Try posting in the Home Decorating forum instead, it has more traffic. Here is a link that might be useful: GW Home Decorating forum

We had the same issue, as well, when we moved into our new home 6 months ago. I felt pretty overwhelmed by it and although I got so much good advice and help here when I posted a question about it, I just could not visualize the finished product alone. I ended up hiring a Benjamin Moore color consultant to come to my home to meet with me for an hour....she ended up staying an hour and 20 min and it cost $112...money WELL spent because I really did not know about undertones and which white to use for trim (who knew there were SO many?!) and flow and where to start/stop a color in such an open space, etc We used one color for our 2 story foyer, the stairway/catwalk area which opens to the back of the house, and the 2 story great room or family room, whatever...we elected to do this because visually when you walk in to the house from the foyer, you can see the stair/catwalk and over into the family room...I am happy with how that turned out. Our kitchen/morning room is adjacent to family room too, and we painted those one color... Our dining and living rooms are in the front of the house on either side of the foyer and they are each painted their own color So we used 4 colors in the big open space but they are complimentary and they flow well from one area to the other...Truthfully, I am still a little bit on the fence about the kitchen/morning room color. Great color although I NEVER would have chosen it myself, works very very well with the finishes in the kitchen, LOVE it in the kitchen itself, but not sure about it in the morning room....maybe too dark, not sure. But its paint and I can change it down the line if I want to. The biggest thing I learned is that really there are no hard and fast rules. Yes, there are things to consider, lots of things. But if YOU like the color then go for it.

I would probably stick with one color for both rooms, if it were me. I instantly thought of BM Grey Owl for what you are describing. It is slightly blue-green while still being a warmish grey. I love it, but it was too blue to pair with my pinkish carpet in my house (didn't want a pastel color combo going on!) I also like SW Passive, but it is a little cooler. If you do the blue kitchen, I would caution against a warm grey with too much pink in it (the baby room effect). I'm definitely no expert, but I just bought my first home too and have spent MONTHS researching grey paint! I ended up selecting SW Useful Grey. It is a greenish grey, which I never thought I'd pick. I guess I'd just suggest taking your time and keeping an open mind when looking at colors :) And definitely buy samples to test in your home...

My small master bath is painted Philadelphia Cream and I've hated it forever. A small sample on the wall looked so creamy and innocuous but four tall walls (9-ft. and vaulted beyond) in a small room make it nearly pulsate. I've been meaning to repaint for ages.