Decorating and Design - I want to separate my dining room, kitchen and living room...

We have an open floor plan. Our downstairs is basically one big room. I want to separate these rooms or at least give the feeling that they are their own.

All of the walls run together and I don't want the whole house one color!

I attempted to draw a picture of what this looks like. I have thought of tiling above all the counter tops, like a large 'back splash'; I just don't know what to do about the space above the cabinets.
*Picture of my house* (http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9441/housezm9.jpg)

Does anyone have any good ideas or some helpful websites I could look at?

Your space is already divided. Kitchen in middle. Dining room on one side and living room on the other. If you could post pictures at www.photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com) or other photo site, it would be easier to discuss how to make the areas feel separate yet united with color. Areas can be their own spaces within a greater space, but color scheme will need to flow to unify. This does not mean that the areas have to be all one color.

Tiled backsplashes are very popular. As far as space above cabinets go, it's best to leave the space along in doubt. Many homemakers feel compelled to put something on top of cabinets. It ends up looking like a shooting gallery or a cluttered mess. Assuming cabinets are open above, a large piece of pottery in a color that complements your color scheme can be a nice touch. If area above cabinets is a soffit, you paint the same as the walls. Folks used to put wallpaper border on soffits, but now that is no longer a current decorating concept.

Hi Justis,

One or more pictures would be great in order to identify the characteristics of your spaces

Usually, is a good idea to maintain the integration of the space and just give the kitchen, LR some "character". Also, some real divisions between rooms may create problems with the air flow (HVAC)

Once we are not changing the decoration of our rooms each year, I don't believe too much in the concept of last trends of decoration. I believe that the decoration must follow the users not the decorators :D
A top border / molding can be a way to define the kitchen. I saw some borders matching the backsplash, and nice touch. And in your case, defining the kitchen automatically defines the remaining rooms

You could paint the dining and living rooms different colors, as they angle off from kitchen. It's just tricky to figure out where the wall divides. Also look to window treatments to help separate the space, as well as furniture, which should be similar but have it's own style in each room.