Thank you all so much for your input and ideas and links. I spent a couple days REALLY thinking about the replies and then thinking about exactly what my problems are and needs are for solutions. I came up with some new realizations: I jolted awake Sunday in the wee hours, realizing that I had JUST given away to habitat for humanity the solution to my pot lid problem - grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!! I HAD the perfect solution and gave it away! It was an upright roasting rack for chicken with a beer can but it was a certain shape that I COULD NOT find again, anywhere, now that I had given my vintage one away! In my case, I wanted something that did NOT impinge on the pot real estate (I was also worried that when sauteeing with a nearly empty pot and a heavy glass lid on the pot edge it might tip over with one of those edge clip things), was portable (sometimes I need a lid stand by the range, other times near the oven when using a dutch oven), either didn't get dirty while in use or very easy to clean, easy to store, and versatile enough to handle my little sauce pan lids up to my enameled cast iron lids and different knob types, too. What I ended up buying was the picture below, a stainless, commercial grade ham rack! I will put it upside down and put the pot lid upside down on the four "arms," and I can reach the knob under the hot lid easily without burning my hand. On the step stool this was agony to decide, but after REALLY considering how I want to use it, where I want to store it, and the fact that years ago even though I had a 6 ft high quality ladder I bought an ultra light one from Costco and it's absolutely been the GO TO ladder in the house ever since, so I know the value of "overpaying" for an ultralight - I went with the williams sonoma link, which is on back-order until March 14th. On the sponge, what I came to realize is that I'm having some significant hand strength issues due to unknown joint flare ups, and this has kept me from being able to scrub hard enough with a regular dish cloth to get crusty stuff off, therefore I need the sponge. It has also kept me from being able to wring out a sponge dry enough for it to be "dry" overnight. So I'm going to try a method where I put my dish cloth and sponge, dampened, in a glass and lidded glass small corningware each night and nuke it sterile. The lid and contained moisture should keep them from drying out and becoming a fire risk. I wanted a small carbon footprint solution, so running the dishwasher or washing machine every day is not likely to happen (we are a household of 3), yet I want a solution to the stinky sponge!! Thank you all once again! I love to read this board for ideas and of course eye candy! This post was edited by beautybutdebtfree on Mon, Feb 24, 14 at 8:01

Thanks parma42 and Diane. I have written down a few BM paints to check out, only to find there isn't a close BM store. I may have to make the hike. Our SW store didn't have much for paint strips which surprised me. I had better luck at Menards. I found that brown color the PO did by the fireplace so I can tweek it more warm depending on what happens with the kitchen. I haven't found any extra floor tiles around. The counter one was made into a trivet by the PO. This may only make sense to me but, what I am looking for is a color that doesn't reflect light. I would like for it to absorb the light so it doesn't look ashy at times. I am thinking to get that I need to have it be darker and in a flat finish and on the warm spectrum. I have no idea if that idea stands true. The tile has olive greens in it. I think the counter looks like more coolish tones and the wood I think would look better with warm colors. What is everyone else seeing? I of course am only getting this now that the paint is on the wall. I guess I should go for warm, 2 out of 3.

What a pretty home! Your cabinets are going to be wonderful painted out and I love that island countertop. Looking at the kitchen separately: I'm not usually a beige person (I think it's the name of the color, which reminds me of the pinky-beiges of the past). However, I gotta say... I really could see matching to the tile color as a crisp, classic, beautiful solution. What's the splotch in the upper left? It seems like a contender. Given your granite doesn't appear to be up against any drywall, I'd think you would have a little more flexibility, but you could also pick up one of the granite tones. Looking big picture: It's hard for me to imagine a gray or the cooler tones in your space because of that beautiful effect you have going with those arches leading into a room into a room perspective. It looks like you can't really see kitchen wall from that view, so maybe that's a non-issue, but if I had your wonderful layout, I'd be focused as much or more on preserving that lovely continuity of tone your architecture is inviting you to play with as the tile border color. Your current colors flow so well. I really love how it goes from darker to lighter but stays in the same tonal family to a large degree. I'd personally be tempted to stay with a color strip and use a shade from each of them for each room. PS - I'm being infected with the gray bug, too. I'm beginning to see it as highly contagious. And potentially dangerous, for warm color girls who live in Alaska anyway. lol I'm trying to decide if I need a vaccination (which typically involves injesting a bit into the system) or quarantine (strictly enforced restrictions from going into that territory). PPS - Fun to see sailcloth on the walls, in both splotch and finished product form. That color recently perked my curiosity.

While it may appear to ones eyes the paint may look richer, nicer, darker ; in reality one is just seeing the different aspects of internal lighting, external lighting, and the surrounding other elements in the room bouncing around. The lighting conditions will influence the perception of color and color development As far as a paint itself the particles fuse to form a film, and bind the pigment particles, as the product dries following application. The scattering and diffusing of pigments will indeed be less intense once the pigment particles bunch together and hence the number of effective scattering centers is diminished. Also higher PVC paints will generally have fewer primary pigments. They will be less pronounced in a higher PVC paint (your lower sheen paints). The dry film will be more porous until the coalescing process has taken place. Pigment types will definitely make a difference in the overall realm of the final color on the substrate. BM has proven this with their encapsulated proprietary waterborne acrylic colorants; thus sheen effects and scattering effects due to different types of pigments. Some pigments will diffuse scattering while others will have have a low index of refraction and very small particle size, so they don't contribute any scattering. Lastly, in essence the lighting conditions does influence the perception of color and color development as the scientific chemical analysis of how pigments scatter, diffuse, bond, and cure on a substrate will react and is totally different, all the while seemingly appearing a color may be richer, darker,etc.