I finally got a shot of the dark evergreen background for the silvery dead tree trunks that I thought were inspiring for how to best set off stainless steel appliances. See what you think.

I've given some thought to the concerned shared by you all about the dark floor and dark base cabinets. I've also done some cabinet shopping online and have realized that the cabinets I like so much that look like chocolate bars are not going to be easy to find. Maybe impossible. So I am taking your collective advice and using it to come up with a backup plan.

I found a couple of cabinets in a lighter brown that I like. Trying to avoid yellows and oranges and really light cabinets, a plastic look or a raw wood look is a challenge. Here are some pictures I like that I am hoping are easier to find.

Wood Cabinets · More Info

Wood Cabinets · More Info

I love the wood color and the fluting. · More Info

So gang, what color/stain are those woods? One is too raw looking, and the fluted one is a little too yellow. I'm not crazy about Shaker due to all the little dust-collecting edges and to the shark corners I just know are going to get picked up in time. But it may be all that's available. If I get a color I like, maybe I can cope with the Shaker.

KraftAid has a couple colors I suspect: Canyon Grey and Baltic. What do you think you might call these colors, and what other cabinet maker's offer similar colors?

@K L x where are you with the kitchen cabinet color decision?

@Red Ryder I am really not sure. This chocolate colored travertine has its own grain. If I use it through the house, when I get to kitchen cabinets, it may be better to have a solid painted cabinet. I like this one a lot. I don't have to match it. It just shows that cabinets painted this way can be beautiful.

Stones · More Info

kitchen · More Info

The black cabinet is stunning….

@Red Ryder is it black? I saw greyed dark blue! Goodness! I'm glad you like it. I love the color of the counter. Can't imagine giving up that drawer space for a thick counter though.

So I've been eyeballing the piece of flooring I brought home Saturday, the one that looks like a zebra brownie. I've placed it in various rooms. I'm trying to imagine it in every room in the house. I'm liking it. My husband said he loves the idea of heated stone flooring all through the house. He was in a hotel overseas once that had it and he loved it there... comments about how nice it was. Yesterday he mentioned how nice it was to go in the one room we have now that has it because of the warmth, now that it's getting chilly. Every time I see pictures of rooms with honed or rough looking stone flooring I am attracted to them for their "outdoor" feel.

I've collected a few paint chips I like to see if they coordinate with it. And I was really surprised that it doesn't seem to clash that much with the marble pebble floors I have in our new downstairs bathroom (the one my husband likes). I think his favorite part is the floor. I think the silver grey in the pebble floor makes me notice a silver grey streak in the travertine. The appliances will be stainless steel, because I imagine those will be "in" awhile. I often wonder how, with THE cabinet color being white, why is THE appliance color not white. But that's a non sequeiur. The conclusion was that maybe a lighter silver blue soapstone would be nice for the kitchen.

I asked the stone guy who sees stone all around everywhere he goes what cabinets look good with the travertine. He said only that they carry a line of cabinets and can show me doors of ones he likes with it. They aren't on their Web site yet. Sigh... I have to wait until the weekend.

Do you think, with all the streaks in the travertine, that the best pattern for cabinets is a non-pattern? Painted? Or a wood with very little grain showing? Was it you, Red Ryder who said you liked Kitchen Kraft cabinets? Here is their espresso-stained cherry and maple. I think I like the blurry pattern of the maple better, though in the pictures it looks much lighter and more orange. Does cherry have more red in it naturally? I also think slab cabinets are better with the travertine floor than Shaker, don't you?

Thinking of having a decorative ceiling, because it is so visible from the family room, three steps lower. I was thinking of something like these panels. The ceiling is contained and does not continue unbroken into adjacent rooms. It's a short ceiling, less than 8'. Maybe I shouldn't have fans in there, but we love the air movement in the kitchen, and we don't fry food. And I know HOUZZERs hate the lights. I can imagine much more beautiful contemporary flush fans/lights in there, like this one with clear blades and brass housing.

