I am way bad jealous- a beach cottage *&* the chance to start almost from scratch! I love that stacked stone! It seems to me that stone (other than the enormous sliced boulders that people use when they think their home really is their castle) is like water; it adapts to & reflects its environment. If you use that stone in a cottage, it'll look like it belongs in a cottage. my thought, your decision. I generally like warm colors in a home, but for a beach cottage, especially a small one, grays & blue-grays & slate are very "beachlike" in feel. Pale sand would be a warm color that would work well, & you can find vinyl flooring that has both blue/gray & warmer sandy tones. I generally like wood-stained cabinets, but in a small beach cottage, off-white would work really well with humidity & water, & it would open/enlarge the space. Since hubs loves that paneling, maybe you could keep one wall & paint the rest; when he sees how much the paint enlarges the room, he may change his mind, & if he doesn't, well, he's happy, & that's excellent. If the paneling is "real", maybe you can lighten it a bit. Best luck, & have fun!

Dark colors do not make a space look smaller, quite the opposite. What defines a space is what makes it look small. For instance, light can fill the corners of a white walled room with shadows and you find yourself inside a white box. Go ahead and paint the room any color you love. My entire lower level is painted B.M. Racoon Hollow…walls and ceiling, Super White trim. Looks beautiful in the daylight and even better at night when the lights are on.

https://laurelberninteriors.com/2015/06/07/the-one-white-trim-color-that-works-every-time/ We went with Laurel Bern's advice to use BM Cotton Balls for all our ceilings, trim, and interior doors, and it looks lovely; the ceilings are in Regal Select ulti-matte finish, and the doors/trim in Regal Select semi-gloss. We live in rural Alberta, so have lots of natural light in the summer and limited amounts (usually reflecting off snow) in the winter; we have north, south, east, and west exposures. Cotton Balls works well with the yellow walls (BM Casablanca) we have throughout most of the house, but also with the BM Revere Pewter and BM Natural Wicker in several rooms.

Benjamin moore ceiling paint