Here's the floor plan for the first floor. The family room has a vaulted ceiling but it isn't a high vault.

I wouldn't give up on color that's in your heart just yet. Why don't you buy the little containers ($2) of the possible choices and paint 2x2 squares to see how they look? Then decide.

as to China cabinet it is gorgeous

I'd check out SW Agreeable Gray or Accessible Beige; or BM Edgecomb Gray or Balboa Mist.

Also, see this blog on best paint colors with (orangey) oak.

http://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-paint-colours-to-go-with-oak-wood/

or http://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-4-best-warm-gray-paint-colours-sherwin-williams/

Thanks, bossyvossey and nosoccermom.

I will definitely check out those colors and blogs.

My Sherwin Williams store doesn't have $2 sample pots. You need to buy a sample quart for $6-7. I think SW has the best array of grays, but you really need to paint a sample board and view it in your space and light. Don't just go on the say-so of someone in a paint store.

Agree with Linelle. Benjamin Moore sells sample pots for around $6 (not a quart, more like a pint size). I went through around 8 samples to get the right one for our bathroom recently. Yes, I know that's a lot to spend, but cheaper than getting the wrong color and having to buy paint again.

I painted foam board, 2 at a time, until I got it right. I moved the boards around to every wall in every light.

Yes, OutsidePlaying! I have a cabinet in the garage full of paint samples just for two unrelated projects. My recently purchased SW sample jugs are 30.9 oz., so just under a full quart. I wish they sold pints for half the price. You don't need a full quart to decide if a color will work or not. Sample boards will generally tell the tale.

Don't merely pit two or three colors against one another. When you do that you tend to lose sight of the fact that only one color needs to work. Look at a single color and see how you react. Move it around the room. Leave it in one place so a day elapses and light changes.

I considered Mindful Gray for my house's exterior but all I see is green in it.

Housequester, I have exactly the same orangey tinged woodwork in my house, and also recently had to paint a bedroom full of a whole variety of wood finishes. I needed something that played nice with all of them. Ugh, what a pain! I also spent way too much on paint samples, the prices they charge are outrageous as well as the size of the paint cans. But, better than living with color you hate or having to repaint. Time is money. My thought process went from cream to beige to griege to gray. Gray was the winner. Try SW "Grey Screen" that is what I used and it is excellent with all my woods. The other chip in the pack, "Online" is also a bluish grey that plays nicely with orangey wood. Neither one of them reads "blue" UNLESS you pair them with blue, in which case they skew blue. But that is not a problem for us. They are also rich looking and restful, I really like them. I used the "velvet" paint finish and loved it. I am trying to get to the point where I can post a "reveal" photo, but SO got sick and we are behind on finishing unpacking for the room and setting it up.

Two other SW colors I almost went with were "nacre" and "shell white." Nacre is a griege but it skews yellow, IMHO. Shell white was gorgeous but I decided to go a tad darker with the grey.

Thanks pink mountain! A blue gray might work.

Exactly what I was thinking, if grey is in your heart what about a blue grey?

So here's my issue: all along I have wanted gray paint. I dropped into the Sherwin Williams store the other day and looked at paint there with the woman who came to help me and she convinced me that the color I wanted, Mindful Gray, is too gray. It just kind of looks grimy with all these brown/orange tones.

Mindful Gray is the wrong hue family for your stuff.

Take a look at Requisite Gray SW7023.

The colors I'm now looking at are Anew Gray and Mega Greige, but I'm really not excited about them. They look good with the other colors in the house but they just look tan to me

That's too far in the 'other direction' from Mindful Gray. Plus, Anew Gray and Mega Greige both have more chroma (or colorfulness) than Mindful and Requisite which is why they look tan and not gray.

Requisite should look like it's kinda in between Mindful and Anew / Mega. It should also look more gray than Anew and Mega.

Thanks, Lori. I'll definitely look into Requisite. What you said is exactly what I feel but you said it much better. Anew and Mega are just too far in the other direction.

Take a look at Requisite Gray SW7023.

Lori, I am so glad you mentioned Requisite Gray! It is currently my leading contender for exterior siding. I want no blue in my gray. RG is the warmest gray I've tested (and I've tested many at this point), that doesn't lean too green or tan. It's a fine line.

It is a fine line Linelle. Good luck with your exterior! :)

Lukkiirish, I'll try to get ahold of a paint deck. Good idea.

I was going to buy a SW fan-deck but my SW store offered to lend me one. SW has a sale going on through the end of March so the sample jugs are $5. They also sell 18" x 24" drywall boards, about $6.00. You can prime & repaint them as many times as you want. I do one coat of primer & two coats of paint with 4 hours between coats. Also easy to move around the house & you get a true example of what the paint looks like on wallboard. I'm on the hunt for a perfect color - once I find it I'll paint several samples on something I can adhere to a wall. It's a new build so no walls to paint. Good luck!

Lori - 22 samples & still going. But, I'm getting close. I'm on a first name basis with all the SW staff.

Thanks! That's good to know.

SW Knitting Needles is a beautiful soft blue-gray.

Another one to add to my list! I went and picked up about 20 paint chips yesterday. We're definitely thinking going more blue. The problem is, I love blue, and every room in my house might end up blue if I don't watch out!

I feel like a broken record bc I always recommend this color but check out SW Lattice. It is a very soft, light grey with just the tiniest hints of blue in certain lights. I adore this color in my home.

Recommend away! I'll check it out. :-)