@ilikefriday I know you are a fan of decorating the fifth wall. Given the chocolate -colored Titanium travertine floor, what color or lack of color would you put on the ceiling? Too much contrast can be a problem, right? Is Ceiling Bright White over popular grey too bland? Or just right?

This glass wall might be nice between the kitchen and family room. · More Info

Also will probably want to replace the railing with something more contemporary. Anyone have bronze railings to recommend? Other options?

My friend's mother, an interior designer, said Home Depot has cabinets of varied quality and that it's a great place to shop. Just get the better quality lines. So now I have to figure out what makes better quality. I am going to take my stone sample around the stores to see how it looks with different colors of cabinet doors. Weekend activity in-between decorating the yard for Veterans Day.

I have not read all the comments but I love that ceiling! A few months ago I came across a row house for sale in Chicago with a similar ceiling design. I think the color would depend on what else is going on in the space. My first thought would be to keep it white. Just so I am clear, would this go in your kitchen or dining room?

@ilikefriday I'm so glad you like it! It would be on the kitchen ceiling. Currently, the southern light bounces off the concrete patio outside the kitchen, onto the ceiling, lightening the room. We were surprised that replacing the wood decking would have such a brightening effect since we also added a roof over the 13' deep patio.

I wonder what effects different ceiling options will have. I like the idea of filling the holes in the fretwork with mini light wafers, hiding them from sight. I expect added texture to diffuse light further. I was thinking of painting the paneling with a glossy paint and leaving the spaces between in a flat finish or at least a less glossy finish. Good to know you think even white on white is an acceptable option.

On the family room wall furthest from the kitchen, we have a 50" tv. I'm thinking of making that wall dark green similar to this one attached, with shelving framing the TV and a contemporary console below it.

So... In the kitchen visible from the family room... What about a dark green ceiling in two values of green? A dark near-black green in a flat finish for the ceiling and a slightly lighter and brighter green for the fretwork paneling? And just the right metallic green wallpaper for the soffit (just one idea attached) to bring the ceiling down into the walls for a cozy feeling.

With all that green above and mid-value chocolate travertine floors, espresso cabinets, and stainless steel appliances, I could lay down a light grey or blue-grey soapstone countertop instead of a green-grey soapstone.

Then what do you think of a light periwinkle blue for the walls to lighten and brighten and cheer just a little the way the light sky blue does in the attached photo of a dining room?

Also attached is the current view of the kitchen eating area from the front door. I don't think the view from the front door will be strongly affected by the green ceiling, but the green may create a little interest. I have no plans for the hallway yet.

Choosing the floor for the entire home was a huge step forward. The rest are falling like dominos now.

Bel Air Contemporary · More Info

I plan on bringing the soapstone counter up in a short backsplash just to the bottom of the window. Stainless steel sink below counter? Or soapstone? I have a soapstone sink at work with a soapstone counter with grooves cut in it to drain. I don't care for the grooves.

What faucet? Low profile. Stainless steel? Bronze? Copper? If the copper tarnishes, that will just add to the blue-green in the room, so no worries? If bronze or copper, should I choose the same for the ballustrades and rail? Ooo... I think I like the faucet that doesn't make me choose! The bronze one has copper-colored delineation. Maybe I could have a mix in the railing too: bronze ballustrades and a copper top rail. I'll have to think on that.

Just so I am clear, you are going with the brown and white marble floor, correct?

I think the white glossy ceiling and fretwork sound great. All glossy for both is what would appeal to me. I would allow the fretwork to be the star. Painting two different colors of green in the next room would be too much. I might change my mind about that after the room is completely decorated but I cannot Invision it right now.

I find the green and blue color combination in the dining room inspo photo you posted to be all wrong. I very much dislike it. I know nothing about the color wheel but I wonder what color experts think about it. I do love periwinkle blue and try to incorporate that same color in large components of my own home. I don't like its application on the ceiling, nor do I like it anywhere in eyesight of the green. I also don't think it looks great next to the marble floors that you selected. The metal reflective wall simply does not work IMO. In your space, these items might look great but I cannot picture it at the moment. There are many decor items that I dislike but in the right space, those same items can work perfectly. Once your space is all pulled together and you post photos, my opinion might change.

