Consistency is best, but there can be a certain consistency in non-uniformity. Are the stained windows within one room? Are the french doors? One option that you have that also has historical antecedents is a stained door with white trim, windows/ trim, and baseboards, and you could do this throughout the house for a certain amount of consistency. If the windows with the stained trim are all in one room, perhaps that entire room could have stained woodwork. Note that doing stain grade doors throughout the entire house can get relatively pricey. The key is to have a rather consistent plan or hierarchy and following it.

My wife and I were in the same predicament over choosing the color for our pool also. We wanted a blue but didn't want any green shade to the water . We were happy with the "blueness" of Blue Granite but like yourself we didn't care for the rather dull or grayish look in shallow water. We ended up choosing Midnight Blue PS and couldn't be happier. we actually have Sandy Beach in our beach entry for the first 15' of the ramp down, and while we were already paying the upcharge for two diferent colors of pebble application, We had them do our entire spa in Sandy Beach PS as well as we felt the sandy beach pebble looks great in shallow water, at least better than any of the darker pebble choices. We too have the Oklahoma flagstone and I think the Midnight Blue and Oklahoma compliment each other nicely.good luck with your project.

Putting the washer and dryer in that back right corner was an afterthought ... but, yes, it would require plumbing on that side of the house. Putting the upstairs plumbing over downstairs plumbing would still be worthwhile. You might also ask your architect about locating not just plumbing but also duct work and wiring since sometimes a closet over a closet is the best solution for that. If your lot is not too narrow to add a wrap around porch on that right front corner, that might make having the entry door and stairs on the right rather than in the center more appealing to those that might prefer having it centered. Wouldn't really want the front door in the center myself -- makes me think of a "shotgun" house. Having the door in the center, unless you are wanting your entry door and stairwell in the living room itself (rather than having an actual separate entry) could visually at least appear to decrease the size of the rooms on each side of it. As to the dirt the dogs might bring in, if your back yard is going to be fenced for them, have you considered creating a doggy door for them basement window height -- one that could permit you to decide if that door opens both ways or just one way or is locked -- and having ladder/steps lead from a landing at that doggy door down to a small room in a sunny corner of the basement that belongs to the dogs, enabling them to come and go to/from that one room as they choose so you don't need to clean them off every time they come in ... you'd only need to make sure their feet are clean when you permit them upstairs.

If you have no plans to sell down the road put in what you want and what looks best with your furnishings. If there might be a chance of resale try to match the dark as close as possible as having 2 different floor colors could turn off potential buyers as they would be thinking they would have to sand and refinish all the flooring to match and that cost could reflect in an offer or the buyer not wanting to hassle with it and they walk. If you put in the light one and find you like it a lot next time your dark floors need to be refinished you could go in that direction with the stain color. Lighter is less trendy than dark. That said, and if you still aren't sure what way to go, listen to your gut as if you had loved the dark/light combo right away would you have come here?