thanks, everyone. so far the people in my "real" world agree with nosoccermom's suggestion of grey with red door (black windows, white trim, and maybe blue ceiling). so have given up all thoughts of whimsical/multiple colors. the contractor and the neighbors just breathed a huge sigh of relief. and i think the gray color goes with the feng shui suggestion from boopadaboo. maybe i can find a whimsical but tasteful gable design thingie. the gable space is probably too wide for the suggested scalloped shingles, thanks everyone! now, if you are in the mood, please go to kitchens and give me layout ideas.......heading was "please opine on this design"

All, Just thought I’d update you here. In a recent development, I made the executive call to shiplap the great room/kitchen, which will likely be painted Sherwin Williams alabaster. With the shiplap walls in an off-white, I think my hesitation around doing the gray cabinets has dissipated. I plan to go with Wellborn’s Hancock door style, and the doors will be made out of MDF. As such, I’m limited to their paint color which is baked on in the factory. Budget is a concern here and going with their Dove gray color is friendlier than choosing my own custom shade of gray. If I could, I would pick a lighter gray, but I don’t think it will make a huge difference now that the walls will be so light.

I lived in an apartment with similar wood trim and was deciding between BM stonington gray and BM revere pewter, which another poster suggested. (I also tried abalone). I painted swatches on several walls with different light saturations and watched them over the course of a day. I ended up choosing BM revere pewter and loved it until we moved out. I think it's really helpful to observe your actual light in your home with these gray colors as they can have purple, blue and even green tones depending on the time of day and light.

Would you mind posting a picture or three? Your question and conversation is our actual dilemma. I want Urbane Bronze on my basement theater wall. It's all new construction with extremely well lighted areas. However, I am struggling in choosing the accompanying gray that goes with it. Agreeable Gray is also, slightly too pinkish for my taste. How did the iron ore turn out? I am worried that it will look too black, rather than dark gray or charcoal.