Pick a paint card that shows foua deep color at the bottom that you love and then use the other four to six colors from light to dark and do your whole house in those tones....they will mix and match beautifully.

If you want to be as authentic as possible without getting gray overload, use the grays for your cabinets some furniture finishes and accents. If you look at your idea photos again, you will notice the larger surfaces, walls ceilings, etc. Are really a creamy off white. Your guide is the natural stones that have many different tins and shade of colors not just one hue of gray. The beautiful thing about gray is it is a true natural and any color will mix with it. So you can change your accents with the seasons for a fresh new look without changing the grays.

Be careful of creamy so called "off whites", they can go yellow and that doesn't play well with the neutrals and grays in the photos you posted. I would do a white for your cabinets and let the other elements give you the colors you might seek, such as gray island cabinetry. Gray/wood looks, grey/beige stone for flooring in a Versailles pattern is very old world and gorgeous. As soon as you go cream on cabinets, trouble begins. If you want Carrera marble look and want quartz, the most like real Carrera marble, IMO, is Zodiac London Sky. So, if your marble is predominately white, and your cabinets are off white to a cream! Trouble. So, do the cabinets in white, with NO GLAZE BUT choose a cabinet style that is more traditional like a raised panel look. Hardware can match your lighting and plumbing if you wish. Oil Rubbed Bronze is good with the old world look, but the new aged golds are really beautiful as well and would work well. In summary, white cabinets with raised panels; possible aged gold hardware and plumbing; Oil rubbed Bronze lantern island lights; probably Silver Travertine in Versaille pattern for the flooring, because the stone coming out now has a lot of beige and gray in it even though it is called "Silver". You have to put your eyeballs on all materials and get "current" samples, not just rely on showroom samples. That is a lot of info to take in so I'll stop for now, but I think you will have a beautiful home!!!

NO, not at all. First the quartz and marble for that matter have enough gray veining that separates, plus you will have some backsplash between the countertop and the peripheral cabinets. If you don't stick to the whites, you will have a clash of tones. You can introduce other colors with accessories and you will be very happy with the look. Have you selected flooring yet? That is big factor in overall look. In the 3rd photo you posted, those cabinets look like they are a very light silvery gray color? The middle photo the kitchen has white cabinets. So, this is a choice you have to make, but any color in your cabinets begins to limit you. Flooring first, cabinets second (harder to get flooring than cabinet colors) Always select hardest elements first. Paint colors last once all the other elements are selected and known.

You might also consider a "pecan wood" look for the main cabinet wall as you face into your kitchen if you haven't selected the cabinetry yet? The "pecan" is a gray beige tone that would blend very well with the look you are trying to achieve. That would be the best way to incorporate your Carrera marble look as well. Then nothing is fighting but rather working together. Not every element in a space has to be "outstanding". You need "supporting players" for everything to work well. What flooring are you considering? Or have you chosen?

Here are a couple photos with the more "pecan wood" look. I also think you will need to incorporate some nice stone with the beige/pecan colors to get that "rustic" look you want.

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1) there's not a "love" button, but there is a "thank" button. :)

2) paint color should be chosen *after* cabinet, counter, flooring, and backsplash -- there are millions of paint colors out there, so they're flexible, while your other finishes are not.

3) right now you have only the marble-look stone (which means quartz; there's no granite anywhere close), even though it's a more refined look than your examples. that leaves you open to choose either gray or white cabinets, but I think antique white is out. both white and gray are very common with marble-look, but I'm not sure pure white will get you to the dustier old-world look you like, so you should probably pursue grays. "driftwood" will also get you some interesting search results.

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This could be a good combination of cabinet colors for you:

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(click the "more info" link to see the names of cabinets and colors, etc.)

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With the pecan/driftwood island and some of the peripheral cabinets in that tone, you can make that work with the Carrera marble look in quartz easily. Just lean more toward the driftwood/gray browns and it will be great. I will hunt for some stone for your flooring. I actually found some a year ago at Lowe's that was perfect for a client's entire main floor! So, you have to kind of hunt around in unlikely places as well. I will look around for you. bbl

Regina - here is a picture of the Versailles pattern in the Silver Travertine. This can be "sealed" and it is wonderful. BUT, BECAUSE OF THe wide variation in how this stone comes out of the mountain, you have to see actual samples of current material before you finalize and then when you order comes in, you have to inspect the shipment and make sure it is what you are expecting. You also have to be on site when the installation begins and make sure the tillers are laying it out first in a main area to your satisfaction. Sometimes, you have to switch out a couple of tiles for better color distribution. This pattern comes in "bundles" for each "set" so it is a bit tricky and requires experienced installers.

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the pattern can be done in a variety of sizes and layouts, but here is the basic French Pattern layout. It is hard to get going, but once you get the layout, and keep it fixed in your head it goes well. Need a couple of people, one laying the tile and one handing the tiler the right size and shape and color!

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Ash has a pretty substantial grain and it stains beautifully IF YOU LIKE THAT, but it won't be a solid finish only painting will get you that. You could get an interesting affect by staining them a dark gray and then doing a white wash to pick up the graining. That would give you a "French Limed" look. Google techniques and you will see various approaches. If you just want them painted pick a material that is best with paint. Probably depends on the cost factors.

Just one more comment. When I am designing French Country luxury houses, I go by houses built in the 18th and 19th centuries in France to be authentic as possible. There were no white cabinets used in them. You can certainly use anything you like in your own home, but there is a reason Oldworld keeps coming back into style.

I am in the camp with Leo. I have traveled extensively in Europe and lived in Brussels and Paris for several years and can attest to this in all my "adventures" into many homes, and all kinds of "country" Chateau's and personal homes of friends. No white anywhere. So, take a look to history for inspiration. You can find whites in Scandinavian and Dutch homes, but not French and Belguim locales. Enjoy your search! If you want to get a feel for color, take a look at Claude Monet's dining room and kitchen in Giverny, France!

They can definitely be stained "gray". I would call the color you want a "driftwood" which is a gray/brown tone. Sometimes "walnut" works, you just have to try samples on the wood you choose, or get the supplier to make samples for your approval.

I have the silver travertine Flo mentioned. in the Versaille pattern. I love this floor.

don't have better pics, so this is the one right after it was installed

another pic of the stone in 12x24 size.

gorgeous flo. yes, that has way more tans/browns than mine. I specifically wanted whites/grays, so yes, you must pick through the lot.

And Beth -- the latest lots have a lot of browns and grays (guess they are following trend), but this used to be very gray, black but not now. I do love it though. It is a great look.

Stick with a solid color for the cabinets. Don't "antique" the cabinets white (don't know if you were referring to a process or a paint color) Paint or stain a single color.

One color for painting. The glazing effect is out of fashion and will date your look. The travertine flooring will NOT be blah. It is gorgeous. I put it in my own home, which was a award winning home and I put it in two other high-end homes I designed. So, you can feel really confident. It gives the Old world look, but has such beauty. My home was a French Country look and it was great. I chose a beige/with gold and white look for that home. I might have a photo around, but you can make this kitchen look great.

But go back to your inspiration shots -- that's exactly what they have: travertine, weathered gray, and cream. Is it gloomy or exactly what you love? Either that's what you want to achieve, or you need to start over with a new set of inspirations, so you can have a specific goal to work toward!

Please keep us posted on what you end up doing and what it ends up looking like.

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I am totally following this thread - so many great photos have been shared!! Please keep us posted with what you decide!

This is just "the process" of building, so not unusual. Once you get some samples, this will all come together. Stick to your "vision" though because it is a great one!!