All the trim and all the ceilings in our house are natural cypress. Our floors are wide t&g pine with a bit of stain to mimic older wood. There are no white walls here. Personally, I always feel like white walls with wood trim looks a little cold. I see it all the time, so it must appeal to others more than it does to me. YMMV. In our house, we have the following wall colors paired with the wood: foyer, hallways, study: Moonshine (Eddie Bauer color from Olympic) living room: Billiard Green (Olympic) kitchen & dining room: Blue (Ben Moore) master bedroom: Barn Red (SW) guest bedroom: La Fonda Antique Red (Olympic Historic series) son's bedroom: La Fonda Deep Blue (Olympic Historic series) IME, greens, reds and blues work very well with pine/cypress. Beige, cream, yellow and taupe are all rather tricky but not impossible. The Moonshine we have in the foyer is a very pale creamy yellow that just glows. It does very well with the woodwork, as well as serving as a buffer color between some of the other more dramatic hues.

Thanks all! There is very little natural light in the room. There is a typical tiny basement window at the ceiling, with a southern exposure, so it does get daylight for a good portion of the day. There is a flourescent light in there now. I've changed light fixtures many times, but I don't know if the flourescent thing adds difficulty or if it's still a simple, black to black, white to white, green to ground. If it's that simple, I can switch it out right away. Or as soon as I find the extra fixtures my Mom had that she sent me. LOL There is a box of the trim tiles in the furnace room that the previous owners left there, so I'll maybe take those over to the paint store and look at a medium blue and a dark tan. I hesitate to go too dark, but it just might work! Thanks for the idea to paint the cabinet too. The sink is one of those yellowy clamshell shaped things with black pits everywhere. It works, but I don't mind spending a few bucks fixing that up. Unfortunately our Re-store is sadly lacking in quality items. Or maybe I don't go often enough. I'll check that out too.

What color blue was used in the room by Pottery Barn? One thought is to go the next shade lighter on the strip or to have that color mixed at 50%. I also agree to looked for more of a grayed blue as most likely, the wall paint will outlast the quilt, but blue is a popular color with most teenage boys so should last him for many years. Best thing to do is purchase sample paints of several of the contenders and try them out on the wall. See how they work in his lighting day and night and then make your choice. Both Home Depot and Lowes can make paint samples for under $3 per sample of any paint from any manufacturer.

What Peter said - just getting wall +ceiling colors up that provide good counterbalance to all that wood is all thats needed, imho. Please dont paint any of the wood - it is quite lovely and adds a nice glow, esp after you get some COLOR in there. I could see a soft gray blue as your ceiling/ upper areas - not what we think of as "sky blue" but sorta leaning in that direction.... with more of a woodsy or mossy green for the lower wall areas - or keep it gray if you must. Ive not used any Ellen kennon's paint - not yet anyway! - but she has this great palette of nature inspired colors Ive long admired http://www.ellenkennon.com/naturespalette.htm I think its absolutely fine,,, and possible... for rustic to coincide with "modern." Dont know where yall live but here in midwestern city we've got this neo-prairie architecture thing going on w/ heavy FLW + craftsman + prairie style influences.... some of it not really well done (as happens when anything becomes a trend or fad) but some of it really sublime.. my point is there is a whole body of contemporary design that uses natural materials -wood + wood tones, rock, brick, authentic linoleum + nature colors - blues, grays, greens, browns,rusts. With your heavy woods /leathers/ stone etc. a craftsman palette would be appropriate too (google craftsman colors) Even though yours is not what is usually thought of as "craftsman" - it has all the elements of that style - the arts&crafts movement of the early 1900s was all about natural materials and colors. "Rustic" if you will. It- might be worth finding someone local who is well versed in the historic styles as well as the whole range of contemporary design (its not all white wash and gray) and who can look at your space (which is beautiful btw) and furnishings and come up with some exact colors for you.