one more. I hope you get the idea and what these simple changes can accomplish. Paint the window trim (or replace it w/the white. either one)

anything like these will work

Joe - the adjacent space is our dining room and painted the same color as the back wall of the kitchen, that darker brown. And the rest of the house is that stained wood floor. That banister goes to our basement and around through the dining room is the living room, which I love the wood in and would hate to have to change everything white. Our kitchen, dining room and living room are like a U shape, if that makes sense. The walls in the living room are a shade of beige that I think looks nice with the trim. I'm really trying to find a way to make the wood work! I'm just not sure that will happen though, sounds like the consensus is it will look better white, which I totally agree, but we're not sure we want to open that can of worms and create more projects in a house we're only going to be in another year or two. What colors should I look for in a rug? Do you think lightening the adjacent dining room will help balance the two rooms?

I think with time you will enjoy the light floor....I find that darker floors show dust, hair, footprints and etc. I think I would paint the window trim the same as the cupboards, leave baseboard farnished and put down a colorful rug. A white blind also....a curtain would look nice but with your refrigerator covering part of the window it may be hard to put a curtain there.

Thank you so much everyone. I'll send pics of the adjacent room and of the ceiling. Would love everyone's continued feedback!

Painting your oak window trim is quite a chore, as you'll need to sand it first, then prime it, then sand it, then a couple of coats of paint, and the oak grain will still show through. So ... it might be cheaper to replace it with primed/paint-grade trim.

I think your floor is fine, fwiw! Off to read the rest of the comments now.

Honey oak and grey can be successfully paired together -- see this photo: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/e6/8d/f9/e68df966a9c2787ba6cd77610c89a927.jpg

Kariyava - that is the exact photo that I had used in thinking the grey and oak could work! But I feel like the execution is failing. I feel like there's not enough contrast and the cabinets are too white. That photo is similar to the style of the rest of our house (yet, not as "professional" looking), but same color scheme.

I love your floor - really nice! Your kitchen is going to be beautiful. No to the blinds. Agree with Beth that a Roman shade in a lovely fabric or woven wood would be so much prettier. And a rug!

Holly,,,the reason is, that appears to be a Craftsman home, with craftsman style vintage oak. solid oak. I'm assuming yours if from the last few decades? big difference in the wood, the stain, how it's cut and overall appearance of the style of home. That's why your execution looks different.

People always pick these 80-100 year old oak window trims to show as inspiration. nothing about those homes or the wood used is anyway similar to the funky oak trim used in the 80's and 90's!

Your gray paint isn't bad. gray is a difficult shade to get right w/wood. if it's too blue or cool looking, it looks off. Your wood trim isn't horrible, but it would look better in white. remove the trim around the window and replace w/the pre primed white trim and paint that. Doing the two windows in the kitchen will look fine. You will prob want to do the rest of the room once you see how nice it looks.

Why on earth you'd paint the window trim ?it was the first thing I was drawn to-oak/natural /around a window/connection to light/outdoors. You have enough white. The window is a nice feature ....leave wood with its glorious grain alone....you have very little of it.

Here's a hall pass: don't worry about the window frame right now -- it's easy enough to change later. Get the rest of your kitchen in place before you panic, and give yourself time to get used to it. The wood might be fine! Once it's full of life and (sigh) clutter, it will stop seeming like This Foreign Entity and will go back to being home.

I do not like gray much - that said, your kitchen floor is a light and silvery gray which I think is pretty and could work with many styles. I love color and am not so fond of the popular "gray and white kitchen". While wall paint is last, consider something like SW Sea Salt. It is a pretty green/gray, with some blue undertones. It will give you color if that is what you need. Then, do a pretty roman shade or faux roman shade like Beth's first picture.

Here is SW Sea Salt. It warms up the space and woks great with the grays in the first pic's floors:

If there is much more oak in other parts of the house you need to treat it as a color. Bring more of that color in your kitchen with rug,acesssories etc and leave the trim for later. It feels a bit sterile now but it won’t after you've finished!

holly,,woven woods or bamboo. like that gray one I posted ,,or these

You’re really far off having an idea of what the space will be like when the major elements are installed, so don’t sweat the small stuff like trim color right now. (Honestly I think in the mock ups with it painted white it’s maybe too much white and angular in the space, the wood tone breaks things up a bit so it all looks less rectangular.)

You seem to feel like you really need more warm tones, so go looking for a backsplash - something neutral with grey and brown in it (like some natural stones or natural-stone-look tiles) would help introduce some of those warm tones subtly, and then you can go with a rug with some color, too, to liven things up. Once the backsplash is in, then reassess how it looks with the big stuff finished. (I like the idea of adding color on the end wall, too.)

Looks pretty good so far.

It's quite common to get freaked out before backsplash is installed.

Install under cabinet lighting then choose backsplash. Different lighting pulls out different colors.

