Can you hang the floral over a cabinet next to the venthood and post a picture? Thanks

What about finding a toile in a color from your floral fabric? Or using the black and white toile in the dining room and saving the floral for the family room?

Here's a pic of the floral next to the hood. I'm willing to paint the hood (although DH might not be so happy about it. He loves the black, and we already bought more black to paint the island and the oven cabinet.).

I think the toile is better with your current kitchen look. The back splash wall paint looks like it might need to change as well and the plates on the hood rail too I suppose it depends more on the look you want overall. Maybe the colors for the kitchen were wrong to start with? (But I would still use the toile with the hood color and plates)

View from entry:

(Looking back toward entry.). Painted dresser is a temporary island only.

I love the way the black hood ties in with the black chairs and the toile is perfect with them both. I would do as suggested above and find a floral that has some black and white in it to tie it all together.

I like the toile way better. I think it stands up to your hood. The floral is too soft and faded looking.

OK, I'm hearing you guys, but before I let this go.... Should I consider lightening up the hood to a green or bluish color, such as one of these?

Otherwise, I could switch to black and white buffalo check curtains for the dining room, and abandon my sweet floral fabric...

I really like the black hood.

Keep the hood black! Go shopping for an alternate floral before you switch to the checks. I think you can have the country vibe in the dining room and still have the toile in the kitchen.

First, i'm a cottage girl. I would keep the range hood black. I like your idea of toile in one room and black and white buffalo check in the other.

Definitely the toile! With the black hood/island, adding more black by bringing in a fabric such as the toile will help in pulling the space together. Love the plates, too. As for the backsplash, either paint it a tan color like the tile or a deep red, or use a co-ordinating wallpaper that matches the toile fabric.

Lots of toile wallpaper here.

http://www.americanblinds.com/wallpaper/patternsearch/?q=Toile

Help, the black florals that I'm finding are making me gag. They look either too heavy and formal, or too modern, or, too, well, pick your adjective. ; ) As an aside, the dining room curtains need to be cheap. Like, under $20 per panel. Impossible, right?

I like the current floral fabric, and I think you can get it to play nice with black toile. How about a new valance for the library? I am thinking a black toile valance accented with the floral as a ruffle separated by piping in the blue background color from the floral. Then I would use black toile in the kitchen(do not paint the hood- it is awesome) maybe with some blue piping. I might like a different black toile if that was in the realm of possibilities.

A valance for the librabry, something like one of these:

A less serious black toile:

For what it's worth, I'm not a fan of the floral at all.

If you want to save money use the toile in both rooms, but only use it to trim the kitchen curtains and for the full panel in the dining room. For the body of the kitchen curtains, match the background with a solid cream (black would be too much).

You will want to make sure the fabric is heavy enough for the curtains to fall nicely and you will want to line them as well. I would venture a guess that $20 per panel is a little light to get that done well.

Another toile that is an option:

And a different direction, tan ticking stripe:

I'm ok with using the black and white toile in the kitchen. So, if I do use the toile in the kitchen, which would look better in the dining room: buffalo checks? The floral that doesn't match, but I like? The tan ticking stripes? Pale blue toile?

I vote buffalo checks in the dining room. I dont care for any of the other samples.

Keep in mind I'd like a cottagey, casual vibe, not formal, stuffy, or primitive. A little rustic is most definitely ok. Crusty is not. :-).

It's a very gray day today, which is often our "normal." The chandelier is down during the drywall work, so I've attempted to light this with a shop light.

I can't wait to get this room in order and repainted!!!

what about a gingham fabric for the dining room?

Another vote for the toile. As soon as I saw your second picture, I felt that the toile was just right for the space. I found he floral to look as if it were an interloper.

Or if you really like green........

Toile for trim in kitchen on a tan background. (Same tan as upper walls.) Maybe an ivory backsplash. Not stark white, but the soft white in the toile. Toile curtains in hutch, and buffalo check in dining room. That bay window will look stunning with simple buffalo check panels and along with your black chairs will pull together the cottage look you're after.

I like the black hood and plates. I see you have a black fridge too. I'm not sure about painting anything else black in the kitchen. Too much?

You mentioned the dining room color. A simple beige like SW Kilim Beige would work well.

http://www.amazon.com/Achim-Home-Furnishings-Buffalo-Curtain/dp/B00KKOXZLM

16.68 per 48x84" panel.

You could easily line them for a nice draping quality.

Also consider using buffalo check tablecloths for drapery fabric.

Does a toile with blue and gray do anything for you? Free sample available from this site.
http://www.loomdecor.com/light-blue-floral-toile-fabric-secret-garden-mist

Just to clarify, the black and white toile has a stark white background. It's very, very bright in person. I looked up pictures of floral and toile combi curtains, but they didn't trip my trigger. : ( (I'm not looking to do any other toiles, beyond the pale blue, tan and cream one, which is "OK", but not DH's favorite. )

Here's the inspiration picture for the ticking stripe curtains. (I have a pair of fancier looking chairs that go in front of the bay window, too.)

These are the buffalo check curtains (somewhat similar to gingham, Rose Abbey.) I'd have to lengthen them with a contrasting fabric. They don't come long enough to reach the floor. Our windows are tall.

