Here is your trxt to make it easier for the folks to answer:

We have a 1920's home with a drop ceiling basement and brown 70's paneling in most the living area, but the laundry room itself is open wood beams on the ceiling, with pipes, conduit, vents, etc. running in every direction, unpainted. The walls are exposed cinder block previously painted and dreary looking, along with some sad amateur looking shelves.
The "living areas" with the drop ceiling - we will be spraying the drop ceiling black. I realize this may make the ceiling look shorter, but such is life. The drop ceiling is old and dingy looking, we've put enough money in this house and don't want to spend a great deal in this area, but it definitely needs a face lift. The paneling will be painted as well. While the rest of our house is traditional, our basement will be decorated more contemporary as our old furniture from our apartment living days is contemporary, but I think the key is to stay with warm colors throughout.

The exposed beam ceiling in the laundry room will probably be painted BM Linen White, just to give a clean brighter look in there, but I'm guessing this will be a huge undertaking as I have to figure out how to paint around all those pipes. Not sure if the pipes should be painted or not - galvanized steel, copper, cable wires, vents, etc.

I am looking for suggestions on a wall color for the laundry room, and for the other living areas. We'll also be adding some custom wood shelves in the laundry room which is a workshop/laundry area all in one, and I'm trying to decide if I should paint the shelving the same colors as the wall or the ceiling. Should they blend or stand out?

We tiled the basement floor with alternating charcoal and light grey ceramic tiles that we got on clearance at a discount warehouse years back, a decision on a whim, so we're stuck with that. Going back, I wouldn't have chosen grey. I would consider this a cool/neutral color, though I prefer warm colors on the walls. Regardless, I have oriental rugs everywhere, so it will have a somewhat eclectic look I suppose.

The laundry room floor is not tiled, but it will be painted with a floor paint. Suggestions? Has anyone done this? I have a can of black floor paint that I've never used. Too dark?

The rest of my house has warm colors throughout. I like yellows, but nothing canary-ish. Some examples are P&L Popcorn, Caramel Tint & Bay Rum. Also SW Viva Gold. My friend has BM Pine Brook in her living room (interior decorator), and it's fabulous, I'd love to try in my basement, but I fear it will look too dreary as it's a deep color. I dislike MOST pastels, pinks, blues, light green and beige/neutrals. I love rich colors, nice deep reds, but again I fear it will be too dark.

I was looking at my paint cans in the basement, and the colors throughout my house that look good upstairs, don't look the same with the basement lighting, and that's what I've read everywhere about choosing colors for basements, the light doesn't reflect the same.

We have glass block windows that let some light in, but not really a bright basement by any standard. Most of the lighting is fluorescent (unfortunately), but may eventually be replaced with canned lighting...not sure at this point in time.

My original thought for the paneling was BM Philadelphia Cream (a historical color), as I think this is a great combo with the black, but undecided as of yet.

I'd like suggestions for paint colors, and pics would be spectacular to give me ideas. My basement really needs a facelift.

Thanks. I linked because the double posting rules. Appreciate it.

Anyone?????

Anyone there?

It would help if you posted some pics of your room. A picture being worth a 1,000 words and all:-) it's hard to give good advice without visual context.

kim, like andreadeg suggested, post some pictures, and that will help greatly. I'm sure there's lots of things you can do and pictures will help.

Unfortunately, I am unable to post pictures at this time.

Lets try this - in your paneled basement with low natural light (small glass block windows), what colors do YOU have?

Our basement isn't paneled but it's darker than any other rooms in the house. The family room part is painted Barn Owl White from Ralph Lauren (it's a creamy pretty yellow, even though the name says "white") and the other side, where we have a small bar area and a pool table is painted Kilim Red from Ralph Lauren, a deep beautiful cranberry color to add depth and drama to the area. I love them both, for different reasons.

With the colors you have describe that you already have and the modern decor, I would go with a gray for the walls, something light with very subtle lavender undertone. If the laundry room is adjacent, I might jazz it up with a matching purple, perhaps eggplant and a crisp white. Something in the turquoise area might be nice also.

Our basement is BM Soft Fern. I really like it. It used to be yellow but I'm not a big 'yellow' person so it got annoying after a few years. I can live with Soft Fern for many more years! I wouldn't use red as a wall color in a dark basement. If you like red, use it as an accent color. With my Soft Fern walls, I have a purple sofa and red, purple, and green striped pillows.