So,

Take your time choosing the backslash.

Bring 3 of your favorite tile samples into kitchen and see them at day and night.

The back wall can easily be adjusted after the kitchen is fully installed. Give it a week & go with your instinct.

It's amazing how much a difference it will pull together & improve look after backsplash and undercounter lights are in.

Holly, did you keep the stained baseboards for the kitchen? Was the plan to replace them or did you reserve them to put them back? If you kept them, I really wouldn't rush to paint them. I think they will work with the right rug, window curtain and maybe, big maybe a lighter, new wall color. When do appliances arrive? Stainless? Will reflect light through the space and it will look different once again! :-)

You're at that point in the renovation where you are hyper-sensitive to just the molding. The kitchen is so much more than the trim. If you paint that trim white and it makes you happy you are already down the rabbit hole and you'll start looking at the adjacent area and have to paint that trim and then your sofa isn't modern enough for the new trim and then the fireplace would complement the new trim color if it was white-washed and now that all the colors are cool, the wall color doesn't really work and ON AND ON AND ON.

For just a little while, let's focus on something else. What's next on the list?

Edit: At least wait until you finalize the new lighting. It may surprise you.

It's your thread, you may babble but have you decided on lighting?

Keep the stain. It's warm and draws the eye upward. Hold off on the backsplash and paint color until you see the space in different light throughout the day/night.

I think you should work on the lighting plan. Once you see all of the kitchen elements (cab, counters, paint) in their forever light, you'll see a color in the granite and you'll have found the inspiration for the backsplash.

I think Joe is right

I don't have a lot to add, but as a 13 year poster on Kitchens, I can make a couple of suggestions.

First and foremost, it's way to late to "I wish I had..." Unless you're ripping everything out (changing your mind again) and starting over. So give it up and get over it.

Your paint color should come last. Even though the color you've chosen is gorgeous, at least on my monitor! If you choose a color based upon a photo or something here online, you're going to end up with the same situation.

If you want to lighten things up with new paint, start making paint samples on big boards or just on the walls themselves. You must see the paint in each and every time of the day, with your final lighting. Your wall color is really beautiful, though.

Example: I work at night. I was working for a particular sagey green to paint my cabinets. I found a color I LOVED. Actually it ended up being 3 perfect colors. Until in the daylight, the cabs in direct sunlight looked turquoise. The indirect light remained these beautiful, perfect colors. I finally (DUH!) realized my windows had an energy efficient coating on them that turned everything blue. Blue picked out the green in the sage = turquoise. Didn't matter what the pics or samples were.

Learn about color wheels. If you want a color to stand out, put its opposite next to it. For example, if you wanted the green in your countertop to stand out, you'd choose something with a brown tone. Not saying brown-brown, but not something with a pink base. If you wanted the yellow, something with a blue base. Green makes red stand out. And so on.

I think most of all you need to slow down. There is no race. The more you hurry to get "it" over with, the longer you'll be wishing for something different. This coming from someone in a TWELVE YEAR rebuild. I had a fire and am doing it all myself, including building cabinets, installing windows, moving doors, etc. Teaching myself has given me the luxury of mind changes and discovering what really speaks to me. Don't cheat yourself out of the AH HA THAT'S IT moment.

Hi Holly

Looking good and others comments are very great ideas. I would install tall white baseboards about 8". It will really add a pop to the room.

Things take time so don't get discouraged, you're doing great! I would leave the back wall alone and paint window trim white to match your cabinets. Gray is actually on the way out believe it or not so don't go overboard with gray going forward if you do any more work in the house. I recommend a white plantation shutter for the window. Good luck and hope the finished product is what you've always dreamed of. PS don't be afraid of painting all your trim and doors! Hope you enjoy the holidays!

Holly, it seems kinda fun there. Neutrals.

Add warm tones. Yellow, red in paint or accessories. Platter, rug, throw pillows in living area to liven up the monotone grey colors. I would like the rug if it were yellow - or mixed with another color. The geometric pattern is nice. Maybe on the backsplash? Nice floor. if you went bold, I think the wall could be yellow or mustard yellow lightened up with some white mixed in.

Great ideas and suggestions but the decision is yours. I like the white suggestion for window or black and paint your door either white or black as well. Do you need the blinds on door for privacy? If not let the natural light in. Your kitchen will be nice once all the renovations are completed. Inspiration of black window suggestion for contrast in the space. Good luck and update as progress continues. You have made good decisions thus far.

As others have advised, wait until your lighting is installed, then worry about colors. Lighting affects color in ways you would not suspect. To warm up the look of the room, I would suggest that you use a warmer color temperature when you purchase bulbs, etc. Here's a good explanation, with pictures:

http://www.westinghouselighting.com/color-temperature.aspx

P.S., the gray rug looks like it was custom-made for the hallway!