I agree with Alex's definition of an accent wall. I have one in my LR which frames my fireplace and is a focal point for the room. Another rule of thumb is that it is a single wall in a room and not multiple walls. However, the way you are describing just bumping up the intensity of the existing wall color I agree is not really an accent wall. With that in mind, my vote would be for A (but excluding the DR walls). What you have described reminds me a lot of my local Pottery Barn store and it is a very good look and does indeed add visual interest to a large and open floorplan without drawing overmuch attention to itself as would be the case with a true accent wall. You should also take into account the amount of light that your various walls are subject too--since that also has an impact on how the wall colors are perceived. In general the stronger the sunlight a room received, the more washed out a color will appear.

To answer questions, yes we gutted and opened up this home. We want our family room just inside the front door as it functions well for watching children playing outside. (Rather than a formal living room, but we want to create a NICE space) The dining room has the fireplace and is open to the kitchen, which has an amazing 10’ island with a bar height side with 4 seats and then a counter height end for food prep. We’re loving the kitchen tho still waiting on light fixtures and backsplash. The flow is working well for us but the furniture placement and how to highlight the fireplace and it’s area is the challenge! Thank you BTW we DO have another room that would serve as the formal dining room but we don’t have that need at this time and are using it as a lovely home/mom office and playroom, so toys stay in there and not all over the house.

Just wanted to follow up to thank everyone for your input and to show you the accent wall I decided to do in SW Naval. Im going to be replacing the blinds with white faux wood ones and am pretty sure Im going to look for a counter depth refrigerator. Im also looking into having the cabinets painted white sincethey are dingy. A silly question maybe, however, I would like input....Should i keep the smaller stainless steel microwave or get one closer in size to my old white one shown in the pics (just look at sizes of each micro and ignore color). Something tells me the sizing/proportion is off with the small stainless one and Im thinking i might exchange it for a bigger one.

here’s an update for everyone who helped, and even those who didn’t!! lamp for the corner is on order, gallery wall will be hung as soon as the last frame comes in, and im taking on the task of making wooden legs for a piece of marble ive got laying around for a coffee table.