I think from what you say that you will have an a light grey wall color from the high railing down, darker grey above the rail, and white on the ceiling? You would paint the fireplace surround the light grey color (Cornforth white) but paint the remainder of that wall darker grey (so below the rail as well), with white built-in cupboards on each side...is this correct? If so, it seems there would be a "stripe" of the darker grey around the room on the upper wall, not sure how this would look (a photoshop mock up would help, but I don't have that skill). I like the Cornworth color and think it looks great with white. I would use only the two colors - white for the trim/rail, the fireplace surround, and the ceiling, and light grey for the rest of the walls.

* That leaves me obsessing over different shades of sands. I also don't like the yellow undertones. I am considering a three color combination - one to line the edge of the roof(darkest), one for the body and another for the trim(lightest).

Hi Tani, that's understandable! Sometimes people don't feel comfortable choosing engineered flooring for pets as it can be a little trickier to keep in great condition. We suggest keeping dogs claws trimmed and using rugs as preventative options. Mopping up any little accidents is key too! But there wouldn't be a need to sand and revarnish unless you felt like you wanted a bigger refresh later down the line. Our engineered floors have multiple coats of oil or lacquer for protection from scratches. Here's a guide to finishes. There are also products to touch-up scratches too. Wood is a very hardwearing, durable option that will last you a lifetime. Food for thought anyway!

Whilst I agree in an ideal world, none would be better - if only you could magically neaten all the edges with something without using edging! However, you can get some reasonable looking metal tile edging which doesn't look too bad. It was used on the tiles in one of our bathrooms plus we've just had some used with the tiles in our new kitchen. When you look at the tiles front on in there, all you see is the thinnest brushed silver metal line - so not too bad. I'll see if I can upload a photo.