Leave the kitchen. Add a big, dark charcoal entrance rug. Once you move in you will no longer see the floors enough to bother you.

I agree with SJ.

We’ve actually been living here almost a year now. Pictures are just old.

it looks fine.

Start with a big rug (same colour as the hardwood) in the entrance way and then live with it for a few more months.

Already got a rug there. But thanks :)

Can you load photos of what you are living with right now? Is the rug so large that it covers the ENTIRE entrance tile? That's what I was getting it. Us a massive rug to hide 90% of the tile.

Photos of today's look rather than an empty house will tell us what you are working with.

If I were to change something, it would be the gray laminate. The tile looks very nice with your kitchen.

It’s not in our budget to replace all our laminate flooring. And no the rug we have does not cover 90% of the tile because then it would cover our heat vents as well. Plus that’s only in the foyer. The tile still runs through the kitchen and laundry room as well. I guess my question should be rephrased as, would a darker tile look better than the current light tile, but it seems as if I’m the only one bothered by the contrast.

Current status :) you can see the laundry room as well in these pictures- the tile in the laundry does not match that which is throughout rest of house

Removing the tile and installing new will probably cost more than replacing all of your laminate. Is the tile running under the cabinets/island?

What size is the entryway rug? a slightly longer rug that covers the transition between the tile and laminate would help your issue/concern/dislike

I would replace the tile in the laundry area to something very much like or identical to the kitchen and hallway tile. The rest I would honestly leave alone. I don't think darker tile would make a difference. It will still not read as all one flooring throughout. what would however , IMO, make a big difference is tying it all together with your accessories, to make it all look as if it was planned this way deliberately

For example a lighter rug on the laminate flooring in the living area, to coordinate with your kitchen, and some dark bar stools up to the eating bar backing up to the laminate in the living room. And a darker rug than you have, closer to the laminate floor colour, for the front entrance.

I agree with @flygirl519 - I think the darker tile won't make too much difference unless it's close enough to the laminate to look compatible but not so close that it looks like it's failing to look identical. (And I'm not sure there is actually a tile choice in that narrow color range!) But if you can make it look like a coordinated choice, that's your best bet.

I know you said "it seems as if I’m the only one bothered by the contrast," but I agree with you. It's not bad looking, but it does look a little surprising and noticeable to me. But if you brought some light stuff onto the dark and some dark stuff onto the light, then the eye wouldn't be drawn to the current contrast. It would just be another detail of your color scheme and nobody would think twice about it.

PS - It's a shame that laminate is discontinued! It's beautiful!

Thank you Sarah and Flygirl! Those are helpful tips. Do you think painting our center island a medium gray would help make a more cohesive scheme? Our cabinets will be painted this summer (can’t tell in pictures but they are a yellow white and do not match our trim) and we were thinking of painting them white but now I’m leaning more towards gray.

@Deanna Betts I'm not the one to ask about different-colored islands, because personally I always find it visually jarring to have islands be a different color (unless that exact color is prevalent elsewhere in the room). I don't know where this trend came from, but everybody seems to like it but me. :) So take my comments with a grain of salt!

That said, if your cabinets and island were both gray... maybe? I don't know, though: you've already got three different colors in there: dark laminate, light tile, and kitchen walls. White cabinets wouldn't feel like a fourth color to me because it matches the trim, but adding a medium gray introduces a fourth major color and might look too complex (for my tastes, at least). On the other hand, if you pick the right gray, it might look pick up the color from your stainless appliances and fit right in.

Here, I mocked it up for you. Including your image here too so you can see them side by side. Having looked at it, I don't think the gray is as much of an issue as I'd imagined, but I don't think it affects your flooring dilemma one way or another.

Thank you Sarah- that is incredibly helpful. I agree with your points. Do you mind me asking what program you used to do that mock-up?

I used Adobe Illustrator, which is really the wrong tool for the job, but it has the advantage of being a tool that I have a lot of experience with. :) Basically I create polygons over the cabinets, pick the color I want (in this case, black), then make the polygons partially transparent so that the shadows and detail show through and the black looks like medium gray. If I want to make something lighter, I set the blending mode to "lighten" and then use a light color instead of black.

As part of this being the wrong tool, this method doesn't work as well for getting precise colors if the underlying color isn't white, but it helps a lot for making things lighter or darker. I believe the right tool is to use Adobe Photoshop, though that has a price tag and can have a steep learning curve for beginners. At last check, Affinity Photo is a much cheaper Photoshop alternative (single purchase vs. monthly fee), but you'll still have to invest some time in learning how to use it. I use Affinity Photo when I need those tools, and I can vouch for it being pretty good, though I'm really a beginner with that kind of thing.

Its a little difficult to figure out colours on a screen but it looks to me that your floor has more beigey tones than gray. Personally I would not paint my cabinets gray. But if I did I would make sure to have the right undertones to go with my floor and countertop.

I think the right shade of white would look beautiful.

If I wanted to get a real feel for what looked good to my eye, I would pick up a couple of cabinet doors at a place like habitat for humanity, and white and gray paint that I was considering for my cabinets. Then paint the doors and lean them in place to try and get the overall feel for how the colours worked with my floor and counter. Or if you are working with a kitchen person or a painter they could get this for you I would think.

and I know you didn't ask but here goes. I would put up some nice thick open shelving for the window wall in shades that coordinated with my laminate floor.

and I think your place looks great.

Thank guys. And yeah i way prefer the white after seeing the gray. And we are already planning on putting up open shelving- so your opinion was on the money ;)