My furnishing will remain in the brown/tan colored area, if you will. Just floor tile. The back splash is the counter top color itself minus what you see across where the micro/stove are. If that makes any sense.

My philosophy behind selecting a backsplash, would be to choose something that marries the counter and cabinets and then choose a paint color that contrasts the backsplash. A close up photo of the counter top would be helpful in directing you to a color that might work. At Cottage Craft Tile we work with customers to custom color match our tile to their project. Our tiles have a unique warm historical look so they would have to fit the decor of your home, but I'd invite you to check out our Cottage Craft Tile website to get some ideas. Its loaded with photos of completed projects. All the best to you on your new home!

I recommend either keeping the appliances if they are still in good shape or when you buy new ones to rethink the stainless. I changed mine to stainless & they are so hard to keep looking nice. I like the new wood-look textured porcelain for the floor. I think they are maybe 24" X 36" or 12" X 36". Light gray would be a good color choice. If you do backsplash, you can never go wrong using subway tile. There is some conjecture of do you remove the 4 inch strip or not when doing a backsplash. I would opt to remove it unless you use a very similar color to the granite. Your subway tile, I think should be either white, off-white or a marbled color bring in the color of the counter. You don't have a large area. You could switch them up by going horizontally keeping the grout line up & down the same or you could go vertically side by side. Classic subway is running bond. Keep your grout lines very minimal & use a light gray for grout. Hey you can even do a chevron pattern since you have a small area.

By the way I would lay the floor tile in the running bond pattern, running lengthwise for ease of cutting and for nice look.

I would like to suggest a color different from either gray or brown / tan for the walls. If you plan to paint all walls in the area, get sample cans of several colors to try in different parts in the room. I would suggest a very pale teal (almost white) or the palest of blue. Add just a drop of color to the ceiling paint if doing the ceiling. You could paint the back of the eating bar the same or go darker. You could put up bead board around the bar for accent.

If going with new lighting I suggest using LED for both the dining, living and under counters. (well everywhere, in fact). They are very economical, cooler, last for 20,000 hours. Check Ikea.com for more info on them. Have fun doing up the new home.

I think you will want to work with a wall colour that compliments the the other walls...which appear to be a light sage/olive colour. Before you make a final decision, you might want to prime the red (twice should kill the colour) and see what that does to the overall space. You might find once you kill the red you will find the whole space changes (the green walls become more noticeable). Once the red has been covered then you can go ahead and paint swatches on the wall to decide which way to go.

That also goes for choosing flooring. Once the red has been eliminated, bring in the flooring choices with the paint. You can choose them at the same time to help things work together. You will also want to decide if the green paint is staying...it too will change the way the light works in this space and change the way wood/counter top/flooring looks.

Select and install tile first. Then choose paint. It is easier to match paint to the tile rather than match tile to paint.