I did almost the same thing. I actually put samples of my tile in a flat bed scanner and made images of them. then I drew my cabinets in Autocad and inported the pictures of the tile. I actually built my tile backsplash in autocad with actual photos of the tiles. It worked great!

Denita, thanks for the article. Beth H, I am glad you were able to find it. On my computer the rye color actually looks tan (and the pearl looks gray!) That is why I need some outside input. I do like the details on the example houses -- but this was an insurance job, after a tree fell on the house, and unplanned and therefore I had no money for adding details unfortunately (the contractor & I did talk about possibilities). I had to replace the roof, siding, shutters, porch columns and slab. I did have him add wider trim around the porch and garage, and the windows. I could paint the inner windows a dark color -- they are vinyl but should hold a good paint. I am attaching a picture of the house as it looked after the tree damage, with the old shutters in place. The shutters were original to the house -- do you all think it looks better without? (to me it still looks rather naked without them, and without the tree!) I am still hoping that someone will come along who can photoshop in the different possibilities. I would especially like to see Kathy's suggestion. I do appreciate all of your input!

All of the rooms in my house have the darker flooring. The hallway has a ceramic tile and butts up to the kitchen/family room entrance. That is why I don’t like the existing flooring. I just think that the main floor is too choppy with three different floors. But, I do actually like the monochromatic look. Here is a picture of the hallway from the vantage point of the kitchen. (I considered bringing the tile into the kitchen family room but the tile is no longer available.)

curious you dont want to make a 32 in wide cut from living room into kitchen??? reversal of sink with dishwasher still leaves good counter left of sink and cut a 32 in passage down at the end. once you remove the upper cabs it seems the kitchen is part of the bigger area in a sense so leaving it blocked off ??? I'd think about this. You are adding two vertical stacks on fridge wall so storage is a net gain.... microwave placed higher would allow counter to continue there making up for the "cut" What is the route from living room into kitchen in your plan??? I think the side of pantry is combustable...it cant be next to stove . check this. you may need to adjust that side of the kitchen. anyway. try this: fridge / then 12 in counter../ ..then stove/ then counter w microwave drawer/ then at end the tall pantry for 15-18 inches. compact kitchen shown still providing spacing of cooking surface.