Sas, Kellie, and Jill--Thanks for the compliments. I think it is a shock to see it all done, especially after looking at mostly car decking for months and months on end. Floor install and staining happened very fast. I guess I was wrong about the finishing process. The pics I posted above were taken this morning with the first, and as it turns out only, coat of stain. I somehow thought from my paperwork and conversations with flooring co rep that there were 3 coats of stain. Nope, just one. There are 3 coats of poly. The first coat went on this morning directly after those pics. The second coat went on this afternoon. The third and final coat is applied after everything else in the reno is done--cabs, appliances, trim, painting, carpet in adjoining hallway. Marcolo--The poly is water-based satin. I took this pic of the second coat of poly going down. And here's the mudroom looking more yellow than it is: Bottom line is that the floor looks better with the poly and now that I've seen it a few times. I'm sure it'll be nice once the kitchen and furnishings are in. I'm leaving my slight concern behind and moving forward. Thanks again.

I think you are right. I painted the wall on the right in a warmer color and it looks better with the floor and what I think is carpet. I made the kitchen white. You could buy bar stools in the accent color you choose.I will leave it to the pros to suggest colors by name.

Consider a cream or a green with gray undertone or gray with green undertone. Cool grays with warm woods are often a miss, but green grays, which are usually warmish, seem to help bridge the cool / warm divide. A warm wood kitchen combined with lots of white can also be a calm place. These cabinets are not alder - but it is calm and would be calmer if the grout was a lighter gray or even white: You don't show the sink wall, but with all that storage along the fridge wall, you might remove some sink wall cabinets and leave more open area. Put up some calm and pretty artwork instead. This kitchen is also not alder, but the increased window and decreased cabinets make for a calm and pretty space: You don't need to tile the walls - just a pretty painted wall with some pretty calm art would work. Before you paint the cabinets, look at the possibility of calming other surfaces, especially the backsplash if it is at all busy. This is one green gray which might work. I might do a slightly lighter shade.

Post a much better picture showing the whole space .