Light grays really work well. I used this in our last house when my 2 boys shared a room. They were 6 and 4 at the time. It was an east facing room so it got tons of morning light. It's so neutral you can basically use any colors in there, although I preferred to use navy, red and kelly greens as the main accent colors. Mostly because I had space themed quilts with these colors. I don't have a color name, I mixed my own gray. I'd had a very dark gray oops paint I picked up for $5 and mixed it with white until I got a shade I could live with. Like you, the room was previously occuppied by a girl. It was a nursery and it was painted Winnie the Pooh Honey Pot Yellow. I don't know your space, but Austere and Escape read very green to me. Is that the undertone you're looking for? Personally, I tend to go for the lighter, warmer grays or barely there. I really like Agreeable Gray SW 7029. A new color for 2011 (I think) that's not in my deck is SW 0055 Light French Gray, it looks pretty online, not so sure about in person. Maybe take a look at Restoration Hardware's Pale Silver. Some of my favorite bloggers from younghouselove.com just did their family room in a very pale gray. They used BM Moonshine 2140-60 mixed in Olympic No-VOC paint. Google gray bedrooms or just rooms and there's a lot that comes up. The thing I love about SW, is they do the large sample pots vs BM's itty bitty ones (off the rack, they'll mix bigger ones). I like that even though a color doesn't work out in one room, you have enough in the nearly quart sized can to check it out in other rooms. Try painting big foam core boards with your colors. Don't forget to write the color on the back. That way you can move it around the room to see how the light affects the colors throughout the day. Also, you can re-use the boards for another room or pass them on to friends/family when they admire your awesome room! Good luck!

Oh, teacats, that's it exactly! there's even a game table in the back:-) Yes, your curtain rods should be up higher, esp for windows like yours, to take advantage of the drama and height in the room. the picture that Teacats posted was very understated and subtle, good fabrics, good furniture, a nice balance with an elegant feeling. I wouldn't go for the black and white patterns over a whole chair if this is the look you like, only because the contrast would be too harsh. But an animal print in the room is always fun, and balances out any florals nicely, so as Teacats suggested, zebra or leopard print pillow in a good fabric would be wonderful! The rug they used in that picture might be a great jumping off place for you as well. This palette is muted, so just look for a rug with a pattern ( I like the Harlequin pattern they've used here) that blends with the carpet color and your accent colors. Because the room faces SE, I might think about the grey/grey green/blues we talked about. They are nice historical colors for the region you're in as well, so they fit with your home in that sense. And since the room is bright, I'd want to ground it with something and give the walls some pigment, but this is a matter of personal taste. I only say this because you mentioned grey when you first posted, and I think it could work nicely in here. I just finished looking through a lot of my inspiration pictures because I'm looking at these greys for my LR right now as well, but I can't find one single picture! If you got to Veranda or House Beautiful site and search Gustavian color palette, you'll see what I'm referring to. There are greys and greyed blues and greens, with linens and mohair velvets and some pops of black and even bits of lilac (flowers, etc). Here is a link that might be useful: Veranda Gustavian Blog discussion

Do you want a complete new look to the whole area? A new rug or two would provide good color cues for wall paint colors, perhaps in a blue gray to coordinate with your countertops. Adding some inspiration photos to your ideabook would give us a better idea of the look you are seeking.

Prime that brown area all white and then paint larger samples of your colors. Right now they all disappear because the dark color takes over.