Certainly get rid of the red/terra cotta wall.

Keep your colors light.

What color is your furniture?

You need to add table lamps and floor lamps and not rely on paint to brighten.

Stay away from bright or bold colors unless you have a specific plan and good taste.

Light beige like Accessible Beige from Sherwin Williams would work with lots of colors.

Whites, creams, and pale cool colors like pastel blues/greens/purples will reflect instead of absorb the light.

Here are the cool colors compared to the warm. My house is very dark and when we moved in I changed all the warm paint colors over to pale cool colors to make it look brighter.

Those are good tips about reflecting light instead of absorbing it!

I don't have too much furniture yet. I'm moving out of my parents house and into a new place with my boyfriend, so we are starting with only a few peices. My favorite colors to decorate with are Blues and greens- things that mimic nature. Yes I hate that red terra cotta color!

Thanks for the tip about the cool colors.

Keep walls neutral and add punches of colors you love in accessories.