not certain .. re: dining room..... maybe a shade or two darker of the oatmeal color for the upper part of wall in dining room and then an application of molding painted in cabinet color for lower wall area. as below.

Cape Cod Summer Home · More Info

Traditional Dining Room · More Info

is this what you plan .... w dark paint then lighter paint below a chair rail? it's all about what you like and how the colors fit into the spaces. I'd probably want a lighter scheme as above I guess.

Ocean Edge Custom Home - Dining Room · More Info

the backsplash with white cabs/dark counter should not give you issues when you get to it.

I like all the color choices.

The creamy white cabinets with a black countertop with a super subtle light veining should not be difficult to find a creamy backsplash tile to match.

Please tell me your countertop will be soapstone or soapstone look-a-like granite. That would be so beautiful together!

@herbflavor yes, thats what the plan is for the dining room (blue on top and cab color on bottom). I love the idea of a darker oatmeal, too, now that you show that photo! Ill have to mull that over. @rebunky we are definitely trying for a soapstone look-a-like (the real thing would not suit our family sadly). I love the way soapstone looks (recently found it through posts on this forum).. Im so glad to hear a backsplash wont be hard!

This is one I’d like to see in person. We havent seen any in person honed but based on images this seems to be what we like in terms of looks.

I think all that sounds pretty together @Chris H what do you think of mosaic tile for a backsplash?

@kl23 we are open to anything. I like the visual of the top one more (vertical). I tend to be hesitent to stray from ”boring”/simple ha ha! My husband jokes that everything in our house is brown or gray - but Im learning! I feel like I could go out of my comfort zone on the BS. My mind goes to all one color simple subway tiles, and while those ARE nice, I have seen such beautiful BSs here. I’d love something that stands out but is also somewhat uniform, if that makes sense? For example the ones I see with lots of veining and movement is overwhelming to my eye. Ill also add that it would have to be DIY friendly. My DH does have a lot of tiling experience though.

My dream counter was soapstone, but I ended up with a leathered dark grey granite which was the best look-a-like I could fine at the time. There was not one business in my area that carried soapstone and I live on an island.

So I have looked at so many soapstone kitchen photos its verging on obsession. Lol!

I find many use a short matching splash. I like when the stone is then continued up underneath a higher window sill. I think it looks nice when used as the sill itself as well.

Negresco is a great one! I have seen some called Virginia Mist, Jet Mist, and Nero Mist that look similar, but I am not sure if they are AKA’s of the same material or not.

Come back after everything else is installed for more specific backsplash help.

Looking forward to seeing your kitchen!

@Chris H

I hear you on being timid about straying from neutrals. I have been for a long time. I suppose I am trying really hard to break from that, because I am feeling my mortality, and I've been spending all my time either at work or home. Sounds like your husband would be open to color. If so, maybe you could choose a favorite color to add to your whole house. I think you have already started with navy blue. That's why I did a search for mosaic tiles in navy/beige/black. You could too if you want. Sometimes it's fun to go to local tile stores. Sometimes you get overwhelmed with too many choices you never thought about before. That happened to me once. I think it's better to think about how you might add a color to every room in your house just as a mental exercise. If everything in your house is brown and grey, navy blue is an excellent addition! You might also like to add contrast with white and silver, because brown and grey sound mid-tone...not light or dark. Adding navy (dark) is wonderfully counterbalanced by white and/or silver (light/bright). Go through that mental exercise and see what happens. I'd be happy to go along with you, and can more easily if you "mention" me in your posts as you did this time. ☺️

Now, about the mosaic tiles I showed you... You can install mosaic tile vertically or horizontally. If you like the tones of the second one better but want them installed vertically, you can! Isn't that wonderful? I love mosaic tiles. And mosaic tiles often are recommended for do-it-yourselfers! You said your husband was going to install these. Ask him if he could install those second ones vertically. The other thing different about the two tiles is that the first one is stacked (all lined up ends) and the ends of the second one are staggered or off-set. I prefer staggered but some prefer the look of stacked.

@kl23 Ill mention you for sure, thanks <3

I like the staggered look better than one on top of the other in general. I also randomly found this today… cant seem to find it installed picturewise but I like that there is color and uniformity. It will be fun to really get zeroed in when we’re ready! DH is finishing up the wood floors then we wait for cabinets to arrive… once those are in, the fun stuff!

