in half.) If you are creative you can create the canvases or floor cloths yourself, borrowing ideas you find online. If you can post a picture of the wall, people might have more ideas or can do mockups. Here is a link that might be useful: Painted floor cloths - contemporary

You have such a beautiful home!!! I love all the windows. I agree with the idea of one large painting on the wall, something keeping with the nature theme (that giant horse painting or landscape paintings). In my experience it takes time to find art I love and it's an investment. I wonder if the white chairs are the best choice here. The photo that Cheryl Smith posted has a different feel, in part, due to the furniture. I think it's the right choice to have the chair contrast w/ the sofa and loveseat. Maybe dark brown leather or ? (I'm cringing as I type this since I'm a vegetarian and try to avoid leather stuff, but it may work in your home).