Thanks! The competition so far: We've painted samples of Valspar Redstone Dining Room Gold, Benjamin Moore Marblehead Gold, Valspar Harpswell Green and Valspar Hubbell House Golden Maize on the same area. The Harpswell Green was an early favorite based on scores of swatches, the Redstone Dining Room Gold looked EXACTLY right when wet in the sample jar, and the Marblehead Gold had tested well in isolation, though it was curiously neon-bright. The Golden Maize, which we had thought too yellow but threw in as an outlier, is emerging as a favorite, with Marblehead Gold a close second. Not sure whether we really didn't want as much green as we thought we did, or whether the side-by-side effect makes the green look much greener than it would in isolation. There is a lot of sage green in the oriental rug and the sofa, and so we want the walls to be complimentary but not too redundant with that green. Samples of the Ellen Kennon colors are on the way ...

Wow. Go away for the weekend and loads of messages waiting upon my return. Thanks for your advice everyone. I'm really an authentic art person and have just ordered a print from esty and have several others hiding in my closet I can have framed. I just really liked the size of the boards and when I put the new cabinet in the kitchen I had to move them somewhere. We do actually use them. The kids will often write occasion appropriate messages (happy birthday daddy!) or we used it to count down the days to our last vacation. In the kitchen I did our weekly menu plan on it so everyone knew what was coming (whether they liked it or not). I'm including a more recent shot at a different angle so that the glare isn't so awful and you can see it with the slipcovered couch (okay, I'm still hoping SOMEONE will like them - just one little voice).

Thanks all! I love them too, DH is even liking them! Such a nice feeling when you finish one project and can move on to another. Cause they are never ending, right! Laura

A lovely generous space. Decide the rug FIRST. Also decide if you want the built ins painted in a wall color picked from the rug. Why??? You want any pain on those to look good alongside the stone In other words, in a best case scenario? Paint is LAST in a selection process. Given the fact it has a billion shades in as many colors. .......including a customized mix. Personally? I Think the ceiling/trim color might be great on the walls, Play up the floor, and the beams. paint out the built ins.....whites are a "color" too.: ) Painting the built in will brighten the space in a single heartbeat.