Hi cherri, Agree with Michael, you'll get lots of good advice from Home Dec here. Check out the Home Dec Gallery section, too, under favorite colors to see lots of pics. Just wanted to mention I was in a new construction the other day and the walls were painted SW Bagel (trim was a softer, creamier white, as you mention). It was almost throughout, and it really was a nice backdrop for furniture, art, etc. It's a bit on the golden undertones side, but just enough to give it some substance without knocking you down ;)

I'm an amatuer. I just scraped 1100 sq ft of popcorn, I lightly rolled a thin coat of watered down USG Plus3 drywall paste and then sanded with a Hyde vacuum pole. Once I got the hang of it. it it's about 2 hours to sand 200 sq ft - tired arms but now stronger. My sanded surface was not perfect level 4, the finish varied across the ceiling. So I tried a bunch of paints (shown) and {not shown - Regular Kilz stain and Kilz High Hide). Everytime I tried one of the other brands the sheen was too bright, did not hide especially well in my opinion. I tried 1 coat, others I tried 2. But in the end brand i prefer with best result was low cost Glidden. Glidden ceiling paint won and by far looks the best to me. I prefer a ceiling that appears flat, with an almost dry chalky look, that hides my imperfections. Tips on the Glidden paint. It's very thin and wants to drip. I used a 18" roller and each time I dipped the roller into the pan and I held and turned it over and over until the paint stopped dripping. I then lift the roller straight up and then rolled the ceiling going over it back and forth several times until completely covered. I did not use any drop cloth. Taking my time, with a little patience I had maybe 1 or 2 drips, I turned on the music, had drink of my soda, and just enjoyed the process of the job. This took maybe 90 minutes to rollout 250 sq feet. Then I did a 2nd coat. I held a 300 watt lamp up to check coverage. See the pictures: some of the paints, after the 1st coat of glidden in my Kitchen, and an example of some of the finish problems I was had with others. So the others are ok but for me the easiest best result came from Glidden. So now I am using up the others as primer and blocker on my walls. I will say, I have not tried to wash it with anything yet, it looks like it will, but most flat water based paints are not scrubbable.

We used Behr’s Pot of Cream white for all of our doors and trim. It’s a really great creamy white that reflects well. It has a soft look to it, not brash or harsh. Don’t limit yourself to just SW paint colors. The paint retailers have the formula’s for each others colors and can mix whatever you want regardless of brand. Even Home Depot has mixed colors that were spot on from SW for me.

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.