Hailey, are you talking about just the kitchen, or bathrooms as well or more? Also, a floorplan of your house to see how the various rooms are connected would be helpful.

Also, do you and your husband have a vision of what you want your house to look like? Do you have any inspiration pictures? All of these would be helpful, for you and for anyone helping you.

I guess I'm just asking in general, what decisions should we make first? My profile is full of inspiration pictures and I think we have a pretty clear vision of what we want. I don't think I need help with specific material suggestions at this point, but rather what should I finalize first to make it easier in the long run. We have never built a house before, so we are trusting our builder to tell us when to make these decisions but it seems like coordinating paint color after making decisions on floor color, countertops and cabinets is a pain for a lot of people. Just wondering if it would be easier to pick the wall color first. Does that make sense?

No, the reason people have trouble with paint colors is because there are SO many. Do as millworkman said and pick flooring, cabinets, tile, then paint. If your vision calls for light walls, then make your choices with that in mind, but pick the specific color after the rest is in. Remember that the light in your rooms will affect how your choices look.

Another reason people have trouble with paint colors is that, because of inexperience or concern about resale, people tend to default to neutrals. And whether they choose all whites, or all beiges, or all grays, 1) all whites (and all beiges, and all grays) don't play well together, and also 2) people then find that their house looks blah (as evidence, just check the majority of threads at the Home Decorating forum).

It also helps immeasurably to consider your house as a whole, and this goes double if your kitchen is open in any way to another room. You cannot consider one room in a vacuum.

Always start picking finishes with the item which has the least available choices. Finish with the finish(es) which have the greatest range of choices.

That means pick the paint last. I'd start with the granite.

Good luck on your project.

You can't pick paint until your house is built, and you can sample large swatches in your house in all different light conditions. What looks good on the tiny paint swatch or on a computer/phone pic may not look good in your home.

Pick things in the order your builder asks... windows, exterior doors, and roof will probably be your first big choices. Keep in mind what your exterior will be, though.

Interior paint is one of the last things to consider. We are six months into our build and were just asked to pick paint last week. We've already selected cabinets/cabinet color, countertops, tile, etc.

IMO, the bones of the house and making good choices for those items are more important that decorative finishes.

Wouldn't you want to pick your granite/countertop first? For example, maybe green will clash too much with pink undertones, etc. So you wouldn't want pinkish granite with green walls. Light color granite with darker walls look good, as does a darker floor. If white is your main color for cabinets/trim, grey walls would look very good. Either black granite or silverish granite would work. But not white granite.

Does that make sense? Some colors will work well with your granite, others won't. Find in your inspiration picks as close to what you want for walls and cabinets, then see what granite color works. Or start from granite and work out from there.

I’d agree with others that floors or counter stone comes first. As to which, I think part of it is what’s more important to you. If you have a very specific image of the counters you want, do that first; the floors, them first. Personally I’d put floors first because they imapact a lot more rooms than the counters and I’d want to get them just right (and we know from experience we’re very particular about hardwood).

Natural and multi-colored materials such as granite, wood trim, wood cabinets, stone veneer etc. should come first since these are the hardest to work with or change later. The colors within the natural materials can be used for paint inspiration for blending or contrast.

IMO paint should be selected by painting large samples in various places in the nearly built house. We sampled at least a dozen paints for our house. Our first choice on a paint chip was the one that looked the worst in the space.

You may know the look that you want, but getting that look can be difficult when there are thousands of choices available. Perhaps you might work with a designer to be sure that you do actually get the house that you hope to get.

Thanks so much for all of your helpful responses! Makes total sense now to pick the big things first and paint last. I think we’ll start with the floors because I want the same flooring through the main level, excluding bathroom and mud room. Then I can make sure the counters and cabinets work with the floors. Thanks again for all your help!

Article with 1 bit about different looks for DR for example: if you want one bold room, decide that early. Other rooms then can be the same paint.... etc

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pick-a-paint-help-how-to-create-a-whole-house-color-palette-stsetivw-vs~13038406[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pick-a-paint-help-how-to-create-a-whole-house-color-palette-stsetivw-vs~13038406)

Your home is a sizable investment. You will be well served to hire an experienced interior designer to assist you with selections and to keep things on track.

Best wishes for a great project!

I started with my granite and every other choice for my house fell into place because of it. This is the second time I did it that way and both times I was able to pull out all my colors from my granite. Here's my granite for my new house.

Floors are floors - they should be pretty basic. Most people start with their countertops. You seem to be struggling with this entire concept - you need a designer before you make some very costly decisions.