Painting the cabs to a high standard is an investment in both time and money I would not do in a rental. Also, is the owner supplying the paint for the walls? As a landlord and a former renter, I would make sure that any colors chosen get the owners approval first. As to what shade could work best for you on the walls, can you share more pics? Agree with you that the current shade isn't working. And I would most likely paint out that bit of white trim to match the new wall colour, if the landlord approves.

You have all convinced me that we should do white similar to the trim. I am not planning to change the trim color so it will just be a standard white. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and photos! @Maureen, I have asked my painter to start with the hallway so I can see how dark winds breath looks on a larger surface before committing to it in the family and living rooms!

Once all the clutter and the extra decor is gone come back with pics of the whole space and what you are planning on putting in the built ins . All I see right now is lot of stuff not worth displaying so can't help with color.

So for painting them white - the trim and crown is all superwhite. However, the stone has a warm tint to it, which is much warmer than superwhite. BM White Dove matches it pretty well but I am afraid the superwhite trim will then make it look dingy. Suggetions?