Maybe this is another interloper, but I'll toss it in as a possibility, too:

Here's sort of how the buffalo check could look in our window:

I'm having a hard time keeping up with you all. : ) Those are the curtains I was looking at, Prairie Moon. Using tablecloths would work handsomely.

That's really pretty fabric, My3dogs, but not on my pennies. : )

Prairiemom, I used tablecloths(sage green/ivory from Target)to reupholster a chair! It really wasn't a 'true' reupholstering since I used a glue gun, but you couldn't tell the difference. And it wasn't just DR chair seats. lol Love the blue fabric 3 dogs.

I'd love to see your chair, Patty. Is it holding up ok? It sounds like a neat idea. I figure that when the fabric for our upholstered dining room chairs dies, I'll slipcover them with drop cloths.

What about using Localeaters toile sample with your black toile and a pale blue or green check or stripe from your floral fabric. in the dining room you could use that same pale fabric for panels and if you really wanted to use the floral, make it a table runner with black toile piping and then use the rest of the the floral for pillow covers in the living or family room maybe that will tie all three together

I understand that price on the fabrics and easy availability really limit the options. But maybe check fabricguru.com for what they have on sale, that is where I found the Waverly Toile Bliss for half price.

I've got 5 checked tablecloths in my Amazon cart. I'll run them by DH before ordering, though. They're a great size: 60" x 126" (We're 108" from floor to ceiling.) Tablecloths, only $11.99 each. : ) The extra length should help when I go to line the checks up. Oh, I just realized that they have plain colored tablecloths, too. Maybe I should get the white ones for the lining.

Another vote for the toile. The floral looks dated IMHO. I think the buffalo check offers a nice resolution to your problem.

I agree with the buffalo checks too

FYI Walmart has thermal back 95" curtains pretty cheap. But no true white just ivory

I go out for lunch and get left way behind.

Anyway, no to the floral, I don't like it with the counter or the backsplash. Keep the venthood black.

I like the toile and hate the gingham-like fabric. (but it reminds me of a hideous grade 8 sewing project of a dirndl skirt.)

I like the floral but the house has great bones and it is too busy for that much on the walls. You can get some floral-ey pillows or something! Or better yet, some botanical prints, which I love, YMMV. I like the buffalo whatever. I never knew what that meant before! That's neutral, bold not blah, and looks great with all your possible toiles! OK, if not toilles, what is the plural of toile. Tulles?

Hate the toile, love the floral. Well, you asked!

Since we're still offering.....stripes are my "print". I believe you can never go wrong with stripes. On clothing, curtains, pillows, tote bags......I have a serious addiction to stripes.

But I consider them a little less formal and would put stripes in the kitchen and toile in the dining room.

Lol, blfenton. If I'd made a dirndl skirt from the checks, I might hate those curtains too!

I'm not sure what the plural of toile is, ipinkmountain. I'm not even sure how to pronounce it, either.

I like the floral, too, but, I also wondered if it was a bit dated. I'm also not convinced it holds up well to the strong colors of our wood cabinets.

It's not like I'm a die-hard toile lover, nor a die-hard chicken lover. It's more that they looked like they worked with the maple.

Interesting thought, Spanish, about swapping the stripes to the kitchen and the toile to the dining room. What if we use the dining room all day long, 3 meals a day? That's how the space is used. Does that change the formality aspect, and thus the toile landing in there, any?

I've only read through the first few responses but will say I LOVE the toile in your kitchen and don't care for the floral at all. It is muted and kind of tired looking, if that makes any sense to you. I would use the black and white toile in the kitchen and the toile and some other fabric in the dining room!

Sounds to me like you like florals the best. I have seen some with black backgrounds and a little more intense color that are nice.

1. The floral looks like something my grandma might have used. The colors and pattern both say 'dated' to me. I love the buffalo check also, great combo w/toile.

I asked DH his opinion tonight. He likes what's there now. That's not the answer I was expecting! LOL. These are blue and cream stripes with little tassels hanging from them. I picked these up as a place holder. :-/

i love the toile with your cabinets and hood. i like the floral with your cabinets, but not your hood... i would use the toile in the kitchen and dining room or find a complimenting fabric for the dining room...

Thanks for your help one and all! I plan to use the toile in the kitchen. I'm still dithering about the dining room, but need to make up my mind soon! I appreciate all your insights. Thank you.

I forgot to add that we held up the ticking stripe fabric in the kitchen, and it also washed out and looked wimpy next to the cabinets.

I think the problem wth the ticking is from a distance the colors blend in to each other and it has no real presence.

I found I a few floral on black prints that might work if you want to use a floral for the dining room and the buffalo check in the library space. But I think it gets more toward English cottage with the darker prints

Yup, you nailed it Kippy. I'm pretty sure the ticking will hold up in a smaller space, so I'm going to use it in the entryway instead.

I'm ok with English cottage as long as it's light rather than heavy. Most of the black florals I was able to find were so dark and depressing looking, or overly elegant and stuffy.

Off to do a little shopping, we'll see if anything good turns up.