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.

Personally, with brass throughout, I'd leave it alone. Brass faucets may be a bit much, though. We sold a house 2 years ago with all brass door and cabinet knobs. Some of the light fixtures had brass on them, but the ones that did only had touches of it, not an on overwhelming presence. When people were looking, it didn't seem to be an issue. I suppose it's really hard to give advice, though, when I don't know how much or what styles you have. Ours was a clean-lined daylight rambler from the early 1960s and the fixtures and knobs were simple with clean-lines, too. We updated any lighting that was dark (bad center fixture in the kitchen), cheap looking (the $5-range hall light fixtures), or overly detailed....Toned things down to be bright and fairly modern without calling unnecessary attention to themselves. But even if the new ones had metal, it was brass to give continuity. I hate the sound of trading marble for granite tiles! Can you post a photo? Is it really that bad? A lot of this depends on your local market and what else is available in your planned price range.

I suggest Comtesse Emmeline de Guigne: I saw it growing at Morcom Park in Oakland, California and it was a gorgeous pink Tea with starry blossoms with a satiny sheen. Sometimes it shows salmon in the inner petals along with the pink. I admired it everytime I went there that summer. The next spring I was surprised to see it had been moved, although its replacement was a very pretty pure peach colored Tea rose, I should have looked closer at the foliage et cet. I read Gregs description of Comtesse Emmemline de Guigne in the Vintage Gardens Book of Roses and he described how it changes from pink to peach depending on conditions, so it had been there all the time masquerading under a different color. At Morcom Parks Amphitheatre of Roses they keep it at c. 4 feet tall by slightly wider, and it seems perfectly happy. Rogue Valley sells it. For years I was underwhelmed by my Duchess de Brabant, I thought it was a bit plain, until my neighbor said look how many roses there are on that plant! It gave me a new appreciation for it. . Mrs. Dudley Cross is sublime, and those smooth stems are a relief to me as I walk down my sidewalk as I tend to get caught on nearly every rosebush I pass by. By the way Souvenir de la Malmaison is fully half a Tea rose by parentage, which is why it re-blooms so rapidly and is florifeorus. Mlle. Cecille Brunner is classed as a Polyantha, yet is fully half a Tea by breeding. Her flowers are pink, petite and perfectly Tea shaped, and the scent is divine. Pretty foliage too. Mine has stayed at c. 4 feet tall for years. Good luck, let us know what you choose. Lux.

Thanks colonel115, I have a boatload of the dining room shades, they all seem to clash with the brown tile making it look muddy. I haven’t even thought about an off white color but I did jokingly say to my husband I was going to paint the room white and call it a day . Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions!