I think it can sometimes look pretty great that way. Found a few examples of darker stairs with lighter floors. http://www.houzz.com/%22dark-stairs%22-%22light-floor%22

Hi Tina, thanks for posting, it is all looking great. Shame about the panelling, but sometimes these things happen for a reason. It is great the armoire matches the doors so well when they are all on one wall, but I don't think you need to have the bed and side tables matching, especially when they are on another wall. My issue with painting furniture, while I love it, is the maintenance. It does chip over time and becomes one more thing to paint. I don't know what the timber is in your furniture but another possible option, especially to give you the coastal vibe is to lime it. To do this successfully, you will need to sand all the existing stain off it and go back to the raw timber. The darker the original timber, the less limed look you will get so bear that in mind too. I did an old bunk bed up that had seen better days, for my grands bedroom. It was a dark red wood, but with 4 coats of stain I got the look I was after which was that driftwood/coastal look. The whole thing looks totally new again. Sorry I can't post a photo as this function no longer works for me. Have a look at the Feast Watson range of liming stains, they have some gorgeous soft colours as well, but they let the timber show through rather than having the solid painted look. It is a very easy product to use, it dries quickly - I did the 4 coats over 2 days effortlessly. The hard work is in the sanding.

Colour choices! It’s pure insanity! I ended up going with Haymes Paint Nearly White 3 in their bass colour (so not mixing it in another base). If you want to go with Dulux then I hear that Grand Piano Half or Hog Bristle Half is also good. My only advice is choose up to 3-4 colours and that’s it. Any more, then it may be better to pay for a colour consultation with one of the big companies (which would give you a discount on paint anyway) and take the headache out of it all together!!

About the only place I'd get too far away from the period , is the kitchen . But I wouldn't go farmhouse there , just clean modern lines with some warm colour , or how about going for something that would surprise -- modern benchtops , modern tapware , a modern recreation stove and fridge , but do pastel door and drawers ( I assume you can get that in Melamine , maybe have to paint if not ? ) and period wall tiles in a light yellow with blue flowers of something like that , BUT also see if you can get some subway tiles in the same tone ? The rest of the house , you might get away with modern doors if you don't want the period varnished ones , but varnished floors , rugs , maybe 1 feature wall each room in a 'period' style wallpaper ? I'd probably do a ceiling rose and a gold waterfall type chandalier and even that ornate plaster cornices in the hall and/or lounge , but you could mix it up with downlights in the kitchen and dining ? Depends how luxe you want to go . I'm weird , but I have 1 similar style house , and I did it with polished floors , solid doors ( stained and varnished ) with brass hinges , but mixed it up with grape walls and grape and gold scroll wallpaper ; duck egg blue walls with blue and maroon striped wallpaper feature wall , and red leather furniture in the lounge ( sounds weird I know , but it works ! ) ; kitchen is original cabinets painted crisp white with burnt orange doors , burnt orange on 2 walls and a slightly mushroom tinged English cream on the 2 with windows . Do what suits you !