Here's a thought, and take it for what it's worth: do you have to do the kitchen now? If your concern is the way the paint will look in the winter, is there any reason why you can't wait until winter to choose your colors?

Here is a pear/appley color that I'm interested in. I like the warmth the color brings, but wonder if it fights the counters....

And here is more of a pear color

Is your flooring staying the same? On my monitor, your first color looks similar to the flooring. I like it.

In the pictures your counters look charcoal and your floor looks light gray. Is your counter really a hunter green? And the floor?

Lynxe, I would describe the current color as a very dark teal in the main kitchen area, with a peachy color in the breakfast nook. The kitchen drove me crazy last winter (our first one here), so I was thinking I might want to change before. But perhaps you're right that that might be the right time to test the colors. I'd still be interested in thoughts on general direction.

It's probably personal bias as much as anything else, but I don't think yellows brighten things up that much if you don't get a lot of natural light, and they can also get a bit glare-ish under certain kinds of artificial light. Take a look at photos of certain yellow rooms at night, and you will see what I mean (Not professional photos, and in rooms that are lit overhead like kitchens, not rooms that are lit by shaded table lamps).

As far as the blue green in the first photo, I think that works best out of the three with the finishes you are keeping. Maybe what you really need is undercabinet lighting.

I second Pal's comment about yellow and lighting! We have a lovely creamy custom-mixed yellow in the stairwell and walkout basement library. Pretty. Then, DH changed the lightbulb in the stairway fixture-put in a CFL. OMG, we now have a garish, neon, greenish yellow whenever the light is on. I can't reach it, so until the next time the electrican is here for something, I am stuck. Do take your lighting into consideration!

Oh, I have Saybrook Sage in our kitchen and love it. I did, however, paint the cabinets white. The sage is warm and lovely, imho and I never get tired of it.

SW has a nice warm green called Celery. If you want to avoid "blue" green, stay away from sages.

If you want to test out a cream, try SW Ivoire (yes, that is the right spelling). It's soft and pretty no matter what time of the day or night.

Thanks, I am worried about a yellow turning green or mustardy in an unappealing way. I think I am leaning bay towards to aqua/teal/thing. If our cabinets were white, I feel like we'd have lots more options. But now we have these dark green counters and darkish maple (looking) cabinets, and white appliances and floors. I feel like it's tricky b/c I want to lighten the kitchen, but can't get too light with the walls b/c it would be too much of a contrast. I'll look at SW Celery, that sounds like a green I'd like. My husband is really interested in the aqua blues, but for some reason I'm having a hard time w/ it in the kitchen....maybe it would grow on me.