I just went into contract on CH colonial and could use some basic suggestions on paint colors. The layout is rather standard for the house style. Walk in and you are in a decent sized hallway. The living room is the right, dining room to the left, in front of you are kitchen and stair case and to the right of the stairs is the den, upstairs connects again from the hallway and then you have bedrooms and a bathroom. To the left of the kitchen is a half bath, garage and mud room.

In my current small ranch I painted everything linen white with stark white molding, but it's a small house and it made sense for brightness and flow, I always liked how bright and clean it looked. This house is 3 times the size. The CH currenty has slate flooring (not my favorite, but we want to wait with redoing it), the living room and dining room are white oak - appears sealed but not stained (in a few years I want to re-sand and stain fruitwood and reseal). Kitchen has "wood" laminate flooring, but clearly cheaply done or poor quality from how it's wearing... cherry cabinets, yellow granite and will have stainless appliances. Den is carpeted and it must must go! Owners dog peed all over it (so gross I know).

I find myself thinking... linen white for just about everything, but I want something a little differnt. I like neutral/earth tones... nothing loud. I am playing with the idea of a gray type of color for the CH b/c of the blueish colors in the slate, but not sure I want gray from bottom to top and through the upstairs hallway. The front door will be replaced with a door that looks like brown wood with the glass oval (we currently have it no idea what it's called). Currently the bedroom doors are not white, not sure what you call it but they are the "simple" wood stained... I'd like to maybe restain them a mohagany finish. Dining room already has the center modling in the middle of the wall throughout the room (not sure what that's called, my dad calls is a "chair rail" not sure if that's the modern term). I was thinking for that room a cream above the molding, white molding and brownish under the molding. If I do white on the molding in there do I have to do all the "details" in the hallway and kitchen white? So like the moldings and hallway closet door (which is a painted door, right now its ugly yellow and green). Is it okay to do say a mohagany type color in the hall and then white molding in the DR? Would gray be appropriate in the CH and upstairs? Have no idea what color to paint the kitchen other than linen white, but ideas are welcome. I'm totally not artsy. I see pictures of individual rooms in magazines and on tv, but in my mind cannot imagine what the outcome would look like and what is appropriate from room to room. We are not sold on flooring for the den so ideas there would be great keeping in mind the sliding doors to the deck are in the den, so I think in terms of the kids soiled shoes as they get older (I have 2 little ones).

I know I have no photos to post (plus it's not my house yet so it'd be wierd to me to post photos of someone elses house and discuss the renovation) but just basic ideas of what flows and looks nice would be great. The house has not been painted in a very long time so it's in dire need. Also, any ideas on how much it'd cost to paint these types of houses? Just about every room needs painting. Any contractor/painter recommendations? Especially if the painter can assist with color choices. At least give reasons why something may not look very good in the end. Hope this makes sense. We will have a lot to do when we move in, but paint and flooring are the priorities since the paint is peeling and dirty and we have little kids.

Finally, if anyone bought a home that needed serious cleaning (which even if the house appeared clean I'd still be running around with bleach), how did you disinfect things that cannot take harsh chemicals like bleach and amonia? For example -the hard wood floors? I can only imagine if that dog ever peed on them and my baby is crawling on that - I cringe. Laminate tubs too, from what I understand cannot be bleached... before the kids get in it I want it sterilized (LOL). I know vinegar is a great cleaner, but I want to really really stuff very clean. I'm a little OCD when it comes to that so it doesn't help. Suggestions welcome.

TIA. I wrote a lot so I understand if this makes no sense.