When we moved into our house it was almost all white because the elderly p.o.s probably paid someone to whitewash it to sell. They painted over bad sheetrock and wallpaper. It looked ok at first glance, but one of the best parts of doing the reno was to finally have some color. If a house is white for a scheme, it comes off better than if it is white because it is easier to paint the walls and trim the same color. You can tell the difference. I think if you want a light neutral and don't want the creams and beiges that have been very popular, I'd try a pale yellow. It looks great with wood floors and antiques and mixes well with a full range of decors. We painted an apartment in our first house and even though we had male tenants over the years, they all commented on loving it. It works best if the trim is a pure white to have some contrast. It gives you color without hitting anyone over the head if you go very light toned. I have used it when recommending to builders and flippers what to paint for the main rooms because it is cheery and subtle. Blues come in and out of fashion and beige and cafe au lait have been big for a while, so will be on the way out soon. Greens can be hard to coordinate if you want flexibility (although I love a nice green). Pink and peach take real commitment, and a thick skin if used outside of a child's room, and a pale lavender is also one that can limit the materials used with it (no maroon or reds work well with it, IMHO). White can actually be harder to match because of the many tones to white. When I used a pale yellow in my house, I made sure that nothing of any significance in the room was yellow, so there'd be no clashing. It worked as a back drop for the stronger colors of the antique furniture or white wts. It is the prettiest color to put alongside oak floors, to me.

Chris, I posted a similar question a while ago, and mine posed the situation of having different stained wood tones in rooms that are open to one another. Specifically, we have an Ethan Allen farmhouse table (maple - medium stain). We were looking to get an entertainment unit for a room adjacent to the dining area. We wondered if we had to go with Ethan Allen so the wood tones would match. Everyone here said it actually looks better to have a more collected look than the matchy-matchy thing going on. We ended up getting an antiqued entertainment unit from Hooker Furniture, and we are so happy with it. It looks better than trying to match all of the wood tones exactly. It blends, but it's not the exact same product as the dining table wood. Anyway, with that said, we have creamy kitchen cabinets, glazed brown. Our island is black. The dining table is a medium brown stain, and the dining chairs are painted black. Our mantle in the adjoining room is stained, as is the entertainment center. All of our woodwork is painted a creamy color. We have maple hardwood flooring in the kitchen, dining, and foyer areas. It is second grade (which shows variations) and is finished naturally. It all looks great together. I bet your EA coffee table will be charming with your other things. It's hard to visualize everything coming together, I know, but everyone here was correct in steering me away from trying to match things up too much. The room will end up looking too planned/contrived. It adds a lot of interest to have different finishes. If you are using the off-white color in other places besides the coffee table, I think it will look fine. Jan

Thanks everyone for your feedback and great suggestions! I need to keep in mind what will look good for a while. At this point, the house exterior needs to be painted and I will likely pick a new color scheme. I'm not sure about that yet. Sounds like I can't go wrong at this point with repainting the patio furniture black/satin black or another dark color. Yes, there will be cushions. FYI, when you enter the family room you look directly onto the patio (through 8' sliding doors), so I am trying to take that into consideration, too. I will go check out the Rust-oleum colors. Thanks again for all your help.

Ok, a little embarassed that I'm back on this, but yes, I'm baaaack:).... I've dragged this out as much as I can and finally made the trek today to see the furniture guy... I explained that I was stuck. My hardwood floors throwing me off as don't have the room for a rug underneath. ( I don't have the width space wise) I indicated their stain offerings were all too dark and wasn't convinced I wanted to paint it. Then inquired about taking it unfinished so I could have it refinished elsewhere. Great news is he said no worries...just bring in a sample of whatever stain I want and they'll match it. Yay!!! Now, I have still have to decide within next 2 days. They really need to fret this done beginning on Monday. I ran into a decorator at another store and she overheard conversation and said go with driftwood finish. Well, here are the light and dark versions of driftwood against my flooring and I think they're tool cool against the floods. ( but I do love the light grey if I had the right elements for it) A few more shade options: 1) a warmer version of driftwood 2) Reddish brown 3) This ones reclaimed wood, but perhaps could get a lighter similar shade. Great for coastal look 4) Lastly, closer to floor colour, but perhaps too close/ still too dark Keep in mind the new chairs are painted BM White Dove with light coloured linen upholstery. Any other recommendations now that I can go with any stain shade or BM paint? Opinions? ( apart from telling me to go away ) Many, many thanks again!!