Thanks all! Ttodd and awm, those pics really help. I think you are right - trim color it is. If I don't like it, I can always do it wall color later. In fact, I'll just have the painter skip it completely -- it will stay white like it is now and when he's done, I'll get the idea of whether it looks right in white or not. If not, I'll paint it wall color. Thanks all! Now, if I can only get over my "issues" about hiring a painter in the first place. This is my first time hiring a painter. I've always done my own painting and really enjoy it -- I'm just hard up for time these days with a job and 2 kids. I tend to be persnickety about the final paint job and often do 3 or 4 coats because I'm not happy with the coverage of 2. But I don't like ladders (or falling!) so I knew we were going to hire a painter to do the tall walls over the stairs and in a big open two-story area over the breakfast room. The painter we picked came recommended by a friend and his price seemed good ($300 for the tall stuff) so I asked him what it would cost to do the rest of the walls and ceilings that aren't done - he quoted another $800. Still seems like a good deal for all this space, but I'm having pangs about paying $800 for painting walls I can very well reach myself. Then again, I'm going to have my hands full wtih all the trim, plus we have two small kids who would probably rather be going places with mom and dad on the weekends instead of hanging out in the house while mom and dad paint. And I'm worried that I won't be happy with the final job because of how picky I've been in the past. He says he'll do as many coats as I want (for an extra fee, of course) but the prices he quoted only include 2. So anyway, I'm very nervous about how this whole experience is going to go...hoping I end up happy and feeling like the money we're spending is worth it. Thanks for all the advice!

Thanks Christopher. The house is being painted as we speak. Flax on all walls, flat except for kitchen and closets. Kitchen and closets will be Flax in satin. High gloss pure white for the trims, crown, etc. I learnt that SW pure white, comtrary to its name, has a tint of Raw Amber, which is SW's brown. The ceilings will be 75% Flax and 25% white. Thanks for the feedback.

My trim is painted white throughout the house....with the exception of my son's room. He decided to do it himself on a whim about a month after moving in. The room was baby blue with a hand painted sky on the ceiling which looked more like an angry galaxy. He couldn't stand it and used the buff color I had used for my living room walls. I was almost crazy watching him paint, he did it in 3 hours and covered everything including the baseboard,coving and ceiling in one color. Results really surprised me, it looks great and made the room feel larger, much more pulled together. Am not sure if I'd do this in any room, but for this one it worked out well. All in the beholder, this sounds like a job you will have to play with. Buy some cheap oops paint or use something you have around and try an area. May be added work, but paint is easily changed and painting, as with interior design, is a personal decision. While at Lowes for plumbing, I mentioned the return of blue/pink/yellow sinks/toilets which were on display. The two guys said "yeah, back to the 60s/70s". My kids (in their late 30s) were commenting on some green dishes bought to use for matching my kitchen paint picked out. They think these greens look exactly like the avacado they grew up with. My explanation that the greens are "herb" tones just brought a bunch of giggling. I love green and will still paint the kitchen an "herb" green. But admission that they have now tainted my seeing the different shades and in the back of my mind is avacado.

Ceiling, Alabaster in flat finish, trim, Alabaster in semi-gloss finish. Because the cabinets are abutting the ceiling and Alabaster isn’t true white, I would worry that a ceiling “white” would make the cabs look drab.