To da_jg_king...This thread is about Stephanie's dilemma and all responses are directed to giving her some suggestions....its grown to be a rather long article and it is unlikely that anyone will respond to your dilemma. Why don't you start a post about your house and put up some really good photos to give Houzzers a "look in"? I bet you will get lots of respnse if Stephanie's post is anything to go by. Its hard to imagine your environment and make alternative suggestions without having photos. Cedar or any timber panelling can be deceptive depending on the area of the room and on the lighting that would change during the day..really need photos! I'm sure Houzzers would love to pitch in with suggestions...some of the ideas given to Stephanie might inspire you too! I love the challenge of natural timber. I've come across and advert for a beautiful new paint colour from the RESENE company..They have some amazing stuff that gets me quite excited imagining what I could do with some of it...You ask for suggestions for flooring that would look good against cedar walls....You do not say whether you want colour suggestions or materials suggestions...so...Go to the RESENE paint site and have a look at all their paint products, you might be inspired by the colours and that could lead you to other ideas...like tiles, floor renders..etc. Lately I've had a "thing" for a definite shade of Wedgewood Blue..( and I don't particularly like blue in my environment), but there's something very appealing about a dusty, light, warm-looking exact BLUE...leaning neither towards green nor purple...a perfect blue that I just love next to my timber walls.....That might be a clue for you...though it would depend, as colour always does, on the natural hue of your timber walls...Wood has its natural colour variations according to its type that also change with age....lots to consider. Put up some PICS! Yes?

Listen to your architect. Grey/silver looks clean and will never date. We took our architects advice and went with silver. I like the fact that they blend into the scenery and house and are not a feature you see. I do not even think we had aluminium frames mid 20th century. Wood?? Black frames I believe became popular decades later.

In my early twenties I designed kitchens for my mother and two aunts (Uncle built them and they worked), but when it came to designing my own - had to fit a constrained space and no possibility of extension - I chewed my lips for ages - like Nicole, I drew and measured ad infinitum, and used graph book walls, views etc. I did one extra thing - which I think worked - I listed all that I wanted to store, and tried to analyse how I liked working in the kitchen. Some things I had to settle for because of space (such as a smaller dishwasher) but most of it has worked. We have a corner pantry, which I (and the cat, husband a bit larger) can walk into, but have not put small appliances in there - they sit in a large drawer beneath the main working bench, which also works well. It all looks good to me Nicole and thinking carefully about needs and how things work in advance usually results in something you'll be happy with. Good luck!

A clearer description on what I suggested above but with the dark paint and brick colour 1) Surf Mist Roof 2) Surf Mist Gutters, Barge boards, down pipes, Garage Door 3) Surf Mist upper walls and upper part of ground floor with Surf Mist Windows 4) Bricks , Recycled Red Bricks (Austral) 5) Darker Lower colour Dune, or Jasper with matching windows 6) Front door Timber Choosing colours is a very difficult job, most people know what they like if they can see it, so visiting LOTS of display homes will help you, cheers