Hi and Welcome!

Can you save your photos to photobucket or some similar photo hosting site and then embed the link in your message? That will allow us to see the photos.

As for making the room feel "lighter" have you tried adding more artificial light to the room to see if that alleviates the cave feeling? Painting a dark room a light color doesn't necessarily make a room feel less cave like but adding lighting may very well help.

I don't have an account at a photobucket site, but I did repost this message in the gallery section of this forum, along with a link to the picture of my room at the bottom of the post.
Regarding lighting, I do have some floor lamps in the living room side of the room for artificial light, but no overhead lighting.
Thank you

Hi There!

I don't see the link to your room...I'll go check out the gallery section of the forum. i don't usually go there so I'm not sure where that is, but I'll look.

meanwhile, borrow every lamp you have in other parts of your house and put them in that room; turn them on and see what happens to the color of the paint. Dark rooms that don't get alot of artificial light need alot of light added whether they are painted a light or dark color. Anyway, i'm sure you'll get lots of good advice here once folks see the pictures.

by the way, a photobucket account is free, you just have to sign up for it on their site. It's a pretty straightforward process to set up an account.

You say you don't want anything pink or yellow. Does that mean you are leaning towards a pale soft greenish shade?

Also, if you are certain that you will be re-painting this room (even though you have not decided on a color yet), maybe it would be helpful to prepare the walls now with primer to block out the wedgewood blue. That way you will have a clean white slate to work with (you will most likely have to prime anyway when you are finally ready to paint). Then, you would be able to hold up your test boards in the room and get a more accurate idea of what the colors will truly look like.

Here's your photo:

The color on the kitchen wall looks pretty from what I can see. Could you try a littler shade maybe 1 shade lighter than what's in there?

I just posted about painting a room in BM Wish. It is beautiful in bright light and dim light. It might be a bit less yellow than the beige in your kitchen, but it looks great with the blues and browns and should be good with that red chair too. The kitchen color would also work.

Looks like your chair rail does not continue into the living area. Could you add trim to carry it on around the room and then consider painting a darker color below the rail and a lighter color above it?

Is the light fixture over the table? Looks like it misses and doesn't give you good light for either area. If you can't to it DIY (and most folks don't want to or shouldn't do electrical work DIY), I think it would be a good investment to have an electrician locate that fixture so it is over your table and hang a chandelier, then see if you can get some kind of overhead lighting in the living area without too much trouble.

Wow! Thank you dawnp for helping with my pic!
I should have mentioned that the furniture in the room is not mine - this picture was taken before I moved in. The room currently has no furniture at all.
You are right, lascatx, the overhead light in the dining area does not provide good light. I do plan to replace the light fixture, and possibly take up the carpet and extend the hardwood flooring into the rest of the room. I think I bit off a bit more than I intended in buying this house...as it seems there is an endless list of things to be done. It's overwhelming! I will definitely check out BM Wish. Thank you!
Nutmeg, when I said I don't want pink or yellow, I was thinking of other posts I've read that talk about some off-whites or light neutrals having pink or yellow tones in dim light. I guess I meant I wanted something that would stay as close to its true color as possible.
I'm very much a novice at this...never dreamed it would be so difficult for me to choose a paint color!!

I had great luck with BM Manchester Tan. I used it in my foyer, hallways and in the hallway leading down into the basement, which gets hardly any light. It is a wonderful neutral that goes great with all cool colors. All my other room colors which are adjacent are either beiges, browns, or sages, and manchester tan bleeds in beautifully with these areas. I got that color from a friend who has a relative that is an interior decorator. Aparently they use this color because it goes with practically everything. And I can personally say that the color holds true no matter what time of day it is.

Welcome to home ownership. ;) There will always be something to be done, and by the time you get through your list, something new will pop up or it will be time to start over. You will also get different ideas over time and as you live in your home for a while -- then you and your family will grow and make adjustments. It's just an on-going process, so pace yourself as you make it your own.

Paint is a good thing to start with - easy to DIY (except stairwells)and for little more than the cost of paint you can get a big change. Do use good paint and tools to make the job easier and give you a better result.

To do a color search, the computer is not the best place. You can look on paint company websites, Houzz and here to find out what people are liking, but what you see on a computer and what you see in your home can be very different. You really have to go to a couple of paint stores and get some color swatches that appeal to you, then look at them in your home. Look at the swatches morning, afternoon and night, natural light and added light (know that things can shift when you change your lighting). If you are really new to painting, I'd pick one or two colors you think you like and get samples. Paint them on posterboard or on your wall. On the wall tells you how it looks over the texture, etc., but on a posterboard lets you move it around the room. I start with the posterboard and that's close enough on walls for me (ceilings are tricker). Keep in mind that you are going to get blue reflecting on that sample until you have painted over it. The smaller your sample, the less you will be able to tell what it will look like when fur walls are done. You might even want to put a full coat of primer on the wall to reduce that.

You say you want a paint that will stay true. No paint will look the same 24 hours a day, but I think you mean you don't want to put it on the wall only to discover that the pale beige is turning pink or green on you. It happens, but experience and care will help reduce your chances of being disappointed.

You want to look at the undertones in a paint. Many people can see this, and it might be easier when you compare a couple of similar colors or hold them next to a stark white. Look closely and you will see than one has more green, yellow, blue, pink, lavender, peach, etc. Look at them in different light. You can also ask the folks at the paint store to show you the formula for a color and see how much red, blue, green are in a formula (afternoons or evenings when things are slower might make it easier to get their time and patience). If you remember some of your elementary school art and mixing colors (blue and yellow make green, red and blue make purple, everything mixed up will make a muddy brown....) then you can start to see what is making up the color you see and what tones might become stronger in certain light. I think not seeing those tints is how you wind up with something that turns lavender or pink, yellow, green or blue when you weren't expecting it and that is not desirable. Every paint color will change as natural light changes through the day or when you flip a light switch in or off.

Have fun. Keep a sense of humor. It is learning and discovery, a bit of creativity and most of all -- the satisfaction of making your home your own and giving it the TLC it deserves.

Almost all people have a hard time choosing paint colors! Even those of us who consider decorating to be a love or hobby have a hard time with it. In terms of choosing a paint color there are alot of things to consdier; I'll give you just a few to get your wheels turning:

1. When choosing a color for a room consider the undertones of the surrounding items; carpet, floor, furniture, neighboring rooms. Undertones are a huge part of a reason colors don't work with each other.
2. Take your time; consider yourself a scientist who is conducting an experiment. Don't assume you should be able to find the right color the first time to the paint store. Just assume it will take at least 5 trips and if it only takes 4, well then hurray!
3. People say that paint is "cheap", "it's only paint" you often hear on decorating shows. But assume you will spend money on trials and tester paints, and that money can add up. Yes, it's less expensive than buying a sofa, but you will spend way more than just a single can of paint costs.
4. I would recommend that you try to develop a paint scheme for your house before you paint this room. If you already love the colors in the other rooms and you aren't going to repaint them, great, those become part of your scheme upon which to build. There are alot of good articles on the web as to how to build a paint scheme for your house.

most of all, relax, have fun with it, and don't think you should know the exact shade of paint for your room very quickly. Choosing a paint color is a process.

Welcome to the forum.