If you like yellow, Sherwinn-Williams Captivating Cream is a really nice one. I personally never liked yellow. However, when I moved to FL, I walked into a rental that was painted yellow. The color immediately lifted my mood, and just made my eyes happy. When we bought a house a year ago, before we moved, I asked my landlords if the remember the name of the color; they didn't. So, I searched, and searched, trying to match it before we moved. I finally found it and when I told them they said, "Captivating Cream???? I think that's it!!" LOL....

That was the only color, that I knew for sure, that I wanted in our new home.

I love a blue wall but not around that window. I'd go for a color pop either on the wall in photo 1 with white on stair rail and storage door, or vice versa.

You should go really cool and get some patterned wall paper

Many thanks for the comments so far.
Solraven, many thanks for the tip, but just to clarify, I don't want any yellow or yellowish paint on the walls at all (but I love yellow cushions etc). I want to repaint this entire room.
Jillian, so do you think a blue feature wall - and it's actually Benjamin Moore's Van Deusen Blue that I really like - with the rest of the walls white would look good in this room.....my family keeps saying keep it neutral?
Stellaralphs, I would love to have a wall papered wall - love it - but out of my budget unfortunately.

Thanks :)

For your not so sunny room (north east), I would consider something Scandinavian in feel. Go light on the walls (BM whirlpool) and a little darker on your trim (BM Lake Placid). The entire room will read with a grayish tinge giving you the ability to do anything you want with your accent colors.

smlv - not living in the northern hemisphere I have a little difficulty working out light and aspect. North to me suggests your room would get little sun to the point of being dull but west would indicate strong afternoon sun.

To start with I would definitely paint the beam white, it serves no purpose as a feature and is really best absorbed into the ceiling. If light is restricted in your room and it needs cheering then beiges can often go cold and become drab, you need some warm or cheering colour. If on the other hand the afternoon sun does warm the room then blue is a perfect foil for that and nothing looks fresher than blue and white. Do you have furnishings you need to consider also??

I agree with Jillian and would keep the feature wall to the purple wall, I don't think it would serve any purpose on the window wall. If you do whites on the other walls, they don't have to match the ceilings, multiple shades of white can be layered in a room. White curtains will help bring light into the room too if you need it.

Instead of painting all the alcove blue you could also just frame with the blue like this room

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Another blue and white room for thought -

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The final decision really comes down to whether your room needs cooling or warming, that is the governing factor.

The room does get afternoon sun but not loads of it (I think lights are turned on in that first photo to make the room look brighter). I have a dark brown sofa (while it's a dark brown, it has slight tan/orange tones to it rather than being a real chocolate orange).
The tips so far have been great - I like that idea of having the alcove in white with the blue around it - thanks for the photo Olldroo.
And Judyg, I love the scandinavian look but isn't it normally better to do that in a really light room (I'm a total novice at this so I probably have that really wrong)?

smlv - I'm a bit worried about the lighting in your room and whether that shade of blue will go quite dull, especially with your brown lounge. How do you feel about a teal??

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Do a paterned wallpaper on the wall under the stairs where the brown is now in the picture. For the other walls,paint it a neutral color and paint tjhe beams the same color. Does just use one color for all walls. Have fun with the colors, use comtemporary or non-desctipt artwork. i(If there's a HomeGoods near you, you might look there for artwork. They have a lot of non-descrirpt artwork and also large paintngs). Use a stripe or a paisley for the window treatment or maybe the wallpaper would have a coordinating fabirc. At the window, use a stationary drapery panel on each side or the Luminette Sheer from Hunter Douglas and use a valance.

Olldroo, while I like the teal in those photos I'm not feeling the same "emotional" attachment to it that I do with the blue. But I think you're right - navy blue in that room will end up dull. So I will put it in the bedroom instead which is really bright.
Ok, so Village Design Group, many thanks for the advice (particularly about the window treatment). What neutral colour would you recommend for this space (I have a dark brown couch) - I don't like any colours that throw yellow.

wythe blue from benjamin moore is really nice check that one out

I have wythe blue and love it

Just saw your comment/question. Maybe a soft peach or a robin's blue or a light aqua. I'll reply again tomorrow after I lookthrough my paint fandecks.

I see it's already been said, but I also hope you can splurge on wallpapering just the alcove, which looks like it can accomodate seating across from an entertainment center, I think?

