A black and white dining room can be very contemporary and striking. You already have the white cabinets in the kitchen and looks like black and stainless appliances. Keep it going. Can't see what the floor is in the dining room.

If it were me, I would steer away from beige. There are plenty of other neutrals . . pretty greys, etc. Maybe that's just me--beige just feels so very dated and blah. Feel free to tell me I'm wrong and mention some attractive beiges, tho.

We plan to stain the cabinets down the road to a reddish brown tone and then change the counter-tops to black granite and have chrome handles. The tiles have a nasty pinkish grout. We plan on doing something with that later on. What color beige or tan should we look at to put throughout the house and what color for the accent wall..we are going nuts. lol

hi redpoint...i wouldn't mind a warm gray color what colors should i look at?

Marie, I think you need to repost your question in a bit more organized way. I don't understand about the accent wall where the island is in a sunset red color? Does that mean you can repaint the island. Is it made of wood? plaster & sheet rock? What type of counter top do you have. As for the overall, do you intend to keep the kitchen backsplash tile? Do you have a budget for this?

I would suggest you write out what is most important to get done. Ex:
Paint paneling,
Replace tile floor
Paint kitchen cabinets
Update lighting
resurface island top, etc.

Once you have that list down then you can tackle your projects in an organized way and you can incorporate a color scheme that would flow throughout both rooms.

Personally I liked the idea of the white paneling on the lower wall and then I would put in a ledge around the room and above it is where you can put a pop of color or some exciting wall paper. By the looks of it you have a fluorescent fixture in the kitchen that gives off that dull gray light so you may want to consider upgrading the lighting in the kitchen to give off a more attractive glow as well as add task light and a pendant over the island, etc. The the double level island needs to be addressed because it is a bit outdated so if the base is made of wood you can raise the entire height of it for food prep and bar seating (on one side) and then replace what ever your current counter top is with something much brighter and more durable.

It seems you already have a sizeable dining table so I would work to improve the look of that with attractive chairs, etc.

Your kitchen tiles may not be able to be changed out with something more up to date but you can invest in some inexpensive runners to add color and pattern to the floor and to hide the tile.

Post more photos from other angles and I am sure other Houzzers would get a better picture of what you hope to accomplish.

oops mean grey color

Christine you are awesome. Thank you. Yes I am all over the place. You have helped me a great deal already. What I meant by accent wall was the wall in the middle above the island (not paint the island). We were thinking to eventually replace the island down the road as well. We do not have much money budget wise so we are trying to tackle a few things at a time.
I like the idea of adding the ledge around the room. I think that will help change the look a great deal.

I will work on putting the list together in a more organized way. I think we want to concentrate on painting the paneling and the walls first.

This is awesome Christine. The colors you have picked so far are exactly the look we are trying to achieve.

Marie, I think the island may be fine. It just needs to two levels removed (makes it look dated) and then you can put in a black granite counter top one level. Does the island have storage? Or do you just want it for prep space and as an eat in counter? You can save tons of money by working with what you have. As for the overall plan put your doucats in to the big things you know you or your significant other cannot do. Then just slowly do those things you can. the picture I have attached of the red kitchen is what you can do if you want to paint just the island a lacquer red (which takes layers and layers of paint and urethane but is stunning) with maybe a white marble on the island and then black granite on the countertops around the kitchen. This way you have a visual focal point. Then take the dining room way down (gulp) to beige or a cool gray or you can really jazz it up with a navy and white scheme so you have all primary colors going on. But then you have to do the rest of house (what fun)...

Thank you! That's great to know I am kinda in the areas of color you like... Please let us know what you decide to tackle first. There is tons of help here and a million cost conscious ways to get there. Have fun.

oh my these look beautiful. The island is corian top with the wood bottom that has a lot of storage for spices etc...i love your idea revamping the island. Basically we use it for prep space and have only a handful of times used it as an eat in counter for the kids. I think a prep space would make more sense.

Thank you again Christine!!!!

Hi Marie,

I like the black. Remove the wood trim around the arch. Paint the wall a light gray color. Then add framed pictures with black frames. Add recessed lighting around the perimeter to make the room brighter.

