I'm a bigger fan of white walls than most, so I do totally get the look you are going for, and it's possible that you just picked too stark a white. We lived in a historic house, many years ago, with beautiful original woodwork trim and floors and white walls in almost all the rooms and antique wood furniture against the white, and it looked beautiful. So I do think white walls can work in some circumstances. What is the trim around your doors--wood or painted? And what white did you choose for the walls? If you have wood trim that is attractive and want to give white one more try, let me suggest using Benjamin Moore's White Dove OC-17 (a really beautiful "just right" white) for your walls or possibly a softer cream color and then, before you make a decision about whether it is working or not, move your antique wood furniture back into the room and make sure you have plenty of floor and table lamps with strong enough light and then see the effect. On the other hand, if your trim is painted (presumably white?--again White Dove is great for trim) and/or if you want to bail on white walls at this point and go for a soft neutral, I think going with anything from a pale taupe- gray that has some warm brown tones in it (maybe BM Revere Pewter?) or a pale putty (maybe SW Urban Putty?) or a cream might get you the warm effect you are looking for without giving up on light.