A picture of the house would help. I personally do not like painted bricks but I might have some suggestions anyway. ;)

The reason code compliance is still important is that some codes (e.g. CA codes) require that if you change any aspect of a stairwell, it needs to become code-compliant to today's standards, even if the original stairwell was built before the code was put in place. In some cases, it's actually impossible to be fully code-compliant and you would not be allowed to make the stairwell slightly less dangerous without ripping out major parts of your entire house construction. The only option in that case would be to rebuild the stairwell to the exact same old configuration, to preserve the grandfather exception. I am going through this right now. Here is one resource to help with stairways standards: 2006 Stair Building Code

I have Kentucky Haze in my dining room. It is my absolute favorite color in my home! I don't see gray in it - in my room it is more of a blue green. Sometimes more blue, sometimes more green, but more to the blue side. I have also used the next one down, Sea Pine, in my PR and it reads more green. I love that color as well. I can definitely see it as a complement to a deep plum. Give is a try on a sample board. Good luck!!

Thanks, BF.....I am thinking of a lighter color, or just forget the accent wall completely and return the wall to the original color. Thoughts on that?