We're having a great room in our build. The kitchen is open to the breakfast area which is open to the living area. We're having beams of some sort to separate the three areas. I think we'll coffer the living room. My thoughts have been to do something like BM Revere Pewter on the walls and possibly doing a warm green blue on the ceiling between the trim. I LOVE that look in the photos I've saved. If we don't end up doing that, then I plan to tint the ceiling at about 75% of the paint color we use. In the other rooms that are non-coffered, we'll probably do the ceilings at 50% of the paint color that goes in that room. I just don't want white ceilings when they can be something more. I definitely thing that with a coffer, you should have contrast of some sort. Photos for you... Painted a color or a tint: This is similar to what we're planning to do...a coffer in the living (but a looser one than this) and not do one in the dining/breakfast area): White:

I KNOOOOWWW, Parma--I've thrown myself!! Sigh!! Daylight and night have really done me in!! Right now----I have many chips in hand and have decided (in daylight) that 'Believable Buff' may be an option if it doesn't go too olive green at night for me. BM's Monroe Bisque or Pittsfield Buff also look good with the leaning toward the more 'tan' of the MB being a better match for our sofa (which I've come to hate the fabric of)!It's a plaid (groan) that incorporates a deeper teal green stripe (1/2") with crosses of stripes that look more tan/peach (groan)and other crossings that create almost a grey/green! I know---but, I thought it was wonderful 15 years ago!!! I'd get rid of it and go for something new, except it is a very good quality built 'Bern'(amish families--kin to the Smith's, both in Indiana who also make a great line of furniture) line, substantial, an all-wood construction with all the details that make for an excellent piece--except for the fabric--NOW. I know there is no yellow in the fabric. I know it probably doesn't make any sense to go that direction, but I love the warmth of yellow and hope it can be considered 'neutral' going with almost anything! I have EK's 'Buttercream' in our master bedroom with her 'Ashen Green' trim and it's an awesome look but not for this room. The green would wash out to grey (tried it) and the Buttercream would bleach out, too! I've considered the 'Honeysuckle' but I really can't deal with too much in the way of 'peach' tones which I fear it could gravitate toward in that room! However, I bet it would work if I could tolerate the moments of pinkish yellow! It sounds more right for the funiture! I also need to get this done, because the flooring goes down on the 28th and I fear I could not get a sample pot from EK fast enough to get it all done, if it's not what I like in the end! I've recently reupholstered a platform rocker for our youngest daughter and am seriously considering undertaking recovering this sofa--into a single color (more neutral)and with texture! Another project!! Sigh! I'm off to the stores!!!!! Groan!!!!

I've actually used all three...I love them all! They just seem so versatile and I loved mixing and matching them with other colors. I even used the relaxed khaki to paint my dated oak kitchen cabinets in my last house. For my new home I used wool skein as the main color in the open spaces ( kitchen , great room, hall ways) I did that because one of the builders who posts on the builders forum said that was his go to color. He posted pictures of several of his homes and I really liked them. It seemed like a good choice and I was tired of making decisions, LOL. I don't regret it at all. For contrast, I ended up using darker colors in my bathrooms and some of my bedrooms.

I've read that beiges will have an undertone of either pink/peach or green. Macadamia probably tends more toward green, but not as much as some beiges. In the SW fan deck, for the most part the shades on strip numbers lower than the Whole Wheat one tend toward pink/peach (with the Nomadic Desert being the least of those-ND looks like caramel to me). Those strip numbers higher than and including Whole Wheat tend to have the green undertones. Peachy beiges are tricky. I used Sand Dollar in my foyer which got very little natural light and it looked like a nice, neutral beige. I decided to use it in my kitchen which has large west facing windows, and it looked like refried beans - no lie. One thought with a basement space is to bring the "outdoors" in by using a creamy yellow (sun), blue (sky) or green (foliage). But the shades of each have to be right. Muted shades sometimes just look gray in a darker space. Do you have color corrected light bulbs? That will make a difference as well. Use them now while you are testing out paint samples.