Any advice on how to begin to tackle this giant room with several 'upgrades' needed is greatly appreciated. I know it is a ton of information in my first post.

To note, the layout of the room will stay the same, it's just the 'finishing' look that I have an issue with.

Oh I can see purple in the countertop. Not sure what your lighting is but sometimes that can make a difference. The brass hardware on the cabinets could be one of the easiest things to change - maybe rustic black iron to match the black metal in your furniture. Likewise the brass fireplace screen can also be easily changed. Maybe paint accent wall to be rid of the wood to let the wood of your furniture "shine". Its a BIG project but maybe starting with the brass would be a start.

Thank you for the input! Greatly appreciated.

We have changed the lighting, but unfortunately, it doesn't change the purple. Ha. Glad to hear I am not the only one to see "purple".

I think one my big hesitations on starting with hardware is determining whether the brass needs to go or if would work to stay? I would almost want to leave the hardware to one of the final things to do instead of starting off with that.

If I can make the brass and mixed metal work with a design, I can keep it, but I agree that it looks dated right now.

I think I question whether it needs to stay or go because I have seen some nice photos of dark colors using brass and mixed metals, and we like the darker color scheme.

Also, the whole house has brass-everything. Door knobs, faucets in the bathrooms, etc. Eventually I will change it out everywhere, but until then, curious if I can make it work with a design plan? And once I can change it out throughout the house, I can replace it in this large room with whatever I go with.

Brass fixtures in some design photos below:

What are thoughts on painting the hardwood kitchen cherry cabinets, versus leaving them and designing around them? That would really determine whether to change the fixtures or leave them.

Also, what are thoughts on restaining the wood wall? I like the texture of the wall, not the light grey/dated finish though. Or, do I take it down-I would like to replace it some kind of 'natural' finish like stone (Airstone?) or wood that compliments the furniture? Painting wood looks tacky to me as a finished wall.

It sounds like you're not sure you want to keep the cherry finish on the cabinets. I chuckled when I read your question about painting the cabinets. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to painting wood with a beautiful grain and I have to tell you I'm in the process of installing natural wood cherry cabinets in a kitchen remodel so I'm a bit biased on painting cherry. Re the brass hardware, your hardware is very shiny whereas the hardware in the first picture is brushed or burnished or whatever they call it - that is, it is not shiny like yours. Hard for me to tell with the other pictures. But I get what you're thinking about brass on a dark finish. I just think the shiny brass on the cherry is dated. Is your kitchen faucet also brass? You could always pick up a couple handles like the metal in your furniture just to see what it looks like.

Maybe just starting with replacing the brass in this "main room"?

Re the paneling, now that I've said what I think about painting cherry, I can definitely see painting or re-staining the paneling around the fireplace. I agree, I like the textured of the wood on the wall. Have attached a couple pictures to give an idea of a different look for the paneling. I'm not an expert but I think the wood with the knots (Pine?) will require special prep before a new finish.

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Fantastic-I appreciate your thoughts!

For that wood accent wall, painting could be an option as you showed; what about a faux stone that carries similar colors from the fireplace over to that wall? http://www.homedepot.com/p/Superior-Building-Supplies-Cliff-Grey-24-in-x-48-in-x-1-1-4-in-Faux-Tennessee-Stack-Stone-Panel-HD-KEN2448-CG/205228129

(In Cliff Grey from the link above)

Probably not the most 'cost effective'....of course.

We live in the mountains and that wall has two large 12' windows that give our giant room a gorgeous view of the mountain range we live on, so I want to do it justice.....

Too much stone? In a home in the mountains? I am doing some searching now for accent walls in 'mountain homes' that are stone.

I love stacked stone walls and it would probably look great on that wall, looking out the windows to the mountains but I'd do the whole wall, removing the stone around the fireplace. Hard for me to visualize mixing the 2 stones. BTW I have a view of the Rockies from my window and it is wonderful.

I am so surprised you want dark wood floors. I agree with Sophie on the ligther or mixed colors, such as in hickory. With dogs & horses you will be going in and out a lot & you'll really appreciate the lighter color wood floors. Just make sure they are high quality (which I'm sure you will)..

Bite the bullet & change out all of the brass (at least in this room to begin with). I would go with the oil rubbed bronze to go with your furniture choices. Change the light fixtures as well which I'm sure are also very dated. After changing those three items & with the furniture in, reacces the other changes needed. Come back to Houzz again for continuing help. Enjoy your large lovely country home.

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice! Our current walls have what we have been told is an 'orange peel' texture. How hard is that to replicate if we were to just drywall our accent wall that is currently wood? I am concerned on matching that texture, hence, the thoughts of using faux stone to create a different look.

Any drywall contractor can match that. Especially since it is a whole wall and not a patch.

