colour conundrum

Nature always gets it right, and I always get it wrong. On the first try anyway.

I am trying to paint our kitchen now that the appliances, counter and backsplash have all changed. Long ago it was a creamy white (like the cupboards) and then a dark charcoal gray. Last week I picked a taupe with a green undertone thinking that it would work with the glass tiles, which although they are frosted and backed with a taupe paper, still cast a green tint because of the nature of glass. Two coats of that paint and I felt we were living in a hospital. So then I tried the taupe (Para's "Stoneware") which is all through our house because I know I like it. But one coat of that and it looks more brown than it does in the rest of the place. My revelation while falling asleep - and believe me, thinking of paint keeps me awake at night when Milo doesn't - is that I should probably go back to white, even though it feels like a lost opportunity to add colour. When we got up I decided to take one more trip to the paint store (walking distance, thank goodness) and came home with tester pots of two whites that are not my trim/cupboard white. Now I'm sitting waiting for the patches to dry but I think I already know the inevitable. The kitchen is trying to tell me it wants to be the original white. After finally getting the perfect appliances, I am painting the walls the very same colour they are. Can you say "tired of painting"? And "tired of frozen dinners"?

Oh nature. I wish you could be my interior designer.