I think you can't go wrong - should you go with wood counters - with having it be light to match the floors or medium to match the cupboards or darker to give some contrast. You'd have to show us pictures to give our opinions of darker or lighter I think but I don't think you can go wrong. I personally like the look of subtly contrasting layers (making up that term - I don't really know much about design but this feels like the right word). In other words for example let's say medium floor, light-ish lower cabinets, darker countertop, contrasting backsplash (that also pairs well) and then lighter upper cabinets again (with pops throughout such as something even as simple as a white sink on a black counter). So in your case if you have light floors which run up against medium cabinets, and then more matching cabinets above, I would probably be inclined to do something on the counter other than wood, or else put a LOT of thought into that backsplash. I happen to ADORE wood countertops, but then that's also cause I have white painted antique cabinets (I have old fir flooring). I would have gone w/ wood had I found a hard and water-friendly enough wood (cause of the sink) that also happened to be not too light (light wood counters weren't found in the old houses around here) and one that wasn't too full of contrasting stripes. It just got too complicated and I ended up loving that zinc look (zinc was found in lots of houses as old as mine, 1913, but in their pantries) so I went w/ stainless. Stainless isn't as nice as zinc but it's cheaper, more durable and makes a similar statement if done with a farm sink, old cupboards and lots of wood around for warmth e.g. in the floors or island top. I also may not have done stainless had I not planned on doing it with honed white marble subway tile which is a dream combination - along with all that wood I mentioned. But marble wouldn't go in the farm house I'm guessing and if it's truly a very old farm house I'm not sure stainless would work - it might not be rustic enough. It's surprisingly NOT modern looking though, if it's surrounded by other old-fashioned looking things including appropriate lighting. It's just soft and watery and clear/reflective in a way and handles scratches really well (they all blend in and seem to buff out with every cleaning/drying) and it lends a lot of light to an otherwise dark room such as mine. I'd love to see pics!

Samsung is at the top of our list. Their 4 door, Frenchdoor fridge is a winner with the wife. Our short term issue is the height. It is taller than any other fridge of similar size that we have looked at. I would need to trim several inches off the cabinet box. Or just wait till we remodel. Probably next year. I was going to go with Counter Depth and suck up having to pay a premium. However after looking at the measurements I see that the Samsung is a bit shallower than some of the other offerings. If I remove the drywall behind the fridge I can fit a full size fridge. The fridge maybe pushed back against the stud. But that is just a small bit of the back for the fridge. There will be plenty of room for airflow. One of the things I do not like about the Samsung we are looking at is that the fridge drawers do not have humidity control. I know some people have real issues with the Samsung and will not consider one based on the comments made online. However every fridge we have looked at has a similar series of complaints. My feeling is you either roll the dice with something that is on the market today. Or you wait and hope the next models released are better. I am not sure there is a safe choice these days. Well maybe a SubZero and the like if you are willing to spend the money. I loved and miss our SZ. Unfortunately there is not room for one in the condo.

I’m not sure about trends per se, but I’ve always painted north facing rooms, darker by default, in deeper shades. You can paint a north facing room bright white and it will look dingy because it’s a north facing room. Just give in to the darkness on that side of your house, and celebrate light in your south facing rooms. In your case that would mean a darker foyer, and lighter LR and DR. Gold is a good color to avoid, almost always. What other colors are in your rug? Become photo handy. Then google your granite and look at images of kitchens that designers have painted, that have your granite. You will learn a lot about the possibilities. What I’ve learned is that green granite and white (or off-white) cabinets means you have two colors in your kitchen. One of them will be your wall color. Almost every image with that pairing has white or green walls. You picked a beautiful, powerful granite. It runs the show.

Ok, then, help us help you. "What are your floors? What backsplash are you going with? Your lighting? Budget? Favorite color? Is that a smoky gray color?" I would add since all new, what are you planing for your floors to be? All others still need to be answered...........