Small update....

I think I would like to have an idea of the finished project before I start with any of it, so I am playing with color options and trying to find some good visualization apps to play with.....

After using some color apps that allow you to visualize paint colors in a photo (SW Color Visualizer), I have really tried to 'like' and incorporate the cherry kitchen cabinets into any kind of design I am drawn to,.....but I can't.

The "best" look was a SW Dard Hunter Green wall, leaving the cherry cabinet alone. It looked very 'huntsman' and traditional, but, honestly, it is too safe and traditional for our taste.

It was nice. and that's it.

Just nice.

Like, 90's traditional stock home.

After visualizing it and living with the image for a while, I ended up hating it. I really wanted myself to like it-it would be a huge relief to NOT paint the freaking cabinets, but no go.

I tried tons of wall colors with the wood cabinets, even ones I may have been drawn to in a photo but not really 'liked' in general....no go.

Even with new color on the floors acting as wood and color on the walls, the cherry and my weatherly furniture color really clash.

So, playing with paint colors on the cabinets too......

All that to say, perhaps I need to convince myself of some colors and not worry about messing up a 'nice' home.

Nice is OK, but I am finding out that "nice" is boring.

Is huntsman look what you want? I get what you're saying - a "hunter green" is too ordinary and you want something with a bit of an "edge" to it. What about a midnight blue - I don't have a specific SW color in mind - just trying to think outside the box. And a couple of your pictures of brass cabinet hardware made me think of a dark dark blue - they may be black but a dark blue could be a possiblity. I don't "see" anything in the red/orange/yellow colors going with your cherry cabinets.

Right, dramatic and edgy 'huntsman' is more the look I am looking for than traditional dated look I saw with the hunter green and cherry.

I did try the Naval blue (very dark, navy blue from SW) wall color, and it was a close second.

Edited to add-

I think what throws it off is that the living and dining room have to be the same color and style as the kitchen. I wouldn't mind the more traditional look in the living room, but not in the kitchen area-it becomes too 'traditional home' instead of an updated "foxhunt equestrian" ("huntsmen") styled.

So, I have to plan for a color that can go with the more 'edger/dramatic' kitchen, but still have that equestrian look for the rest of the living spaces that share the same, square room.

As I look through my kitchen inspiration photos (on Houzz and Pinterest), I am seeing an edgier look (more color, more dramatic finishes, higher drama level) in the kitchen, and definitely a more traditional look in the living rooms. How to combine the two styles in one room that share a wall?

If anyone has some good photos of a dramatic looking kitchen that has cherry cabinets, please share,....otherwise, I see painted cabinets in our future..... :/

did a quick look at SW Naval blue. I was thinking something even darker, like maybe inkwell.

I have thought about Inkwell when I first started. Just plugged it into my photos, and I adore the drama of it.

So, that begs the 2nd "cherry wood" issue- how is a dark dramatic cherry cabinet (I am going to say orange-red undertone instead of just red) able to go with a 'yellow undertone' lighter wood of the furniture around it?

It just seems to clash to me, but tell me y'all's opinions with fresh eyes......look past the junk on the counter though! How about the countertops? Ehgad. I was thinking butcher block or copper, but now I don't know. Too many wood tones if I kept the cherry color.

I have included a photo from the SW Color Visualizer that shows the countertop, kitchen cabinets, and a piece of our furniture. The wall is Inkwell.

I love the dark color-BTW.

So, lots of wood tones so far-remember the floor will be wood as well-I did 'darken' it in the photo above to help with the 'feel', as it is originally a stark white tile, light wood, and white barber carpet.

We are looking at 4 wood tones with:

1. furniture
2. kitchen cabinets
3. flooring (undecided on finish/color)
4. mantle on fireplace that will remain wood-unpainted but refinished

I am not counting the giant 'wood wall', but that is #5, for now.

Ultimately I would love to do a full reno on that wall and the fireplace (save the mantel) with the stone we talked about in prior posts. However, I am going to put the wall on the back burner for now. We decided we do not want to put up the same orange peel texture wall and paint it, so it will need to be an accent wall with organic texture (stone/wood/etc) at some point.

For now, let's ignore it. Ha-ha.

My limited design knowledge and art background tells me to eliminate one or more wood tones, or refinish to 'flow' better, since they are so different.

So options are:

1. The mantel can be refinished.
2. Flooring can be chosen wisely to help tie things together.
3. Kitchen cabinets can be refinished or painted
4. I am crazy and all the wood tones go fantastically together and with the wall painted from white and flooring down in wood tones, it will be fine. (Written tongue in cheek. Appreciate the sarcasm there.) ;)

Furniture is non-negotiable, non-changing.

Anyone with thoughts or advice on tying various wood tones with different undertones together, I'm all ears.

