1. light main colors (with light accents) = super safe (but often unimaginative)
2. light main colors (with medium accents) = safe too
3. medium main colors (with light accents) = still safe, but more interesting than #1 and #2
4. medium main colors (with dark accents) = my favorite (to be specific, i go for medium main colors with dark AND light accents)
5. dark main colors (with anything) = um, don’t do it unless you’re a design professional with a lot of experience (but dark flooring is sometimes okay for a novice, you still gotta be careful)

You stated your living room furniture is light. with this in mind, I would do a medium color on the walls and flooring (similar to #3 above. in my design philosophy, furniture is an accent –unless it’s large, dominating furniture in a small room) Please see the link below and watch HGTV (Tivo some shows if possible) Adding: hey I read your comment about hunter green. Hunter green should be paired with a medium main color because a little hunter green goes a llllonnnnngggg way. the main color should be about 80 percent (some sort of burlap color for example http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Match-of-Para-Paints-B323-1-Burlap-p/mpc0020445.htm ) and hunter green as a supporting color 20 percent. the room will look very hunter green even with this ratio. .my opinion only. email me if you want - tresloquace at hotmail

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I think “overjoy” (# 6689) might be a good choice for the wall color with gold colored flooring.

You can take a photo of your house & upload it to the makeover gallery on this website:
http://www.roomvues.com/
You can get color suggestions & for $5 they’ll photoshop them onto your room so that you can get an idea of what it will look like.

What style does your interior reflect throughout. You say your furniture is considered light with dark so I am picturing possibly shabby chic, cottage, or country - like Pottery Barn showing distressing or antiquing. And, only because of the types of woods and paint colors that you are considering. So, consider that also.

Your two choices go from one extreme to the other. Cherry is more formal, I envision this in a high end home and Hickory is more rustic so I envision this in a lodge or ranch and it can look busy due do the knots so your furniture would need to be simple.

The darker a floor, the more formal your room will appear, the more dust it will show, and the smaller the room will appear because dark visually advances. Have you considered a light oak. I always think of resale, that’s just me.

Don’t try to make your decisions all at once. You must decide on your floor first, the most expensive part of the project and once it is installed you will find cues to your color choice since it will have a cast of another color, orangy, honey, gray, etc.

Close your eyes and think of how you want to feel in the room. Do not try to picture a color. Just a feeling, relaxed, cool, calm, energized, cozy. Colors evoke feeling.

Choose your rug next, you should be able to pull three color choices from it to evoke the feeling you are after for a paint color.

Here are a few links.
http://www.interior-design-it-yourself.com/decorating-color.html
http://www.interior-design-it-yourself.com/interior-design-color.html
http://iit.bloomu.edu/vthc/Design/psychology.htm
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/color/choosing/color-and-wood-tone/;jsessionid=FJYTNRKTVSEXLQFIBQSCCAQ.page=3