linelle, I talk to a lot of people about color. Sometimes I think we make it harder then it has to be. (Easy for me to say sitting here in my pink slippers, I know :~D) If you can map out what you want, put words to how you want your room(s) to look and feel, then all you have to do is translate those *wants*, those expectations into paint colors. That's essentailly what a color consultant does. Color speaks and it's a matter of aligning expectations, architecture, inherent light, and design style/tastes with specific paint colors and nuances - tints, tones, shades, hues. When someone is struggling, struggling, struggling, in choosing a paint color, usually that's an indication that there's some *part* out of alignment. Balance is a good thing to reach for. Don't get too wrapped around, hyper-focused on any one *part* of the process. The right paint color in your environment can absolutely deliver a transcendent experience. Unfortunately, I think few people truly know what that means, few have experienced color in their environment that is in alignment with their own unique expectations and tolerances. The typical processes of choosing wall colors lead in directions that don't really mean anything. i.e. Inspiration pieces, pulling a color, ya know all those decorating-type color memes we've all grown up with. From my perspective, the choice is to *decorate* with color or customize environments and create unique atmospheres with color. There's a difference. Decorating with color isn't necessarily easier than customizing and creating - designing - with color. It's just that's what most folks think is easier because it's all they know or have been shown. Personally, I think defining expectations and identifying tolerances is a faster, more direct, and almost guaranteed path to that transcendent experience. Because... the primary focus is humans and architecture not so much focus on the stuff. It's definitely a *big-picture* way to think about color in our environments. The stuff from the room that most people rely on for color inspiration is not what *experiences* color, yet it is the inspiration pieces, the rugs, and whatnot that often drive the color palette -- sometimes for an entire house. When we talk about color in terms of creating a transcendent experience, then the better known color memes seem irrelevant and kinda silly -- in a word, disconnected.

Personally, I’d stick with matte on the ceiling because ceilings tend to have more irregularities and the matte will hide them. A shinier finish will show all the irregularities.

I, too, can appreciate shiplap - but it doesn't match the style of your home, especially if you are adding crown molding! Honor the home's style - it's beautiful as is. Paint all the walls one color, white ceilings (or a very light mixture of the wall paint color).

As for diluting color . . . You cannot simply cut the colorants without understanding the base color and what the colorant is. Example. I have a can of paint here that has 4.25 / 32 Y3 Oxide Yellow 5 / 32 S1 Black 12.125 / W1 White 2.5 / 32 R3 Oxide Red in Base 2 If I cut the formula in 1/2 the white also gets cut in half and I will end up with a color that is darker, not lighter than the original formula. The computer systems are literally doing the math, but not all colorants are equal in strength - red it more transparent than most other colors, yellow is weaker than many other colors, so getting the mix right can be difficult. If you really want a lighter color that is between two shades it can be done, but I generally will buy a sample of the lighter shade and the darker shade and find out if they are both mixed with the same base. If they are in the same base you can play with the colors and mix the lighter and darker colors in different ratios until you find the perfect shade. I use syringes to measure the amounts so I am sure that the ratio is measured accurately. Then I do my own math to determine the amount of each colorant used in the samples and provide the paint store with the base color and the formula that has resulted in the color I want. If they are in two different bases you can do the same thing, but you will need to buy the appropriate amount of each paint and mix them together in a 5 gallon pail with an paint mixer drill attachment or ask the paint store to mix using their mixer. The same applies if you are trying to get a color that is just a tinge more green or yellow or blue than another. Tools like easyrgb have made a lot of this unnecessary - I can find a similar color in another brand and have it matched by my BM or SW paint store.