I would love input on what the wood undertones actually are. I think I am right, but would love a professional, or more educated, eye to confirm.

I see: kitchen cabinets have an orange-red undertone, furniture is yellow, mantel is yellow, and wood wall is pink or yellow?

Also, thoughts on trim and door colors? The photo above shows one of our pocket doors. We have all white doors and pocket doors, all builder grade white trim.

I love SW Inkwell on the walls, so let's assume that's the wall color at this point. Once I get some samples and actually put it up, I will post photos and we can go from there.

Thanks for all the advice, it is so helpful to have fresh eyes and experienced opinions on our home.

Like the look of the Inkwell - think the brass hardware with the cherry works well with that color. Is the furniture piece in the picture located that close to the cherry cabinets? I do think you can have 4 different wood surfaces in 1 large area - not sure how large but that's the impression I got. I'm far from being an expert - just go by instinct - but perhaps if the same wood floor surface was throughout the large room, that could be an unifying element - that and Inkwell on the walls. And the future stacked stone wall would make a statement.

The white trim and doors is a nice contrast to the Inkwell but I have to say that my first impression when I saw your last picture was that the door seemed a bit stark. So maybe still white but tweaking it a bit - there are so many whites. Couldn't see much of the floor in that picture. Did see the brass hardware on the pocket door!

Wouldn't say that my opinion is an experienced one unless age counts. :)

Hey, I appreciate the thoughts.

Yes, that china hutch is one of the pieces in our furniture collection that stays, and it is located that close to the kitchen.

That wall I took a photo of-from left to right-shares the kitchen, a pocket door to our laundry room/pantry (shown in photo), to a short piece of wall that is perpendicular to the "wood wall" that goes off in a right angle. This big room is essentially a large rectangle, with that pictured wall being kitchen, door, short wall. The wood wall sits perpendicular to it, and has a door, two large windows, and fireplace.

That buffet is offset, with a gallery photo wall to it's right, before the wood wall intersects. The wood wall's door to the back porch is close to that corner.

That little area (with wood square of flooring) in front of buffet and short wall, to the door on the wood wall, was originally designed as a place for a smaller table with chairs, and has a pendant light hanging. It is a walkway from the back porch though, so we put the hutch there and added the 'gallery wall' of photos and misc. hangings. I don't really want another table there.....DH and I have talked about putting a little high top cafe table there, but right now, I like the space and a dedicated art wall. Are you thinking we need to move the buffet further from the kitchen? In the opposing corner of the room, next to the kitchen is the dining room 'area', which has the same type of furniture style, and it is fairly close to the kitchen cabinets as well-maybe 6' away, and there is no moving that further, so not sure we can do that. That hutch is a b* to move, too.

No I'm not saying to move the china hutch - just trying to get an idea of the relation of everything. sounds like you have pieces of that furniture style on both sides of the large room. I 'm thinking that's better than clustering it all together in one area. As one is scanning the room, the eye sees the furniture style repeated throughout the room.

Just had an idea - what if you painted just the large island to reduce the wood? Then would the cherry wood cabinets be just on the outside wall?

Think its a nice touch to have a photo gallery wall in a walk way - then you can appreciate those pictures with every walk by.

Not that I'm suggesting but I just read on another post about painting the brass around a fireplace with a black high heat paint. Maybe a less expensive way to get rid of that bit of brass - I do think that a black surround would go better with the log mantle.

If I paint the island, I will just paint all of the cabinets in the kitchen, so I've got to figure out if they stay or go.

I think I need to come up with two design plans and go from there.....

1) Kitchen cabinets are painted (what color??!!) and walls are painted to suit with cabinets.

2) Paint walls and leave cabinets alone.

The things that are happening regardless:

New flooring throughout-would like to get something that goes well with our furniture, and is pretty neutral to go with whatever you decide re: cabinets/wall color. Any suggestions to ensure I don't mess up flooring choices and end up with something that doesn't work well with whatever changes I decide?

Mantel is getting refinished somehow....not sure how.

Wood wall is getting redone-whether it be refinished and left as wood or torn down to replace with stone (and redo the fireplace to match). Has anyone used Airstone? Like it? What about for a fireplace surround?

I remember a post I read on HOUZZ - once you paint the wood (cabinets in your case), there is no going back. So I would suggest start with painting just the walls. I visualize a major transformation if you use Inkwell. Re your floor, do you have access to a retail store or a designer to help in the decision of your floor choice - not a salesman but someone who has some designing talent. I have worked with a family business that does floors and window coverings and the sales/designer lady has helped me make a lot of decisions over the years. It would be nice to have someone come to your home with samples so you can see it in your setting. OR is it possible to pay for a consultation with a designer - like for 1-4 hrs. Deciding on a floor for a large area is a BIG decision and you may save money in the end.

