thanks, blondelle, for the input! The issue with the vanity color is that all three baths, kitchen, and living room are completely done with these same cabinets and same color. I agree with you that a dark vanity and travertine-style floor would really update the bath, but then would the bath still have continuity with the rest of the house (dated as it may be)? Likely the correct answer is "update the rest of the house" LOL so maybe I need to wrap my head around refinishing at least *some* of the cabinets. also, we have tile throughout the rest of the house and DH is really wanting a more comfortable surface. But I really don't want to redo this bath ever again so I'll see about finding some really thin tile to show DH. msgreatdeals, it seems that alot of people have a dark vanity with a light countertop or vice versa, with the floor matching either depending on the mood you're trying to evoke. And if you already have one bath with a white vanity and the same floor, the dark vanity could be used to differentiate the two baths. cheers

What a lovely home! Your blue and camel should look wonderful there. The view lining up three rooms reminded me of a similar example in a book about handling color, the point of that page being that people are drawn to the lightest space. The three colors in this particular case were all slightly different but from one analogous stretch on the color wheel for harmony, and they chose to have the foyer darkest, the middle (main) room the lightest, and the far room (dining? library?) slightly darker. It was a gorgeous example of fine design and of using light both to draw people to important rooms and using darker values to enhance transitions.

I don't like any of your green choices with your cabinets, never mind your counter. Green accentuates the orangey tone of the wood. I am NOT saying there's anything wrong with your cabinets, I think they're quite nice, it's just that I wouldn't advise green with that color stain. I really don't like the blue you currently have, either. I also think the major problem is lack of cohesiveness -- you have cabinets with a strongly warm tone, a cool-toned grey counter, and color on the walls that doesn't relate to anything else creates a visual jumble. I know you don't want blah, but sometimes adding color isn't the answer to the problem. Find a neutral with an undertone that coordinates with a fixed element in the room, either the counter or the wood tones. A soft off-white that is able to marry the counters with the cabinets is probably your best bet here. But is not going to be easy to find -- if you're up for it, money well spent would be changing the counters to a warm tone (or even a creamy white) to better coordinate with the wood.

You don't need to paint directly on the walls. Create a sample using poster board or watercolor paper. Paint two coats and let it dry. Then take that sample and hold it up to the cabinets and hold it up next to the sample flooring. Have you ever gone shopping and purchased a pair of pants or a shirt that you know will be the perfect piece to go with something you already own only to come home and find that the two pieces clash, one looks dingy or way too something. This is what you are risking by not following the advice to look at these colors next to the colors that you already picked. You can paint every wall in your house and until you see the color next to the flooring you will not know if these two will work together or clash. You can see the color in 20 other people's homes and not know if it will work with the finishes you chose for your home. So often I wish people would have asked what color to paint before they went ahead and painted and we had to tell them that the color doesn't work with their flooring, but here we are, your asking before painting, but won't listen to how it needs to be done. I guess you should pick the one you like best and we will all keep our fingers crossed that when you get the walls painted and the flooring installed and cabinets installed that everything works together.