thank you So Much, everyone, for your input. And I apologize for the colors being "off" on your monitors. (The brown did show as Brown on mine.)
Here's the score:
brown tonal: 18
rose etched: 29
My decision: The brown tonal makes the body of the quilt Float; however, it is a bit stark. Although the keen suggestions that beautiful quilting would balance that starkness are spot on.
The rose-etched fabric is beautiful to the eye, but does offer competition for the body of the quilt.
The squares which read as White are actually a pale yellow moda fabric. Except for the outer blocks, they are all written on with fabric pens, as this is a signature quilt for my mom's 80th birthday in October.
If this quilt was destined to be Displayed or used on a bed, I would go with the dark brown fabric. But it will be a large lap quilt seen in close-up by mom snuggled underneath (it's Cold where she lives), or folded into a basket by her chair in the summertime. For that reason only, I am going with the gold-etched roses, as up-close it will be more visually interesting for her.
Thank you All for your help with this! I'm so glad I took the plunge and posted these photos. I'll be posting this again when it's completed (and I'll use our Real camera!!!)
This was fun!