Hi Erica that is an awesome idea as well...this is going to be fun again..lol

Great! Home improving can be fun and frustrating, but so rewarding in the in. Let me know if you want some product ideas!

Erica

Erica whats a good way to figure out what color wood stain I have on my wood trim? I need to match it where some of the stain came off. Is taking a picture good enough and bringing it to home depot or lowes?

I think the island is to big for the space...it appears to be sitting somewhat in the door space...

Yes I think so too...the previous owners had it there. I wonder what I could replace it with or maybe find one that will look good sideways?

Marie,

You can go to your local paint store and bring in a piece of your current trim and a piece of the trim you want to stain and they will help match it. I have done it before at Kelly Moore Paints and they helped me match two different woods perfectly.

Erica

Have you considered opening the wall between the kitchen and dining room or at least make the doorway wider? I would paint the lower wood part of your dining room the same color as the walls. Your kitchen walls could be a spice or other bright color and I would redo the center island....it is just too big. Can you take the "eating area" off? Or turn it sideways and have eating area only on one side? I can see the island painted black to match your stools.

Actually the wall on the right eventually will be knocked down so it could be more open..on that side is the living Room and that is a little small.

Here are some more picts

This is the island

I would not do gloss white. But do paint trim white. Walls a dove gray though out. It will work with the black.

Paint island black. Keep it simple.

If you want color. Go new bar stools in a red, or yellow.

Remove items from top of cabinets.

I think you should make what you've got look nice before you decide to change directions completely. There are quite a few things you can do that will make it look more professional!

I know gray is very popular right now, but I think a beige would look good as well. Use the kitchen backsplash for ideas, and make sure whatever color you pick has enough richness/depth to it that it makes a contrast and doesn't look like dirty white next to the white cabinets. I like your idea of carrying it through the kitch/din room. Use a flat or eggshell paint, not satin or semi-gloss. Make sure to fill in holes/imperfections and do a perfect prep job before painting--it will make a big difference! When I want a perfect paint job, I fill EVERY crack I can find with painter's caulk, it makes for a much more peaceful impression afterward.
Keep the cabinets white for now and don't worry about the island, just change the cabinet door/drawer handles to something so it doesn't look so white-on-white (dated.)
Personally, I think you will be ok with the black paneling, but nothing shows imperfections more than black! You have to make it perfect. Looking at the photos, I see some spots where the paint looks blotchy and maybe holes/imperfections were not taken care of before painting. Go back, fill spaces with filler or painter's caulk (use the cheap kind that is really paintable or you will never get it to match, get black caulk if you can, or brown might do.) Use small finish nails to fix spots where the paneling gaps. The goal is to get it so that you see only what you want to see, if that makes any sense. Then paint the paneling with nothing shinier than a semi-gloss. Make sure to get the lines between the paneling/wall color perfect--no smudges--use a tiny brush to go back afterward if necessary.
Paint your trim white, but again, I'd suggest a semi-gloss rather than gloss. If it's not nice trim, why emphasize it? (By the way, forget going back to the wood--not worth the trouble of stripping it.) And I wouldn't remove it, it's a pain to make the wall underneath match the paint. You could, but it's a hassle, and why not just leave it there?
I love the idea of the black-framed pictures. Make sure they're big enough to make a statement! (Or group a bunch of them to do the same.) Ledge around the dining room would be nice too, make sure to paint it the same black as the paneling.
Don't worry about your grout for now, just clean the dickens out of the flooring and your dining room carpet. Often we think things look dated but really they're just shabby, and cleaning them pays off.

That is a lot of work. Once you're done, have a nice dinner at your dining room table. You will feel better and it will be easy to figure out what (if anything) you want to do next.

Hi Nancy, thank you.. you have given me some great ideas. I will revamp the chairs :) is BM dove gray the one you are talking about?

Thank you Myexecutive ranch. You answered my questions regarding paint sheen and have given me a lot to think about and work on. You are so helpful all of you. I may just have a professional do the painting so that it's done right.

Would the BM Cloud White be a good white to do the cabinets and the trim?