The inspirational room reminds me of a beautiful woman with really bad makeup. I LOVE wearing makeup and picking colors but it can all look like a mistake if the makeup colors are off, even if they are all beautiful individually. That room is like a beautiful woman. The colors are the bad makeup.

Otoh, all that I have mentioned is paint color related. Paint is cheap and easy to change if you dislike it, assuming you are willing to repaint things yourself.

I think this is the house your inspiration room belongs to.

https://malibumark.com/properties/10960-verano-rd-los-angeles-ca-90077-us

A few more photos:

https://www.1stdibs.com/photo/contemporary-eclectic-living-room-burbank-ca/4803442/

What will be the colors of your light fixtures? I would consider coordinating the faucet with the fixtures maybe. I just cannot picture it all together in my mind at the moment.

“It's a short ceiling, less than 8'. Maybe I shouldn't have fans in there”

I’m not a pro but think the decorative ceiling will make a room with that ceiling height look even lower and very squat? And I definitely would not put a ceiling fan in with a decorative ceiling at that height.

Edit to add: rather than a paneled ceiling at less than 8’ height maybe consider a light wallpaper to add interest without a deep texture?

The millwork on that ceiling is gorgeous, but I don't think it is right for your space. And it could go very wrong if not installed by an expert. Have you considered copper tiles? You could get them with a patina so you have your blues and greens.

Here's a link to the article where I found that picture. It has more inspo pics https://designingidea.com/tin-ceiling-kitchen-ideas/

@OhNat I have loved tin ceilings a long time. I will look at the site to see if they have any contemporary styles. I am moving from traditional to contemporary in the interior of the house. The outside is a neo-colonial, but it's a split level and so lends itself to more contemporary styling inside.

I will not be doing any work myself. I am hiring a contractor I have expert with and has given us good quality workmanship. I stick to gardening!

3D tiles might be an option for your ceiling. They can be painted and come in various designs. I used some on a cabinet for my dining room.

Art3d Decorative 3D Wall Panels in Diamond Design, 12"x12" Matt White (33 Pack) https://a.co/d/gli9Zhb

@AM hard to say...I find it depends on whether or not you can create eye movement between two surfaces opposite each other. That creates distance where there is none. So finding a rug the same color as the floor will create that movement. Old art trick... Contrary to what a lot of people think, dark colors recede if in contrast with light colors. But if all dark, the dark closes around, which is comforting to some. I think it's fascinating and glad you do too. Strong contrast can be a good thing or bad, depending on how applied. All white walls can make a room feel bigger or smaller, depending on the ceiling and floor. Such fun!

@ilikefriday the floor will be chocolate travertine. I think that's what you meant; I've only posted the one natural stone.

The green/blue/gold is an analogous color scheme. I am also headed for an analogous color scheme but shifting more towards red-violet (chocolate and Cordovan leather). The periwinkle is a blue violet, and the dark green I have in mind is a blue-green or true green...either one. But I didn't choose those colors for that reason. I just like them and always have. I also like small dark places, since I work outside in bright light every day.

My mother taught color theory at a local college, so I was raised on it. I also studied art in high school in two years and a summer in addition to my regular schooling. Almost chose that as a career, but was on the math team too. I remember you are a mathematician! I'm not saying I am any kind of color expert though. Just enough to be dangerous.

@ilikefriday 3D tiles? Link?

Here is a link for the tiles. They are available in various designs. I used this one.

Art3d Decorative 3D Wall Panels in Diamond Design, 12"x12" Matt White (33 Pack) https://a.co/d/gli9Zhb

@ilikefriday YES!!!!!!! That's the sort of think I would like somewhere in each room... Paneling, tiles, textured wallpaper...thanks!!!