I don't see Van Deusen or Wythe blue working in your room. You can go neutral and still have color, though. I would paint the room and rails all the same color. It will open it up and not look so busy. For your accent color, choose a lighter shade of what color you like, but avoid pastels. Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray looks pale but is a beautiful gray on the walls (paint looks darker on the walls). We have a blue similar to van Duesen blue in our mud room and it is intense. We have white trim, white doors and lots of light so it works. I think it would look depressing in your space.

Decide if you want cool or warm tones as a start and then go to a paint store that sells Benjamin Moore and see if they have a color specialist you can talk to. They know which ones work for your spaces and furniture.

We just painted our family room in Carrington Beige and I love it! It is a neutral with green tones and looks great with our olivey sofa and black furniture.

Good luck!

I would just have one accent color while keeping everything else relatively neutral.

Neutrals from Ben. Moore:
Woodland Blue (HC-147) white rain (708)
Bradstreet Beige (HC-48) heavenly blue (709)
Shaker Beige (HC-45) colony green (694)
lighthouse landing (1044) turquoise mist (695
ladyfinger (1045) swept away (701)
ssndy brown (1046) bali (702)
hint of mint (505) sliver sage (506)
wythe blue

Neutrals from sherwin-Williams:
Latte- SW 7529 Glimmer SW 6476
Sand Beach- SW7529 Jersey SW 6379
Patience SW 7555 Humble SW 6380
Tower Tan SW 7704 Tidewater SW 6477
Dramedary SW 7694 Watery SW 6478
Muslin SW 6133 Techno SW 6170
Ecru SW 6135 Softer Tan SW6141
Netsuke SW 6134 Macadamia SW6142
Malted Milk SW 6057 Interactive Cream SW 6113
Popular Gray SW 6072

These are in no particular order. Some of these may be too yellow for you, but tried to stay away from the yellow tones.... In the Pratt & Lalbert line, there used to a colr called Ceylon Ivory and another on called Havana Cream. Not sure if there still around.

You can any paint color mixed in any paint line, however, for the really dark colors, reds, and blacks, I'd stick to the paint line that has that paint chip. You can also average 2 colors from one paint chip.

Hope this helps you.

Wow, so many colours to consider!

Ok, I'm going to stick with a neutral everywhere except the entry wall and ....I don't know whether to keep the area under the stairs the same main neutral colour and do a wallpaper feature bringing out the navy blues in the little alcove (but I will have a desk and shelves here so that will probably block most of the feature wall if it was just in that alcove)....or wallpaper all the area under the stairs including or excluding the alcove? Or if I don't use wallpaper, then Sherwin Williams Naval?

Or should I keep it all neutral and just use navy blue in the window treatment and cushions etc?

For neutrals I really like:
Sherwin Williams Popular Gray (thanks for that tip Village Design Group)
Sherwin-Williams Bungalow Beige
Benjamin Moore Peau de Soie .....I was looking at Chocolate Mousse but think it's too dark?
Benjamin Moore Rodeo
Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray
Benjamin Moore Seattle Mist
BM London Fog
BM Big Bend Beige
BM Woodmont cream

But I don't know which of these neutrals will work best with a dark brown sofa with orange tones and navy blue accent colours?

Benjamin Moore:
Peau de Soie- way too light!
Rodeo- like it, but like Seattle Mist better
Seattle Mist - like it, also consider the next shade northern clilffs or an average of it & Seattle Mist
Stonington Gray- I'd do the next shade down, coventry gray
London Fog- like it
Big Bend Beige- like it
Woodmont cream- I'd go w/ summer harvest- 2 shades down from Woodland Cream

Also found Smoke (2122-40), Gossamer and Ocean Air (2123-40 & 2123-50), all in Ben. Moore

Sherwin Williams:
Popular Gray- like it
Bungalow Beige- like it, also consiser Barcelona Beige (SW 7530), Pavillion Beige (SW 7512), Hinoki (SW 7686)- more of a creamy yellow.

I would the neutral colors, but don't go too light, do an accent wall or wallpaper one wall. Bring out more color w/ usphostery, artwork, and accessories.

I'm not promoting Sherwin Williams paint over any other, but just saw a deal where if you text your zip code to PAINT (72468) plus other monthly deals... If I can be of any more help, feel free to email me at msherrer@villagedesgingroup.com.

I think the beam and stair railing should be the same color as the floor. I love your wood floor. Change the green panels and the color of the walls below the red clock. The yellow is great. I would use yellow on the other walls but change the hue to light or pale yellow. Red accents would be good. I think you have a great room. Lots of light.