Thanks for the advice! I was actually going to use the Mapei pre-mixed and ready to use flexcolorCQ tub of grout to avoid any color variances. It comes at a price premium, but that seems to be worth it to remove any unexpected surprises. Do you have any experience with that version of the product?

lazygardens, Highway Stripe Orange is how my builder described the color too! He tried to make me feel better by claiming it was growing on him but finally admitted it was pretty bad. Scarlett, we used Ivoire for the ceiling and it's lovely. I took lazygardens' advice and painted some swatches on large white sheets of poster board and checked them at different times of the day. I ultimately decided to go with SW Blonde, which coincidentally is the color my painter has in his own house. He said he'd painted it several times in spec homes and liked it so when he repainted his house, he used it. That made me feel quite a bit better. Anyway, he repainted my walls this weekend and hardly charged me much for the change. It is SO much better. I was worried it might be too neutral, but it still has a golden tone in most light. I don't have fixtures in yet, but as I tend to prefer warmer light bulbs, I imagine the lights will only enhance the golden tones which is what I want. I'm very happy with it. If anyone else is going for that South of France yellowy gold color, I recommend trying it. I almost went with SW Restrained Gold which is one shade darker on the same paint strip, but I'm glad I went with my first instinct. It's perfect. Oh, and for those who asked, the finish was and is eggshell. No problem at all covering the orange color with the new golden color. I'd say there was about four days between paint and repaint.

Really, thank you so much. So many great insights, and the best of all is to clean up the room, and live with it for a bit. My mind was stuck in the 'got to make a decision while the tape/plastic is up' track. It never occurred to me that I could remask--don't ask me why. My only excuse is I'm feeling overwhelmed. I recently moved to Germany, I don't speak the language yet, and the simplest tasks are difficult. The paint store is so foreign. There are about 20 pre-mixed colors (which look universally ugly), tons of white, and little bottles of concentrated color--you get to mix your own colors. I'm sure this is a delight to a real artist, but for those of us who flunked kindergarten art class--it's a challenge. Oh the things I've learned here (wish I would have known the primer trick on the first coat....) NHB room gave me hope that a vibrant yellow can work beautifully. I'll put up some pictures and see how I feel. I'll probably experiment to come up with a soft, universal color to eventually paint the whole house. Another amazing thing is their paint is not washable. It's more like a milk paint that washes off when scrubbed. As the owner of 3 dogs, I do wash walls, so they will be repainted one way or another. In the meantime, I'll investigate the possibility of glaze because I HATE edging so much that I was about to paint everything white. I so liked the fabric choices Les came up with, that I'm going to post my sofa and see if someone can work some magic there. You people are fabulous. I appreciate the help and all the honesty. Walkin-- kak dela? and prost from the Fatherland. I went to a gathering last week and met a number of people from the old Eastern Blok--all old enough to speak Russian and lament that the next generation was going to be divided; in the next breath, cursing the Motherland--gotta love those Slavs. I knew whom it was immediately from your greeting. I've spent the last several years helping take care of my father who had Alzheimer's--what a horrendous disease. I had no energy left to even think about any projects. But, it was all good. I have no regrets, I spent precious time with my family, and my father and I grew very close on a new level. I feel fortunate that I could spend that time with them. I have a feeling, I'll probably be asking for a lot of help. I have acquired a new look: a very contemporary house, I mostly brought things that I wouldn't regret losing, and they are more traditional in style. I guess we could call it modern rummage sale: nothing fits, most of it is a cast-off, and it all needs to be done on a budget. (We had the WORST, most expensive move possible--nightmares upon disaster). So, doesn't that seem like a good challenge for the decorating milieu? I'm glad to see you here and I'd love to see some pictures of what you've done to your place.

UPDATE in renovations! We have painted the walls Sherwin Williams Muslin, which almost exactly matches the cabinets, so If you want to picture it, literally look at our cabinets in first photos, it's the same color. We have picked out a Wilsonart Pebble Piazza Counter top. And we found a way to get some new stainless steel appliances! They are not here yet, but next week. After doing alot of reasearch with colors, Sherwin Williams Alabaster White goes really well with the Muslin on walls and Cabinet color, and ties in the Pebble Piazza Countertop. I can't speak for how it shows on your computer monitors, but it is a perfect neutral to warm cement looking countertop close to the first soapstone I posted only without the loud streaks of color in it. It is not cool undertone gray at all! Sorry the photo is not showing the colors better, I tried. But in the end, all I need to find now is a warm white subway tile that is really close to the Sherwin Williams color Alabaster! When you put an 8x10 sample of alabaster under the muslin, it still reads white but NOT a stark cold blue white. It is and off white yellow undertone white. Does anyone know of a specific subway tile (name/ brand/ color) that looks like the Sherwin Williams Alabaster paint?