What is the time line for the floors? I think you need them installed before you make so many decisions. If you want a dark, moody kitchen, you might not want a wood cabinet but choose a paint color for them. Or you may find the floors demand a lighter kitchen….

The detailed ceiling may make the ceiling claustrophobic. Hold off on that idea for now.

Love the idea of interesting railing. Aesthetically, the first one draws my eye. It is also simple, but different.

The color of the faucet and hardware will be clearer when you’ve nailed down the cabinet color. Your gonna kill me but I love the two light paint chips you laid next to the floor tile. Are those wall color options? Or cabinet? They will work with the new floors whatever you use them for.

I am happy to hear that you are picking slightly different colors. Those in the inspo photo were giving me a panic attack. Lol. I hope the 3d tiles work for you. I have a few left over from my last project. You are giving me ideas!

@Red Ryder timeline for the kitchen is a couple years. Remember helping me search for a floor tile for my upstairs renovation? I want to use the same stone through the house. This stone called Titanium travertine is the one I am leaning into at the moment. I originally wanted sandstone but couldn't find any. I also worried the sandstone I found a photo of would be too dark and show every crumb and dust bunny. This travertine looks like it already has crumbs. I've been staring at it all week, testing it. So far so good. The contractor is coming Tuesday to look around to prepare a bid. Tomorrow I am going to some cabinet stores with my piece of stone. Does anyone remember the log lady in Twin Peaks? I can't help but feel I will appear as crazy as she did.

I know it may sound odd to be thinking so deeply about the kitchen when I am preparing to work on the upstairs. I am nothing if not thorough, at least when I am not overwhelmed. Upstairs gets done first because workers will have a hard time not destroying the downstairs when working upstairs. But I need a whole-house plan before I feel safe working on upstairs.

When the floor goes down upstairs it will help me adjust and revise. I was thinking of ordering a box before pulling the trigger.

Glad you like the first railing. I like the idea of mixed metals.

Oh, I am not going to kill you for liking Popular Grey and Ceiling bright white. I was amazed how well they go with the travertine. I intend to use them as relief...my default non-colors. See the picture of the hallway? I think they will work there. And maybe even the kitchen eating area at the end of the hall. I think the green on the ceiling will have to come down onto the wall between the kitchen eating area and the family room, but the rest of the eating area can be Popular Grey. And the door trim can be Ceiling Bright White.

@ilikefriday, check out my ideabooks called "walls". I've been collecting ideas for textured wall paneling and wallpaper there. It's amazing to me how many options there are! I don't want to overdo it in one room, but I can imagine something textured in most rooms. I'm so glad you are interested too. You are SO creative!

I like that the new floor is “forgiving”. Yes, something solid chocolate (like we were looking for) would show everything.

I’m glad you’re getting a price for the floor and starting upstairs. That will help “see” what colors work with it and give you more confidence around the kitchen colors.

@Red Ryder I also like that the floor is lighter, is a mix of light and dark, will look better in spaces where all I have is floors walls and ceiling (hallways), and is definitely "chocolate" to carry the outdoor concept indoors.

The colors I really love are the ones that go well with it. That's why my first step was to get the paint chips. I took them to the stone store. I also brought the stone to the house exterior to make sure it really is in the chocolate family.

I like greens, especially blue-spruce green but all of them really. I like purples, yeah... all of them, and realize I have to be careful with them. I like wine reds like Cordovan leather. OMG, I just realized I must have imprinted on the home of my birth! We had mahogany dining room chairs and a blue spruce carpet. I was a late-in-life accident so all the baby furniture was thrown away. My crib was a corrale of dining room chairs on the floor. And my mother grew tons of iris, her favorite flower. They have blue-green foliage.

