Ok, so my DH brought it home and..... I don't like it :( Sometimes things have a way of growing on me but I don't think that this will. And, of course, the cabinet isn't finished yet so it's a bit hard to see it and judge with the cabinet looking the way it does above rather than the rest of the cabinets. My complaints - I think it'll be too dark. It's the darkest thing in the kitchen and it's basically the longest uninterrupted stretch of counter (the area next to it is 112 but that includes the sink) so it seems very visually prominent. I'm not a huge fan of the strips of wood next to the strips of wood in the floor. The finish on it is pretty shiny and somehow it appears very lifeless and flat - DH commented that it looks like laminate! I realize that this could be changed with a different finish on it. The positives - it looks really nice with the dark wainscotting in the dining room. It's not in the dining room of course but the view through is nice. The wood itself is pretty gorgeous. The colors and patterns are SO pretty. I'm thinking now that I need a different wood species. I think I'd prefer something that's more in keeping with the colors in the floor. Anyone have any recommendations? I'm thinking about sapele, mahogany, cherry, teak and maple. I think I'd probably prefer a plank style so that it's not as visually similar to the floor. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated!!

Cindyloo, don't despair. Part of your dilemma springs from being used to patterns on the walls with the plaid paper and checked curtains. Going to plain paint does not necessarily require that you put pattern on the furniture if you haven't found the right one. Neutral fabrics will allow you to change the other layers (paint, drapes, pillows and possibly rug) at whim. My guess is that you seeking a cheerful but somewhat traditional feel by the selection of your paisley and haven't found that in another print yet. You love that fabric! I still think it would be nice as full length drapes on wood rings or as tied romans in your living room. I think you're bringing into focus what you want: light green walls (I find greens tricky and the wrong tone depressing, so much will depend on your natural light. If you decide on green paint, to keep your room airy feeling consider a light sage, not mint or blue green with your sofa fabric. Circuspeanuts' Urban Nature has a yellow undertone and is lovely with your fabric, but I'm unsure it will work as well with your sofa if you don't use the fabric. Auntjen's Soft Fern might be better if you forego the paisley fabric, but if either is too dark, invest in a quart and have it mixed at 50%. If that's too light go to 75%. Or find a swatch of fabric in the tone you envision for the paint and have it color-matched. If you go with solid panel curtains, it may be better to choose that after the paint and rug as you may prefer ivory or a deeper green or another color from the new rug, chair, etc. to white which might read good and crisp or harsh and off-putting. You want dog-friendly choices for chair, table and rug (that's why I suggested a textured fabric, although I have and prefer leather as it's durable and I find easier to maintain with pets). If the paisley is definitely out as your living room curtain, let's use it in another room. Will it work as a duvet in your bedroom? I could also see it as curtains there and used as trim, accent or pillows on a solid duvet. It would also look great on a channel backed wing chair, if the fabric weight is right. Lots of possibilities, but you've got to use it in a room where you can enjoy it daily. I have dogs and good rugs. As long as puppies are restricted until trained and your dogs are in good health, you can invest in a non-disposable rug. If your dogs use the rug as their tablecloth, maybe you'd like an indoor-outdoor rug that can be easily hosed off for cleaning. They too now come in a variety of colors and patterns so can easily become the anchor. Or Overstock has good prices on patterned wool rugs that hide the evidence as Loribee linked. You just have to really read the reviews as some vary in color or pattern scale a bit from the pictures. It may help to get you started on your new project if you just let if flow without a 100% set in concrete vision. Select the paint, install the floor, then pick the rug. Decide about the paisley or plain drapes after the paint and rug are in place. The club chair fabric can follow. Pillows last. Good luck!

You know... that wood looks pretty good. 70s still had half-way decent wood. So, ok I get that the modern palette has moved away from brown as the neutral to grays. However wood stain color choices have evolved the same way - plenty of grays now, from charcoals to silvery bleached out grays. Not to mention the dark ebonies, jet black, grayed out browns etc. Weathered gray is a popular color. What I dont get is the automatic default to WHITE 99.9% of the time on this forum. PLEASE consider sanding/staining this wood instead of encasing it in an opaque plastic film. Having lived with "landlord white" throughout the 80s -90s, white painted trim looks good for about 5 mins before it starts getting dinged and dirty. In a lot of settings, I think dark trim of whatever color just looks classier too. There are various products out there - rather than a full-on stripping job (yuck) you might consider some of the heavier bodied stains that just need a light sanding to give it some "tooth" (removing only clear finish without going deeper and removing the color.) I dont want to write a novel so Ill just leave it at that - the woodworker forum could give you m ore specifics..

thanks so much for the feedback, everyone! Patricia, I totally agree about the tv height but we bought a cool tv mount that will allow the tv to swing down over the mantel by 28" to lower the height for viewing. We tried configuring hte room as you suggested, but because of the massive French doors on the opposite wall that swing into the room, we can't really put the tv on the wall that you suggested. The room -- despite being fairly large (15'x20') - is actually really strange for layout and furniture placement and it just makes the most sense to mount the tv over the mantel. We lowered the height of the new mantel as much as we could to meet fire code and hopefully the new mount will lower the tv height to a reaosnable range. Also, the pic of the "before" that I attached was mostly to show the space of the room. I took that photo the day we closed on the house. Those ghastly Roman shades were gone in a flash! all of the seller 'swindow treatments were terrible! lol I'm going to further investigate the hardwood floors this weekend. If you have a suggestion of a grayed green paint color, I'd love to check it out!