My first question is What is your favorite color? You have excellent neutrals that could work with any color. If you love the cool gray green of Farrow and Ball's french gray I say go for that color. That is a color that can compliment many different colors from the gold warm tan drapes to a fire hot red chair or a deep green alligator. Go with what you like and you will be amazed that it works. If you think the Farrow and Ball French Gray is a little too green based you might consider another FB paint called Light also by FB French Gray FB Light by Farrow and Ball I like mixing cool and warm in different venues for drama. Obviously not all the colors but keeping it simple to two basic hues and working with them is ideal. You have one small wall behind your china cabinet that you could paint in a gold tan to match the drapes but the rest of the walls the Blue gray Farrow and ball you are thinking of would be perfect. Here are some combinations of gray blue and tan that look stunning. Living Pod Dining room rescue blog Clear Skies by Benjamin Moore French Gray Farrow and Ball (The color you love) French Gray FB by designer Brooke Gianetti amazing with the soft cream. Other Neutral colors if the farrow and ball is too scary for you to try Fools Gold Benjamin Moore New Penny by Valspar Blonde Benjamin Moore Skylight Farrow and Ball Camel Hair on left and Gustavian Grey Shaker Gray by Benjamin Moore

For a seating area like this the natural action would be to place an area rug beneath the seating area. I suspect the problem is the large curved fireplace that doesn't allow a standard size area rug to be used. That's why this solution was created for this area. If the carpet needs to be removed because of staining etc then I would simply install new carpet in the same area and not tile. Consider the acoustics of only having tile in the area. Not what most people what to live with. You don't have to select a solid cut pile carpet. You could select a patterned carpet for the area for a different appearance. BTW that bookcase and cabinet are not working on the far wall. Do you have an office room you can move them to?

Don't force the sectional to line up with the kitchen entry. No need for a beeline to the kitchen. The sectional overall dimensions as indicated on the plan: 108" x 108". This size allows for 44" from the back of the sectional to the kitchen entry which is more then enough room behind the sofa. Don't leave too much room between furniture or too spread out or too small and forced into an area. This a common mistake most people make and then have a room that doesn't work. 15" to 18" is the most you need from the front edge of the sofa to the edge of the coffee table. The depth of the tv unit drawn is 18" deep and you only need a bookcase depth- 12". Remember that when you look at a floor plan, the furniture is only 30" to 33" high and will not visually block off the room. If you still feel you need more access to the kitchen, eliminate the end table between the recliner and the sofa and move the recliner a little towards the fireplace. This way you can pass between the recliner and the sofa to the kitchen PLAN A - SHOWING DIMENSIONS AND CLEARANCES PLAN B - SHOWING DIMENSIONS AND CLEARANCES WITH RECLINER MOVED TOWARDS FIREPLACE AND TABLE BETWEEN SOFA AND RECLINER ELIMINATED.

Hi, just yesterday I was reading a thread with a few posters regretting the use of cement tile both on floors and around a fireplace. Staining and water spots were the biggest issues (on the floor, but it seems maybe the tiles were not as well sealed as they needed to be). And the other poster had issues with her tiles cracking and becoming discoloured around her fireplace. There are many ceramic tiles made now to mimic the look of concrete tiles but much more durable and less work intensive for upkeep. You may wish to explore that option. I haven't found the thread yet that I'm referring to, but I will update later with a link if I find it. Best to read a few DD items here before making your final tile decisions. I love the look of the patterned cement (encaustic) tiles - so very pretty, but it sounds like they might be more work than some are able to/interested in putting in.