Hubby just digested the fact that I am talking about one floor everywhere. Now I have to let him ruminate on how he feels about that. He has decided it is not slippery, so he's happy with that. I think he is concerned about falling on stone stairs. I figure a fall is a fall and something we both should try to avoid. I was so happy to get rid of the carpeting, because it made cleaning the stairs so scary with the vacuum cleaner, and I couldn't find a dirt devil anymore. The hand-held with the roller brush was awesome. They have other products now... Sigh... That's ok now, because even that will be too much when I make it to 90, fingers crossed.

If it’s any consolation to your decision, my almost-97-year-old mother lives alone in her tiled floor house (in FL). The advantage is she can move her walker around more easily. The one time she recently fell was in her carpeted bedroom. The flatness of tile can be a safer option in later years.

Steps are dangerous no matter what is on them. You just have to be careful.

I guess your husband didn’t realize that “the floor” choice means ALL THE FLOORS…. 😂

@Red Ryder thanks. It is a consolation. I agree you have to be careful. I think we should try to get handrails for both sides of our stairway. It's 36" wide. Hopefully it's doable to have two rails.

Yeah, he didn't realize it was ALL the floors.

Out shopping today. The stone store gave me a piece of Verde Alpi to take home. They showed me a few cabinet doors. And we walked through the slabs with the cabinet door and the chocolate travertine. I liked this marble for a countertop. They didn't have soapstone. Comparing marble and soapstone now... Thoughts?

Love that combo!

Not sure I like the new graphite/charcoal appliances. I may stick with stainless steel. Thoughts?

Stainless is my vote - especially with the new floors.

That dark chocolate door looks good with the floor. Is a marble countertop in consideration? Many people don’t like the maintenance or the fact that it etches. (I don’t think you’re that person, but I wanted to ask.)

My kitchen countertop advice is to take your final decision floor and door samples to stone yards and fall in love. Sometimes we don’t even know what is available. I have an antique sideboard that had a cracked marble top. When I was shopping for my kitchen countertop - and browsing - I fell in love with a piece of quartz that immediately looked perfect for the sideboard. Unexpected and gorgeous. I don’t think we can anticipate what countertop might look “fabulous “ in your potential new kitchen.

Strolling through stone yards and marble yards is part of the fun of renovations anyway….

@RedRyder and @ilikefriday thanks for the feedback on the color of the cabinet door and of the countertop. I also like the color of the cabinet door. The white-oak wood grain is too linear and porous... too much like the travertine. I was thinking I would like maple or something like it. Last night I remembered that birds eye maple exists. I bet it is not available though in kitchen cabinetry. If it is, I bet it is hugely expensive. Regular maple is pretty enough. The person who showed me the door said they would check to see if it came in maple with that stain. But the most important thing is that the cabinets are available with great functioning insides, right?

Meanwhile, I went to a Cabinet Discounters store. I was told that their semi-custom Brighton line has the greatest variety of cabinet inside functions (there's got to be a better term for that). Those cabinets also had the greatest variety of door shapes, woods, and stain colors. Know anything about them?

My preference for the kitchen countertop would be soapstone, but in that light grey color with no hint of yellow whatsoever and maybe a touch of blue and/or green. But I guess it won't stay light grey once I get oil on it, will it? Wish I knew. I guess I can request a small piece I can oil to see how dark it gets. The two things I like about that marble for a countertop was the color and that the pattern was non-linear, which I think could clash with the travertine flooring. I did find one stone place in my search that carried soapstone. They didn't have flooring, which is why I moved on to the place where I found the travertine. But I remember where it was, and someone told me about another stone store I haven't seen yet... a bit further away, but doable on a day off.

I love the idea of taking the travertine and a door to more stone stores. In my mind, you all are with me. :-)

I would shop with you in person if you were here!

If there is a cabinet company that lets you customize the stain (and has good interiors) that would be the way to go. Unless it’s price prohibitive. The color is key with those floors because they’re a dominant feature in the house.

My (inherited) engineered floors are a reddish tone and it strongly influences all kinds of decisions. Looking for rugs now and it takes out anything in the “red Persian antique rug” department…. (I love those). But I gotta work with it since I wasn’t changing out the floors when I moved in.

