I would definitely tile all the way up for impact. Have you decided on a tile or have any ideas for a direction you’d like to go? I actually quite like the paint color in your kitchen =)

Why white and why gray?

Because you have always loved them or because that is what everyone has been doing for the last 10 years?

Please don't paint your cabinets.

I wouldn't paint the kitchen grey either. Instead I'd paint the dining room another shade of green. The gray in your dining room is actually deadening the room.

Another vote for thinking your cabinets are gorgeous and painting them is a mistake. I also love slate floors and I’m thinking your granite is Blue Eyes, which I loved at my fabricators display room but was told it’s near impossible to source anymore, hope you appreciate them! I would draw color inspiration for wall paint and tile, from either the blue eyes in the granite or a tone in the slate.

I would spend money on paint but not for the cabinets. The kitchen color is making your cabs look more orange although I like it it's not currently "in". My suggestions would be to paint the kitchen/family room a more neutral color (try BM grey mirage or november rain, they both look great with wood). I think doing a backsplash is a great idea and would recommend making that your color in the room, finding something that coordinates with the granite and flooring.

Don't paint your cabinets until you try to work with them. the finish won't be as durable as what you have and they are so nice as is.

Also try thinking of your cabinets as a color and incorporate it into the rest of the room. for example, chestnut colored velvet pillows, or throw. Or using this color for upholstered seats or chairs for the eat in space.

make it easy for yourself..take the formula for the dining room paint and go to the paint store.....formulate a very pale shade of the same. Paint with this. You have nice bones to the home as shown.. in good condition with some nice details. The kitchen looks good...complete the tiling project and you can consider it finished. Move on to maybe some wall art/sheer panels on the patio doors in your great room. The warmth of your kitchen cabinets is a plus.

Oh my goodness. I love your cherry cabinets. Painting them would ruin them. I love the slate floors too. I also think grey walls would be the last thing you want in a room with a grey sofa and grey rug. The nice thing about grey is that it is a neutral, which allows you to be more creative with accessories and paint colors. And I love your dining room furniture and from what I can see (would appreciate a closer look) the chairs have a cool gold fabric that is brought out by the drapes. The warm gold looks dreadful with the cool grey paint. How about a really rich cream color? Green is also a cool color but it is giving a much needed brightness to cut through the greys browns and golds. It isn't quite right for tying it all together but you will want to replace its effect with your ultimate paint choice.

As for the tile-here is a good place to tie in the rooms. A smidge of gold in there perhaps? Cementtileshop.com has these cement tiles which I LOVE

I love tile to the ceiling but in your case with the open wall to the living room, you may only want to tile to the ceiling behind the hood to avoid an awkward transition over the cabinets on the sink side:

I like your kitchen as it is. I’d consider painting the dr built-in before painting the kitchen cabinets. Something darker to blend in more and not look out of balance with the natural wood piece on the other side of the room.

What really isn't working is that your home is casual traditional but you have a formal Victorian dining room. The period pieces are great but they're not meant for this home. If the goal is cohesiveness, something has to change.

The home decorating forum can advise you on paint color. It's going to be tricky to find a paint that works with the slate floor and cherry and the gray furnishings, but the solution is not to get rid of beautiful cherry cabinets. They also may be able to work with some of the dining room furniture and the chandelier to lead you to an eclectic look more suitable for your home.

Do you really want to tie your rooms together? Don't paint your cabinets. Your wood cabinets are a lovely complement to the wood floors in the other rooms. Painted cabinets, with your current tile floor, in between two rooms with warm wood floors will make the kitchen stick out like a sore thumb. Look for photos of rooms with lots of wood next to all-painted kitchens to see what I mean.

Your kitchen actually looks nice to me. I would actually not tile the entire range wall because there is so much wall above the upper cabinets - I would therefore stop the tile at the hood.

I also like your current wall color. But if you think your kitchen really needs help, then the cheapest, easiest thing you can do right now would be to hire a color consultant (unless you are an artist and master of combining colors, like others on this forum). Get help to pick a more complementary paint color and start there. If it were my kitchen, I would pick a different paint color (maybe the one in the other rooms), add a backsplash, and stop there (other than accessorizing with color).

Disclaimer: I tend to DIY nearly everything, but I do believe it's worth it to hire a color consultant for major changes. My consultant has advised me on paint colors, cabinet finishes, tile, and flooring. Even when I doubt her initial judgment, when I see the end results I realize her advice was spot-on. She advised me to paint living room/dining room/kitchen all the same color - and she was right about it linking the spaces together.

Your cherry cabinets are gorgeous - please don't paint them! If all three rooms were painted the same color, I think they would flow well. White trim and wood cabinetry has been living in harmony for generations. Those cabinets add some warmth and richness to the space.

i would not paint cabs

i would tile to ceiling on stove wall, you do have returns, so easy to stop it.

i would do a quiet tile since counters and floors have patterns.

i would paint kitchen walls since i think the green does not enhance the cabs and really doesn't go with anything. it looks like you or PO were trying to tie in the slate floors and missed. if sticking with green, i would go darker and more of brown/green or gray/green.

i would stay in the grieges's for paint since i believe it will work with cabs, counters and floors and tie in the DR. your rooms flow so there has to be some cohesion, its easier on the eye and to me it just looks "right".

Do me a favor and get a sample of this color:

The green in the slate floor is actually in the olive family, which means a yellow undertone instead of blue, which goes minty, but I don't think the gray sofa works with olive. There are grays with a green undertone.

The more I look at it the more I like your green walls. They look great with the cherry cabinets, it is actually my fav color with nice wood:

Living Room looking from Library · More Info

Living Room looking from Foyer · More Info

what isn't working is the grey walls in the dining room. This room would be a great place for wallpaper that ties your rooms together, or an accent color. I love the idea of painting the built-ins a statement color.

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^^grasscloth is so amazing

Pine Library · More Info

Pine Library · More Info

Just an idea of how a wallpaper an an accent color can pull the rooms together :

Some more views:

Your dining furniture is really nice. I don't know why you would replace it? All of the money for replacing it or putting in a built-in bench could be put to high-end designer fabrics and or wall coverings and rugs that would make a much bigger, more professionally designed looking space. Also cushions on stools or anywhere else you may be considering them do not need to tie in your kitchen cabinets.

I think this is about the eat in area? Not the dining room, correct? Your dining room is lovely. Other than painting I wouldn’t change a thing.

I agree – I wouldn't change a thing either ( except for a high-end wallpaper )but I think the area being discussed for the built/in or new table is the dining room??

I’m not sure. I had suggested pulling in the color of kitchen cabs to the adjoining family room. I have wood cabinets and found that it helps to make things feel cohesive.

The blue-toned minty greens are not the right color with the yellow/orange-based red of cherry. You can see that the olive green in the slate looks great with the cherry and the rusty red of the floor tile. Don't introduce a new green with a different undertone.

If you want to lighten it up and have it not read so green, try SW Marble Beige. The paint sample strips are great because it allows you to easily see the undertone. What you have now is closer to the Rainwashed strip--more blue than yellow.

Ah. Gotcha. Glad you are keeping the DR! Maybe a better look at the eat-in area? From the pics it looks small so a built-in might work best. I think a tall piece in that corner would be great, it would balance the height of the TV. I don't think of Wood as a color lot that you tie in around a decorating theme. The floors are more than enough to tie in the kitchen but even so, natural wood goes with everything. What I would tie together are accent colors and themes from the adjoining visible rooms.

Your cabinets are beautiful. I'm glad you are keeping them. In the future to brighten up the room, you could replace the granite with something a little lighter.