I have a local flooring store (family owned as well), not sure how much design experience they have, but they have been very knowledgeable in past projects I have worked on, regarding types of flooring and what is suited best for each situation. I will get them out and see what they think. They also come out and do a "square footage" measurement for free, so that is good for us to get an idea of what we are dealing with, in real numbers.

I am trying to convince my DH we need tile instead of hardwood, re: farm living/dogs that come inside, etc. But we live in a cold climate and he doesn't want the "coldness" tile has......(in floor heating is out of the question, btw), though that is what rugs are for, right? ;)

Suggestions on a hard hardwood floor that would be reasonably priced to buy and install?

Have you looked at tile that looks like wood? A discussion with the flooring store may be just what you need. Something to consider - what is under the floor - a heated basement??? The flooring store may help with all these things to consider.

Yes, we have a basement, that will eventually be heated. It is unfinished and a project for down the road.

Tile that looks like wood is what I would like, but we'll see.

I have officially been convinced to not paint the cabinets-thank you! ;) My cabinets thank you too.

Will get flooring company out for advice, pricing, and go from there.

Thoughts on large wood wall? I am looking into Airstone stone to reface it with.....

I did not read all the comments, so you may have decided to for or against some of my ideas already. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your furniture by the way. I don't think "fox hunt" works with your very cool industrial stuff. Can you work the hunt into another room? I'm seeing cool craft brewery style. I love the stone wall and I love the mantel, but not together. One is rich and controlling nature, the other is rustic and following nature. I wonder if you could change the mantel and use the gorgeous wood mantel as a shelf/sideboaord somewhere. Both work with your furniture.

I kinda hate the 1970's diagonal wood wall. Not in keeping with ANY of the styles in the room or your stuff. What especially troubles me is that the long diagonal washed out wood argues with the strong squares and rectangles of the stone. TOO busy, the eyes can't "savor" what is stunning. I wouldn't even bother to paint it, the diagonals still argue. I would suck it up and do the horrible, miserable job of tearing it out and putting in smooth drywall. I paid a guy not that much to smooth out all of my stucco ceilings and it looks like smooth new plaster now. Maybe you could so that with the orange peel surface too? You have such cool taste, I'd want to be able to focus on your stuff if I was your guest!

I understand your wanting to keep the brass, but I think it looks 1980's on polished cherry. silvery/brushed nickel, industrial/farmhousey/1930's craftmannish pulls and knobs would, I think, complement your furniture and contrast more modernly with the cherry. The cherry is beautiful but doesn't work well with your stuff, but SO EXPENSIVE to replace. (OH! yellow/warm colors make purple look more purple. Brass is a warm yellow tone. Cool silvers would minimize the purple effect. ) I painted hickory cabinets that were tooooo rustic to go with my stuff. It was a ridiculous amount of work and never looked looked like the pro finish you see on painted cabinets that you buy with painted finish. If you put a tall leafy potted tree next to the display cabinet it would interrupt the shiny smooth cherry from the muted grain wood of your cabinet? But if you paint it I bet black would be gorgeous!

I had a farm with lots of horses, dogs, sand, mud and hair. My dark floors showed the most hair and mud. The light showed mud. I had the best luck with grade 2 and 3 maple plank, installed myself because I am cheap and a glutton for punishment, and the natural grain and shading of the wood hid the most. Looks GREAT with black, industrial, most of your elements. Might argue with the stone, but not like the wood walls!!! (For tiled areas I tracked dirty boots in, let it dry, then bought tile and grout that color!)

Best of luck to you. I hope you post finish pics! And that I know how to find you again!

Sorry, I just wrote a novel, then saw your last post about tile. Why is in floor heat out of the question? I just did it in my bathroom. If you do the install yourself you don't get ripped off. It was $230 for the digital thermostat/controller and sensors. That was the expensive part. They have do it yourself supplies that are reasonable after you buy the over priced controller. The cheapest type works great! Deduct cost of all those rugs, including your time vacuuming and beating them, washing out cat pee...! BEST investment I ever made in myself or my house. Helps heat the whole area cleanly and lowers utility bills. I do not work for an in floor heating company. LOVE me my heated floors. Think about it...

I have had heated floors before in my previous homes and just didn't care for them. :) Glad you are loving yours though!

Any suggestions on types of hardware for cabinets? I am looking around for something to tone down the '90's' feel and blend with the Thomasville furniture. Lots of "wrought iron" looking stuff with the glass and wood. I do feel it can go "foxhunt", if I design the rest of the room around it. As I noted earlier, the kitchen can look more updated, and the rest can be more 'classical equestrian'. I have also looked at leather "hardware" for the cabinets, but with the wood, I think the color of the leather won't contrast enough. (remember too- budget!)