There are warm white CFL and led bulbs. All fluorescent lighting will take time to come up to full brightness. Led bulbs like the Philips L prize winning bulb can be dimmed and do not have the delay associated with fluorescent lighting (CFL included). Halogen bulbs run far hotter than the typical incandescent bulbs and would require the appropriate fixtures.

@cd7733, yes, I definitely think the alternate pathway is something we will do. I’m contemplating eliminating the hallway portion currently between pantry and kids bedrooms and bring the kitchen all the way to the dining room. I think if I do that and move the master bedroom door towards the back wall, I’ll have a few more options in the master bath which I’m not 100% happy with anyway.

You are right about the North facing rooms being difficult to make look brighter. Usually White Paint in a North room doesn't work. White paint needs light in order to make it look white! That's prob why you have difficulty. plus, it's usually a cooler, bluer light from the north. AS you can see, your winter white is a gray/green undertone. not the best color to have in a bathroom! Definitely not a warm white! Vanilla Milkskake is a warmer white. leans on the yellow/green spectrum though I tried White Dove in my room (west/south) and couldn't stand it. too dingy looking. I painted over it w/Simply White. White Opulance is a nice white. but it's a red undertone, not a warm yellow. (has a very slight pink hue. This one would actually be better in your bathroom) You should read those links I posted above. she talks about diff light from diff directions and gives paint advice. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-most-popular-benjamin-moore-paint-colours-north-facing-northern-exposure-rooms/

Does this mean that whites will not work in low light rooms because they are lower in chroma? Yes. That is the reason many FEEL colors of white do not work in a dim quality of light. And it is about feeling the energy of the color and light relationship in the built environment. Typically (meaning not prescriptive or applicable in every case) there are two white/off-white wall color camps. Camp 1: the focus is the alignment of white or off-white with no specific expectation of what the white looks like. At the DNA level, when colors of white/off-white align the result is a feeling of cohesive and coordinated. And that's where Camp 1 finds comfort in a white-on-white color palette. That layered aspect of whiteness and texture is their conscious, subconscious and unconscious focus. Camp 1 has no clue what people mean when they say they feel like white dies on the walls in their room. Because a white wall is just one component in what they see as a holistic approach to achieving a style or a vibe. e.g. Shabby chic, farmhouse, shabby-chic-farmhouse etc. aesthetics rarely struggle with white paint colors. Usually, they just pick a color that speaks to them - and - aligns with fixed finishes and/or important elements. Camp 2: Has a preconceived idea of what the white walls will look like. A conscious, subconscious and unconscious expectation of that color of white/off-white on the walls transforming the atmosphere of an interior or the curb-vibe of an exterior to light, bright, airy, clean, crisp, simple, and straight forward. And that can be true. However, in this case, the quality of light is the only other component in this conscious, subconscious and unconscious aesthetic equation. No layers. Breaking quality of light down into dim, moderate or abundant is the only way to manage this expectation in order to achieve 'the feeling' of white. Then calibrating Chroma to dim, moderate or abundant is how we do that. That's some of the nuts and bolts behind this statement: “You want to choose colors that are cleaner and more vivid than you would think would look good because you need the vividness - the chroma - to bust through the dimness. Try colors that are less gray and more colorful than you would normally reach for and see what happens in the space.”