You new floors call for depth of color. That’s why I like the sample. And yes, the countertops should be pattern-free. Get samples of soapstone. It does come in a variety of shades of grays and greens and charcoals. In this kitchen, the countertop has to be “quiet”.

@Red Ryder shopping would be fun! I do feel like I am not shopping alone because of all the feedback. I was just telling dear hubby that only a couple weeks ago I was feeling so lost. Less so now.

@Red Ryder my mother had red-toned furniture all through the house. All mahogany, all matching. It broke her heart that the two kids who lived near her didn't want it. I lived too far away to even consider it. Can you imagine? All that mahogany... Priceless now in whatever landfill it ended up in.

Anyway, living with it taught me some surprising things. You know what is surprisingly stunning with deep reddish pink mahogany? Orange! Who would have thought? So is your red flooring red or orange or red orange? Have you ever played around with really heating things up color-wise? Then to balance it all, and really make it sophisticated, add dabs of an olive green that is almost grey. Not that it's the only way to go, but some time when you feel like playing, try it if you already haven't. Anyway...not that I actually know anything. 🤭

Our oven was 25 degrees off and only one burner worked. We've been supplementing with a plug-in induction appliance. Hubby loves how fast it boils water. All our pots and pans are magnetic. We've read that induction is safer for old people like us who might forget to turn off burners. The controls for the old range were on the "backsplash". Hubby is the cook, so he bought a new one. I just noticed the controls on the front and there is no "backsplash". This should be fun...

So which part of this purchase is upsetting you the most - the lack of the backsplash piece, the front knobs or that he bought it without discussion? It is a nice looking stove.

On another note, what has been the decision about the floors? Are you staying with the brown tile or have you moved in another direction?

I reread some of the posts between us. I somehow instinctively knew to get green rugs when I decided to start spending some time on my house. I’ve complained about the redness in my floors and I now have a teal dining area rug, a grayish green in the front part of the great room and an ivory at the entranceway. (Open concept is less fun to design sometimes. Everyone needs to look good with each other within a very large space.)

@RedRyder so pretty! I especially like the living room rug.

The part that I am concerned about regarding the stove it that I recall the paint on the wall doesn't go down far enough to cover the area where the stove backsplash would be. It's no disaster, but I think I feel obligated to do something to protect the wall from splatters, especially if his wonderful spaghetti sauce. I've already been hunting down temporary fixes. What would you do?

The new range is in. Whew! My worries about the backsplash area were for nothing. The painters painted below counter level. The paint is pealing from humidity but I'm not going to repaint the spot, since the whole kitchen will be renovated within five years. The peeling paint means I need a much better range hood in that renovation.

Our most used pots and pans work fine. Some infrequently used ones do not. It's a great way to clear out a little kitchen storage space. A couple pots went to the daughter. One went to a young co-worker who loves to cook. And I THINK hubby agreed not to buy more since we barely used them.

I showed hubby this picture of cork flooring I am strongly considering for the upstairs renovation (in a darker Cocoa). His first comment was, "That's ridiculous!" Thankfully, he wasn't talking about the floor. He was talking about the marble backsplash. He hasn't been indoctrinated by a ton of Houzz photos with the counter going up the wall as backsplash. I think it is sensible in some ways. I wondered how common his reaction was. Lots of us grew up with the 4" backsplash. We also grew up with a lot of horizontal emphasis, and yet, I am attracted to vertical emphasis like a stack of drawers with square bail pulls. It's just interesting that hubby reacted so strongly to the backsplash.

cork pattern I like · More Info

This article discusses how to finish a backsplash more than anything.

https://mariakillam.com/dos-donts-installing-countersplash/

Boy, this is useful! https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5972404/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first-2020-interim

I have cork floors in my kitchen love them. easy on the back and knees.

Thanks @Aunt Thelma I certainly am excited but nervous about having cork in all my bedrooms and the upstairs hallway.