You led me to believe there was a crisis but there is none. When you said that the kitchen was dark, I thought you were using a very dark grey. This is not dark grey. As long as the room is light and pleasant and functional in different light situations, there's no problem. Light can be introduced in different ways, including sconces and countertop lamps and more wattage in lighbulbs. If you find the paint needs to be lightened to an even lighter grey, you can always do that with some more paint. You have no urgent need to do any changes for a while. An inspiration picture is for inspiration, not for dictatorship. Go in peace.

Thanks for the very nice compliments on our home. The majority of those photo's were mid-decorating & 3/4's of the colors I've painted or sampled aren't even posted as it was pre-digital camera days for me. Someday soon I will have photo's of the completed rms. The 1st pic is the only wall color (BM Baby Turtle) that has remained out of all of those pics). I must admit that I am toying w/ going back to the black DR though. Maybe some of us should co-author a book called 'Confessions Of A Serial Painter'. I painted waaaayyyyy to much. I have nearly nearly 3 6' shelves in the basement full of cast off gallons, test qts. & sample cans & you know what I came down to? Richly saturated neutrals (EB Alabaster) & earth colors (BM Baby Turtle) w/ the dark wood & clearer versions of the same colors upstairs w/ white trim. That's just what I gravitated towards - dark wood can also pull off bold colors & look smashing, HOWEVER, I think the big mistake when picking the bold colors is the following: Quite often dark wood is found in older homes & many bright colors are new colors & weren't manufactured when our old homes were built. There is a certain level of 'fakeness' to many of those bright colors. There is a difference between bold & bright. If you look at the more historical palettes there is a livability around the edges. If you look at colors from Farrow & Ball who have been manufacturing paint the same way for 100yrs or so, you could conceivably close your eyes, point to a color & in general it would look good. Personally I think bright works better w/ white or off-white trim. I think brown looks wonderful w/ dark trim - I would just stay in the mid-tone range so that your woodwork doesn't get lost in a sea of brown. The 2 worst browns I tried in our home were RH Flax (got some funky clashing undertones going on when combined w/ my trim) & BM Classic Caramel - had too many reddish/clay like undertones but looks great at night when the yellow from the incandescent lights showers the room & counteracts the undertones.

LOL, ZAMSX is right. That goes for everybody living in the house. It is a pain to live staged. I used to spray the closets with Fabreeze "Linen & Sky", pour Pine Sol down the bathroom drains, and mop all the way out the door for every showing. Yup, certifiable. LMAO today. When we were selling a staged house my DH kept asking: When am I going to have my stuff back?!!! I'd say: Soon Dear. As soon as we sell. Soon. LOL Silicon Valley. Wow. I'm in NE. Two different worlds. How's your market? MB- Euro shams would be nice, and 2 regular, with the purple one popping the finished look. -Do you have a couple of white or light slipcovered Parson's chairs for the FP area? Borrow them. Any small chair slipcovered for warmth(Target has slipcovers) will work. Kitchen- Stand the 3 paintings (12x14 or so)leaning against the backsplash wall, vertically , but not completely straight. If you have lights shining on them from lights under the cabs would be nice. The reason I mentioned BM Silkien Pine in the kitchen is because its considered a neutral green. Some buyers are sensitive to green, some are sensitive to blue. You can't win. A couple of light rooms with pale grey/blue, or pale grey/green are fine. The rest should be in the off-white/ cream/beige family. You shouldn't have a problem finding paint to go with Ivoire. Any BM Neutral Whites will work. BTW- I read where you're considering making one of your sons' bedrooms into an office. Don't do it. Leave it as a bedroom. One den downstairs is enough.

Laurie, I don't know if you have an Ethan Allen store in your area, but there 3 not far from me, and they use Benjamin Moore paint. I sometimes go just to check out the paint colors. I have seen Lenox Tan, Decatur Buff, and Wheeling Neutral, among others. I really liked the Lenox Tan and Decatur Buff and am considering using one of them for an office. They are similar in value, but the Decatur Buff was a little bit warmer with more gold undertones. Sometimes it is hard to see the difference on a paint chip but you can really tell up on the wall. Eathan Allen stores have lots of flood lights which probably affect how the color looks, but you can get an idea what they look like if they have any of those colors in a store near you.