Well, if you do use white, it can be a warmer based one that won't look blue in northern light, so don't worry about that, but quite honestly, while all white might look great in a magazine, unless you live in a loft (with a wall of windows) and don't care if your own house looks like a lab day after day, unless you don't mind cleaning a lot (or spending) to keep everything else in the place shiny so it doesn't look grungy next to the white, and unless you have no belongings to clutter up real life (compared to a staged and professionally lit photo), I'd incorporate other colors. But that's just me :-).

I couldn't view your pics because Snapfish requires registration.

My home is not light and bright and open - I have an 80's center hall colonial. Personally, I do not care for white, my parents have their house all in white and it just looks sterile to me.

Don't be afraid of adding color to a low-lit room, it isn't the color that makes a room dark, it's the amount of reflectiveness in the color or lack of it.

I painted the main level of my home in Ellen Kennon paints this past year and would highly recommend them. The full spectrum paint has depth and movement, it's alive! Ellen will do a color consult for you that is free so long as you order her paints, otherwise you do have to pay for it. She did mine and I love the results!

Don't be afraid of color!

Even though I've also been coveting the way white is now being used in alot of magazines, I think it's tricky to pull off. I just finished looking at Cote De Texas' blog before I came here and she has posted several "white" rooms. I don't think you can get that "wow" factor just by painting the walls white. I think most of the things in the room need to be white, so unless you're planning on redoing everything, I think I would go with EK Mushroom. I'm not actually familir with Mushroom, but it sounds pretty.

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: Cote De Texas

Thank you so much for your opinions! I already knew that the white wouldn't work, but I just wanted someone to tell me to quit dreaming. *cry*

My parent's home is actually pretty modern with high ceilings and lots of open angles, so that is probably why it looks good in their home.

Darn that Cote! I think that is how I started liking white again. It's so prevalent now. I actually really like blues and greys. Do you think I should focus more on greys or tans with the floors? I saw the greige and thought that might work. I did stalk EK for a while, she gave me the mushroom color. I was hoping a color called powdered pebbles would work better. It's more of a grey/taupe color. It's beautiful! The only problem with EK is that I don't like the dulux paint. :( My son's room is painted in azure and it looks really pretty. When the sun hits it just right, it looks like a rainbow on the walls.

Did anyone have any input on the painting of the cabs? Should I paint them white or go with another color. I don't want it to seem closed in, but thought it would be better for our family of four (three year old and a six month old). Would something dark on the bottom and light on top be something better?

Thanks again for your opinions! My husband has a few weeks off at xmas and that is why I'm looking at paint. Free labor! :)
Kim

I can't view your pictures either without signing up for an account. Maybe try posting them on photobucket.

Even though I said it's hard to pull off white, I think you could definitely do it in your kitchen if you painted your cabinets Fieldstone. I just happened to be looking through my saved pictures earlier and came across WillowDecor and Sally Wheat's (think that was her name)cabinets in Fieldstone. They're gorgeous!

Laurie