These are very nice spaces, but they appear to be smaller - one goal I could see would be to unify the spaces and make them appear larger by flowing into one another, and the way to do that would be to use the same or similar colors throughout.

I'd choose a single color that you feel comfortable with and coordinates with the counters and paint the living room and dining room either the same exact color, or the same tone but subtlely different shades (darknesses) of the same color - I'd suggest a nice medium/pale blue or teal. I would also urge you to have the mirror above the fireplace removed and replace it with a nice framed piece of art.

Regarding the kitchen countertop - Laminate counters are inexpensive and there are a wide variety of colors out there for you to choose from. You could even choose a mix of materials: Laminate in one one area and wood in another, depending on your layout. Since the kitchen appears to be fully enclosed, you could go for a cozy retro-feel with different colors there, such as a bright red/orange for the counters, pale yellow for the cabinets and a pale teal for the walls - or if you'd prefer a more subdued space you could continue the theme of the other rooms on that floor with solid white counters that match your trim color, dark brown for the cabinets and pale blue/teal (same tone as the other rooms) for the walls.

It's hard to get a sense of your taste b/c there isn't much in the way of artwork or furniture in the pics - you seem to like classic, traditional lines (couch, architecture of house). It's also hard to really see the color of the countertops. That said, any money you put into the kitchen will come back to you in resale (as you know)...so do it! New granite or Corian countertops (dark) will update the kitchen tremendously, as well as refacing/redoing the cabinets. Now's the time to do these things, not after you've lived in it for 8 years and grown used to the pink countertop....

About the living room: the most glaring problem, to me, is that cheap-looking thin piece of wood serving as a mantel. Do you need it? I recommend getting rid of it altogether. There is so much going on against that wall, esp. with the windows (and as you point out, gold fire screen), that board just cuts the wall in two, making it look squatter. Squat no good. Your furniture placement also seems to be away from the fireplace - not sure what else is going on in the room that you would want to have your back to the fireplace/windows.

some things to think about.... p.s. I don't mind the gold firesurround (if u take down that shelf), but yeah, the sconces have gotta go....

p.s. your house looks lovely, surrounded in greenery! Lucky you!

our house is actually very similar in the way that it flows from room to room. And strangely enough, I hve almost teh exact same color scheme going on: a latte-ish color in the LR, a green (bright but dark, like a green crayon or a palm tree leaf type color) in the dining room (we went darker here since it is by far the largest room), and a teal-ish color in the kitchen. Teal or a gray-blue would probably work in your kitchen too.

Our house too is a very similar layout, living flowing into dining and then into kitchen. The colors we choose might be a little odd to others, but it works in our space, a golden-orange yellow in the living room, a light celery/sagey color in the dining and (my favorite) bright turquoise in the kitchen. We love the way they looks together and they really bring a lot of life to the house. Turquoise would in fact work the pinkish color of the counter and add a little retro flair to the kitchen (think 50's bathroom colors).

Our living space is grey -- Benjamin Moore Pebble Beach -- and it gets compliments all the time. It makes the space look larger.

Do you mean you want to paint your living room a dark brown (chocolate) or a dark cream (latte)? The sample picture suggests you are thinking latte and a kiwi or minty green.

I'd probably find the chocolate too dark for the size of the space, unless it was just one wall. I could see latte very easily, and I agree the mirror and mantel shelf should go.

Green is a fave color of mine, so I think that would work too if it's what you like. I'm thinking kiwi or lime might not blend too well with the existing countertops -- do you see the kitchen from the dining room? If not it shouldn't matter.

If you LIKE the countertops, keep them and coordinate your kitchen around them. Personally, I'd replace the countertops if I could. What might be really cool, given your latte-and-green color scheme, would be one of those recycled glass countertops that has a lot of green and brownish tints in it.

The cabinets are basically ok so I'd update those with paint and new trim, or leave as is. You don't address what color you'd like the kitchen so I'm not sure what to suggest there. It will really depend on what you do with your countertop.

OH -- it would help if I read your comments more thoroughly.

Re countertop -- really, if you don't want to change it I don't think I'd like green on the walls. Instead I'd pick up one of the colors from the countertop. I would go with an icy blue rather than green and a pale apricot rather than brown. I don't think I'd like turquoise or teal.

In fact, if you keep the countertops -- I think I'd choose three colors to work with: 1) icy, nearly white blue. 2) wedgewood or steel-grey blue 3) a greyish pale apricot. I wouldn't think so much in terms of one color per room. I'd pant expanses of walls in different colors where they blend into rooms from the living/dining/kitchen areas to blend the spaces. Then I'd drop some sort of pink accent into the living and dining room -- throw pillows or a piece of art.

For the fireplace -- the brick should kick off the apricot color. Bring in a few orange accents in the dining and kitchen areas to help it out. Get rid of the glass sconces on both sides of the mirror along with the mirror. Don't know what to tell you about the gold on the fireplace itself -- you'd have to replace the fireplace insert itself to change that.

I would paint the living room a color to accent the brick on the fireplace. I don't know what to do about the gold. If it were my kitchen, I'd paint the cabinets one color and the walls another color. I'd also take out the cabinets, as I think they're ugly.

Go with what you want. Go to the paint store and pick out a few greens, then get a small bit of sample paint, put the colors on the wall, and look at them in different times of day to see how the light changes. Once you've found a color you love, paint that room. Then go back to the paint store and, with the green you picked in hand, choose a few browns that you like. Then do what you did with the dining room. Or, better yet, decide on the central room first, the brown, and then match your dining and living rooms to that color. That way, they're all coordinated.

For the fireplace screen, perhaps you could use Rustoleum paint specifically for high temperature metal surfaces, which I've seen at Home Depot. I'm not expert though, so you will want to check if this is appropriate.

For colors, I think that unifying colors of the same intensity would help create flow, instead of contrasting colors which will break up the spaces.. The blue silk pillow on your armchair makes me think you like light blue. If this is the case, you could pick a light muted blue, and paint an adjacent room a light gray. In any case, you should go with complementary colors that you like.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! And I'm hoping you can help some more!

I would love to redo my kitchen but it just isn't in the budget right now. I love all of your suggestions and will remove the sconces and eventually the wood above the fireplace.

I am thinking of still going with a latte living room, greenish dining and blue-ish/teal for the kitchen because I do feel like I want some colour. However, I didn't consider the entryway to the house. The furniture is arranged the way it is as there is a huge rounded door opening from the entryway to the living room. I was thinking that perhaps the grey suggested by one poster would work well here?

The space is very small though so should I do away with the mirror entirely? Or would framing it just help?

Thanks again! This resource rocks!
Carolyn