I would consider something light with some other colors to mix in like this. http://t.homedepot.com/p/Silestone-2-in-Quartz-Countertop-Sample-in-Mont-Blanc-SS-Q0220/203674451/ I like the wood paneling and would paint it a white with a warm feel to it. A white will reflect a lot of light from your large window. I wouldn't paint the window casing as it might tie in better with the rest of the house. Good luck!!

What about colour , character and personality ? A splashback with a pond and a tree may be great , or look naff , as the Poms would say . Potentially , its on the right track , but look at pic 3 . Gone to sleep yet ? Probably $30k spent on nothingness . Now look at pic 3 , and imagine your splashback . Even if it is ( cringe ) black and white too , it will actually add to it . A bit . I don't like the particular light used in pic 1 , but its got character , you notice it , it is not totally bland . Pic 3 is .

I would like to keep the beautiful knotty pine ceilings and soffit, and cabinets (but paint a different color). I will be updating the floor and counter tops. My real dilemma is the wall - it's a ceramic tile that looks like brick and the color is so bland. I would like to brighten that up with paint but am having trouble deciding on the color combo of the cabinets and walls. The kitchen is open to a living area that is decorated mainly in sage green and cream.

I had a few companies competing for my business. I went with the guy who was obviously doing his homework, color matching, great price, he found the supplier who had granite from quarry where the counters in my new home came from. Wow is all I can say. When I told the competitor that I was letting her go, she asked why and I gave her the reasons above. She said she'd do it all for the same price. She had done my friend's sister's bathroom and it looked fabulous, I had not actually seen any of his work I saw pictures, but this was an actual project I saw, so I agreed.The project was to put cabinets and a counter top, that matched the ones I had on the other wall.What happened.The got the wrong style, wrong color, wrong size.I decided the color was a shade off... fine... its not that noticeable. The width of the trim of my shaker cabinets were about 2 1/4 inches, her cabinets were 3 inches.She got two 24in cabinets instead of two 36 in cabinets. She brought 2 sliders for my existing cabinets when she needed to bring 4. I was supposed to have 1 large drawer above each cabinet, instead I got 2 smaller ones. The granite was a crappy match. She promised to include 2 outlets above the backsplash. She wanted to charge extra last minute to do one because it was "more complicated than she thought." I had an electrician do it for $40.I feel like I let so much slide. I just wanted it done. I didn't have enough cabinet space. I wanted to finish putting all my things away. My saved spot with the other guy was lost and I'd have to wait until Dec. (It was the 1st week of Oct.) She said it would be 4-5 weeks to complete.Its 12/5. My cabinets are damaged. She splintered the wood when she applied the drawer pulls, she used the wood marker to "fix" bit it still looks crappy. And she wanted the last installment.I told her she can have 1/2 of the last payment, she said she'd come back tomorrow to fix. I was at work on the phone with her. My wife hands her the check, she takes it and says, you know, tomorrow is just not gonna work out. What other day works for you.My wife tells her Monday. She says ok and leaves.I feel like she's never going to be able to fix all. And I have no idea what to do from here.