I have to join this discussion of Hardwood in the kitchen. I am a little biased in this discussion because of being a tile contractor for almost 30 years. I have seen alot of hardwood kitchen floors. I have to give you the cons of putting hardwood in. Hardwood floors look great. As far as durability I am not sold. Hardwood floors look great when they are first put in. Depending on the traffic in the kitchen I give them about 4 to 5 years is when you see significant wear. I have seen alot of hardwood floors in kitchens with water damage. Now I know you think you wont have a leak from your dishwasher, refrigerator or a general plumbing leak. Well these things do happen and when it does the hardwood needs to be totally removed. Some times this is not so easy if the hardwood goes under the base cabinets. I am not saying do not put hardwood in the kitchen I think you should look at whats going to work for you. There are plenty of porcelain tiles that will give you the look of hardwood but give you the durability of a porcelain tile. Tile installed properly will last a long time. Hardwood will last but it will look warn to the point that it would need to be refinished at a cost around $2000.00 depending on the size of the room. I don't want to upset the hardwood floor lovers I have it all over my house except the bathrooms and kitchen. The floor is 20 years old 4 kids 2 dogs and still looks great. I am sure what ever you choose it will look great.

I think your colors are restful so I would work with those and not pop a color. Maybe some interesting artwork that had some color in it, but I think you should go for a more elegant calm look. By the way, I like the chandelier you have with the fireplace. I think I would paint the lower part of your wall the same blue as is in the top part. Then I would add some black accents in glass and lamps. Curtains that have a sheen or gold thread would be nice.

Put in a few French drains where you dig a ditch and fill it with crushed rock to help the water drain. In low spots put in some drains [http://www.homedepot.com/p/Tuf-Tite-16-in-2-Hole-Drain-Sump-with-Grate-and-Seals-2HDS-4/203463511] with pipe running to the French drain. You might also need to bring in 10 yards of top soil along with some sand to raise your yard a bit as you're probably right at the water table level. We've had to do all this as we live in the Pacific Northwest in a reclaimed marsh [a nice word for a swamp] where we hit the water table if we dig down 3". We had to put down about 10 yards of top soil along with some sand to raise our back yard. We also dug a French drain along the back to connect to the associations drainage pipes through the neighborhood. My husband has put in at least 3 of the drains in strategic locations around the yard to help drain off the excess water. Our yard isn't perfect, but it isn't the swamp it was the first couple of years we were here. We have to apply moss killer every spring or it takes over the yard. My husband also puts down lime to soften the soil, and help the water drain easier. He and a friend rent an aerator every summer and do both our yards to help with the drainage as well.

It looks very pretty. I would look at pics of painted floors versus whitewashed and see which you prefer then people can hopefully help with methods. I've used chalk paint but not on a floor. Annie Sloan sell floor lacquer so you don't need to use the wax which is very time consuming to apply, the lacquer can be rollered on. The only thing I would say is that it does not adhere to I think varnish made in the 80's and I find the White paint coverage is poor although not an issue if white washing. I wondered if there was a cheat method using zinsser to avoid sanding if using normal paint and have found this, no idea on how successful it is! http://www.zinsseruk.com/how-to-guide/how-to-paint-woodstained-or-varnished-surfaces/