If you have or will have pets as well as kids, definitely buy a steam cleaner == probably $200-300 and well worth it. As one who recently installed wood, I wanted to point out that your options for wood flooring will never be greater than they are in a new build. Now, you builder might want to limit what they do or charge you a lot more for upgrades, but at least in theory, you will never again have as many options for types of installation, price, etc. Later on, you are stuck with the foundation, transitions and other factors. I couldn't put down the kind of solid floor I would have loved -- I was limited to engineered floors. If your foundation is not the same under the carpet, you could have issues if you want to later put hardwood in your family room. My utility room and bathroom tile were set in place, so the flooring has to match or transition to them. Rugs don't have to double your flooring cost -- we have bought 5 cine we put down the wood floors, ranging from $49 for a hall rug to $135 for a room sized wool rug on clearance at Marshall's and about $300 each for a couple of room sized rugs at Macy's. I know some folks use outdoor rugs inside, but they would not be soft for little ones sitting or playing on them. I have heard that some folks use polypropylene rugs and hose them down. I have a couple, they are very soft, but I have not cleaned them yet. The synthetic fibers should be easy to clean though -- and much easier than carpet fixed in place over a pad as pointed out. Anyway, I wish we had installed the wood when we bought the house (some of the wood replaced tile that was not properly patched in our kitchen remodel and some replaced carpet we installed and didn't wear well). If I ever had the opportunity to install wood from the get go, no doubt I would. Keep in mind that your builder and real estate agent will not live there and will not have to deal with making changes later. The only negative that matters in my mind is your DH and I would look at that is something for the two of you to talk about. Listening to other people about what you want can be an expensive mistake. I am sensitive to that right now because I let DH talk me into trim paint I didn't want twice (pick your battles) and we are redoing it all now because of those. More time than money in this case, but still....

When it comes to hardwood, trends are something to ignore! Why? Because hardwood is pretty much a lifetime purchase, and unless yours is damaged in some way, you're probably not going to replace it. So, light wood vs. dark wood, wide planks vs. narrow planks -- that stuff's all going to come and go. With that in mind -- as well as the very real concerns about cleaning dark wood -- I'll vote for a nice, neutral midtone every time. Not too much contrast, not too red, and (unless it's a beach house) not too pale. I think this is the wood that's most likely to give you good service and stand the test of time.

That was a helpful video nhb22 - I think the big question is can this space support light or dark cabinets? If you go light you can do COLOR on the wall. If you do dark cabinets you will want to go LIGHT on the wall (white /no color). If you did seasalt in LR and are happy with it it may need the kitchen area in a light white to balance that / make it all make sense and not be an overload of bluish green colors that are close in tones. I would argue that that dark gray cabinet is NOT a good family member to sea salt walls right near it. Why not stay on the sea salt color flute and go with something like SW Retreat or Pewter Green for the kitchen cabinets? Then you are staying within a family of colors. Origami white on the walls AND the uppers and soffit in the kitchen would compliment the Retreat / Pewter Green color and make the kitchen not too heavy and dark. Check it out.

You may also find it helpful to consider paint colour from a different perspective. Every grey paint is a knocked-back, greyed-out child colour of an identifiable, fully saturated Hue Parent. That information alone gives you useful detail about a colour. Knowing where within that Hue Family a colour sits can also give you an idea if you are potentially dealing with a colour which may hint more peachy or more greenish for example. And thirdly all the colours you mention are near neutrals and therfore far more susceptible to changes in light quality than their more saturated relatives. All have the potential to shift colour in imbalanced lighting. In order to know how each will behave it’s important to test carefully in your space with your light. See the Colorography Lab at The Land of Color for further info on some of these colours key attributes, so that you might be able to filter out some possibilities before sampling.