I vote minera to provide contrast. Does this darker color pick up the darker veining in your marble? I think that would be very pretty. I also like the minera and the nougat together in your photo. I see that it is hard to photograph the minera. It also looks like a soft dark color and not harsh. I definitely don't like the photo above this post with the dark modern cabinets.

Les, I tried that on your suggestion. It does fit, but just perfectly. The table is a 3' x 5' only and I'd like to get one at least 6' long. Also, I'm struggling what to do with that side of the counter because there isn't a barrier between the sink and the edge of the counter. All water spills from the sink go on the floor. Hence, the kids table...that catches the spills for now. :) hlove, I'm not TOO worried about covering the floor because the same flooring runs throughout the main rooms of our first floor. There's about 850sf of it. I'm ok with covering a portion in the dining area and in the living area and keeping the rest open. I like your idea of putting a smaller rug on top in front of the door. The rug I have in there now was perfect with the old floor which was a solid-colored, light wood. The rag rug style added texture. Now the floor has a ton of texture and it all looks too busy. rt, I like your suggestion about a black table. I've been eyeing them. I actually have a black table in the formal dining area that we turned into a library/homework area. I love it in there! I also like neutral walls and furniture and accessorizing with art and pillows and such. My walls are BM Taos Taupe (library) and BM Stone Harbor (LR, DR, Kitchen). They all flow together so separate colors for each room is out. I'm trying. It to decorate for two young kids and a puppy because I know they won't be young for long, but it's so hard to have nice stuff at this stage in our lives! Here are some pics of the table centered. I took them right before dinner so you can see how the setting sun can be a problem (and with my phone camera, hence the bad quality). We live right on the edge of a small Northern Midwest town. Before we put up the fence (for the puppy) our yard ended in someone's corn field! I know the lighting is all wrong, but we'll deal with that once we get the layout figured out. Thanks for all your help! This is my first real house so I'm a newbie at this!

Kristal, don't sweat this! Your couch, floor and kitchen all fall into a neutral, contemporary vibe, so you can do pretty much what you want by adding some fun colors and sticking to the kinda-contemporary world. The only thing that would be a stretch would be if you suddenly decide to go for an authentic Victorian look or off on some sort of Spanish Medieval tangent! My suggestion would be that you plunk that new couch into the space, and then go buy yourself a nice, luxurious throw (the kind that people drape over a couch) in colors that you really like. Doesn't have to be fancy, you can get them from $8 on up to whatever. Bring the throw home and drape it over the couch. See what you think. If you like how it looks, there's the start of your scheme and plus, you've already got a throw! If you hate it, take it back, easy peasey. You'll probably already be past this stage by the time you read this comment, but if you're still feeling a bit deer in the headlights, give it a try...it's an easy, low $$$ way to get started!

Well, there's a million shades of gray. I was going more off of your cabinet color, which leans on the taupe gray side (at least on my monitor). The loom chairs I picked have the natural texture, the warm wood and the more natural 'gray' tones. That's why I chose those The warm leather options, I chose those because the leather was a nice contrast to your cabinet color, and pulled out the warm tones from the wood flooring. Compare the gray chairs you got w/the metal legs and cooler gray fabric. That's why it doesn't look right to you. I just really like the looks of these you could always choose a lighter rope color. doesn't have to be gray I really like these too because of the wood leg color, and the textured seat portion. along w/the natural colors. It's not gray, and doesn't have to be gray. but it works. Sullivan-Williams/Sonoma these are no less studier than the ones you just bought Or, what do you think about one like this? the warm wood matches your flooring, and the natural colors of the seat work w/your other elements (McGee and Company Ava Seagrass stool most of these would also work. Chippendale style in a gray tone?