@Chris H that tile is cheerful! I like it! It reminds me of a favorite pattern but maybe you won't see the similarity. It's ok. You go for what makes your heart flutter, ok?

https://www.sweethomesupply.com/product/14869978/harmonia-kings-star-blue-ceramic-tile-matte-13-x-13-per-pack-1219-sqft/

@palimpsest  not a counter I'd like to take up the wall much, but I could be wrong. You ever seen it done successfully?

@palimpsest thats an option for sure. Our windowsil is only a bit over 2” above the counter so this might work. Wond Wondering what color floor you all think might be best? We have red oak being refinished and stained. Roght now kitchen is new unfinished and the rest is finished but has strong red undertones. I dont mind that terribly but want to be sure the floors will compliment the other options here. These are the stain options… anyone have any thoughts? Ive googled til my eyes bugged out 😵‍💫

@herbflavor @rebunky @kl23 @palimpsest

Also, it takes days sometimes for me to get an alert to my posts, is there a way to change that?

https://www.duraseal.com/stain-gallery/

here are the stains

I don't think you can go wrong with a medium brown like Dark Walnut, Espresso, or Medium Brown. Are you refinishing the whole floor? When you say "the rest" does that mean you are leaving the rest as is? I would match the rest rather than switching stains, usually.

@palimpsest the other floors on our first floor need to be refinished due to wear (dining room, living room, front hall). So we will be sanding those down and that way the kitchen and other floors can match. I love the idea of the colors you mentioned but I neglected to mention that we are not refinishing the upstairs which is the same color as downstairs. The actual stairs also need to be refinished, too and so it makes me think it should be a similar color to our current floors the more I think about it since the stairs go up to the second floor…

…or maybe we carpet the stairs? We do have a runner and had planned on another. Not sure if that would look odd to have carpeted stairs

@Chris H runners look fine, but I hate cleaning any carpet on stairs. Hard stairs are easier and safer to clean. Just my feelings...

Changing the stain color at the top of the stairs might be preferable to having to use a stain color you don't want to downstairs, particularly with a runner. With carpet it becomes a non issue, And carpet on stairs is a little safer than bare stairs if you are in stocking feet in the house.

@palimpsest you are right. I was thinking about cleaning the carpet not being safe, lugging around clunky machines with cords...I had my carpet ripped off after nearly taking a tumble. Maybe I just didn't know how.

Looking closer at the stairs I think a runner is best because we have all the spindles. Or, well, I’m actually not sure what to call them but the carpet would not easily go around them is my guess. Somehow as soon as I think I’ve figured something out I go “but now what about this 🤔 “

@Chris H I've been advised by some pros on this forum that it's ok to change wood flooring colors on different levels. I always thought cool colors were more formal and preferred them downstairs. But I like to wake up to a happy space and thought I'd like warmer wood flooring upstairs. Others approved. Nobody disapproved. I have personally decided that chocolate- colored floors are what I am after. Hershey's Chocolate bars...not too milky...not super dark chocolate... that's the color I want for my floors. 

But back to you... So I also have read advice that a staircase can serve as a transition between the two levels. Runners often are recommended. All I ask is that you think about how you will vacuum the runner. So much easier to swish a duster. There used to be little handheld vacuums I liked but they've been replaced with garbage and I can't find one I feel is both safe on a staircase and effective. @palimpsest do you have a link to one?

@K L we have a runner now but it’s pretty hideous. I’ll let you know what vacuum I have for the stairs bc I specifically got a hand held one and I’m very happy with it.

I saw this post today and love this color. Do you think this is red or white oak?

@Chris H WOW! Thas IS beautiful. Such depth! I'm going to guess red oak because of all the pattern, but I hope you get a real wood expert to respond. I find I often respond to the stain and the reflectance of the "varnish". Does varnish still get used? Point is...there are is more than one component that goes into the floor that speaks to you: species, cut, pattern (plank, herringbone, parquet) stain, "varnish" and maybe more.

Here are a couple of my favorites. One is maple. Surprised me. I think it's the stain and "varnish" sheen that gets me going.

chocolate brown oak flooring in living room and dining room · More Info

Maple Hardwood Floors · More Info