If you like the look of the natural wood, go for it. I don't think it will look silly with the medium brown maple cabinets, the differences in stain/no stain will look great together.

I did see the little bend in the wall, and at first was wondering if the desk could straddle that bend, across the angle (tho I know it is wider). But because of the trim going up the stair, I think it would look odd, so I abandoned that idea. I think it would be better to move the desk back to the right, and put the wastebasket flat against that angled wall. The wastebasket is wider than it appeared, and I think it leaves too much of a gap of empty wall if it sits on the right side. Good thing you didn't hang the pix in their final spot, eh? LOL Anyway, I think the pix are fine, tho I would like to see a grouping of three of them, not just the two, and hung much closer together. I might try the lamp on the right side of the desk, to move it away from that dip in the trim right there and let it fill some of the taller open wall space. Then hang all the framed pieces in a grouping to the left of the lamp (and cover the hole). I like the desk open -- I think it really makes the piece more interesting and welcoming there. I would try to angle the chair just a bit more, toward the desk, and try putting a decorative pillow on it just to see how a cushion would add some color and softness there. As for accessories, you could add a leather blotter if you like, for more color, maybe a pretty bowl to hold keys or mail or pot pourri. I would like to see a smaller plant on there, I think the spathiphyllum feels kind of large, or at least the pot does. Something in a brass planter would be nice, or a black oriental-feeling patterned low pot. I like the runner - is that for the hallway past the desk area, or where? My only thought about the dark runner down that hall is that the hall already feels as if it is in shadow, and I wonder if you would do better to have something with a bit lighter background.

Poplar is a common wood used in secondary areas (legs, sides, rails, etc.) and finished to match other woods. There is a quote that I remember that went something like "you can make a wood nearly any color, but you can't necessarily get it to look like another wood." Bob Flexner put it this way: "You need to take two universal characteristics of the wood into account when choosing a stain. The first is the color of the wood. Clearly, the same stain applied to pale maple and pink cherry, for example, or to yellow birch and brown walnut, isn't going to result in the same color. The second is the figure and grain of the wood. There are four large categories of woods: * Softwoods such as pine and fir; * tight-grained hardwoods such as maple, birch and cherry; * medium-grained hardwoods such as walnut and mahogany; * coarse-grained hardwoods such as oak, elm, and ash. Within each of these categories, you can fairly successfully match any two woods using some combination of bleach and stain. But trying to match woods of two different categories will never be entirely successful because of the differences in figure and grain. Besides the differences in wood species, stains acts differently on solid wood and veneer. Usually the solid wood stains darker; sometimes the veneer does." -- Understanding Wood Finishes (2d ed.), p 42. When I'm trying to match colors, I generally use a combination of pre-stains (spray), stains (wipe), and glazes or toners during the finishing process. Most often these are different colors. The finish, along with the wood and colorants, is also going to affect the resulting color. That said, I find most consumers and many designers can't tell what wood a given piece is made from. For example, this morning a lady thought her cedar paneling was cherry (!?) It doesn't help that offshore manufacturers has marketing names like Malaysian Oak and Brazilian Cherry that grew thousands of miles from the nearest acorn or cherry. TIP: If you do mix stains, keep an accurate measure of the mixture so you can replicate it in the future, or if you run short.

in the main room you have partial white windows. I'd paint them all white so that it matches. even the door casing. you can leave the wood doors. as for the baseboards, up to you. your wood ones don't look too bad. It's just a whole lot of wood, especially if you're bringing in arts/crafts type of oak furniture. the floor is oak but the baseboards and trim look like something else. I'd prob do that living room/kitchen trim/baseboards in Alabaster. wait for the other rooms until you get everything in and see how it looks you have to admit, it looks much fresher.