A big thank you to everyone who expressed an opinion. It helps, and I got what I needed yesterday. Loribee, I laughed out loud when I read your comment! Yes, it's okay to vote twice. It's what I'm going to do. I'm going to buy 2 sample quarts, one of the bronze and one of the slate and paint up the 2x2 sample drywall boards you can get at HD. Then when the room is closed in I can put it them in there and look at it long enough to make an informed decision. And if both are too dark then I'll paint up a Compatible Cream. But really, I'm looking for a deep color. I love the blue-greens, and I tried "painting" the room with the Tempe Star and Refuge, but they really don't work with the rug. At All. To answer another question, yes the rug does have gold flowers in it and bronz-y sections between flowers. This is what the room looked like yesterday, it's the one in the front corner with 2 windows on front and one down the side.

Beautiful and so functional! Love the warmth of the copper, countertops, and floor against the coolness of the marble and stainless. You obviously labored long and hard to get the details right (ceiling, columns, cab feet, bumpouts, islands). You did the same in the PR: vessel sink, farm house pump faucet, open shelves, and beautiful paint. I don't have a big kitchen either and am always looking for ideas to pack in more function. Glad to hear you love your 2-in-1 oven. I'm planning to use that, too. What stains did you use on your beautiful floor and countertops (brand and color, please)? We have stained trim throughout the house and your colors (both floor and countertop) look like they would blend well with our trim color. TIA! Enjoy your wonderful kitchen and PR! Thank you so much, and I hope you'll take the time to put your kitchen in the FKB!

@Misyel Poli you will notice the REAL wood runs through the entire level. The *problem is having "wood" in a tile/stone area. The wood in wet areas (and nowhere else) means you CANNOT lay wood (the real stuff) anywhere else in that level. You will be painting yourself into a corner. Tomorrow's design decision HANG on today's oopsa. That's why you either run the wood-look tile ALL through that level,OR you find another design to work with. Please notice the MASSIVE amounts of warm lighting in the space in your inspiration photo. The walls are white/light. Your walls (hall and stairs) are cold medium gray. A wood COLOURED tile (like travertine in brown or gold tones) will do the same thing. Remember: it's the colour that offers warmth, not the photo on the tile. I would match the oak on the banister. If you don't, you are looking at New colours on the stairs...and then you will feel pressured into "fixing" things that were never an issue.

Very nice, high-end tiles with REALISTIC chatter/saw marks. In a mill, the saws can have some wiggle room when they cut. That play (the bands start to stretch = movement of the saw blade) causes the saw blade to jump a little bit. They are called "chatter marks". You have them on your planks but not on everyone. That is a sign of a WELL DESIGNED high-end tile. The 'authentic' look of 'barnwood' recycled wood has been 100% achieved with your tile. It is a rustic look because barnwood was created in mills 150+ years ago...and chatter marks were EVERYWHERE. Why? Because they were the only mill for 100 miles AND no one could transport that amount of wood to the next mill...because they didn't have the big horses needed to move it that far (I'm not kidding....2-4 HEAVY draft horses needed to haul logs of out the bush = very expensive). So the locals used the local mill. Your tiles mimic that BEAUTIFULLY. Remember: authenticity is EXPENSIVE to reproduce in a man-made product such as yours. Be happy/proud your tile does a magnificent job reproducing that effect. Your builder has access to some EXPENSIVE products. And your builder has done a FANTASTIC LOOKING job installing them. I know many homeowners who would give their right arm and LEFT LEG to be able to afford your tiles. Relax...you are doing just fine.