To my eye, the stark contrast between the wall and ceiling colors makes the space feel like the walls are too short. I think I would paint the walls the same color as the ceiling.

True, the pickling and the flooring give a soft warm vibe to the room but the ceiling is harsh and cold feeling. Make it part of your painting plan. Generally, paint is selected to work with the fabrics and textiles in a room. Work with your upholstery, rugs and any drapes to find a good wall/ceiling color.

Are there any pink undertones in the pickled wood? At the moment everything is too close to the same color (the walls are darker, but they're still really the same color as everything else). I can't tell what colors are in the area rug, but I suggest trying to choose a color from the rug if it's staying. You might do better with something that has some blue or green in it to get away from the beige monotone of the floors and built-ins. Post a closer up picture of the rug if you like that idea and you want some actual paint color suggestions. But it's usually difficult for people to determine from a picture exactly what color will work. There is no substitute for sampling.

IMO you are trying to fix the problem the wrong way.

Your pink carpet and area rug is reinforcing the pickled finish. I would eliminate those items and not bother to spend the money painting perfectly good walls.

If you like you can use the runner versions of this are rug on the stairs instead of a solid color wall to wall carpet.

Would you consider sanding down the pickled wood items and staining them black? Or dark brown? If you are finding them difficult to decorate around, change them. I would absolutely change to an easier stain on the staircase treads, banister and post. Unless it’s all over the house, this is not a hard fix.

To my eye it's the gray of the furnishings that are the odd man out. I would lighten the walls same tones just lighter yes, but the grays are just not going to play nice.

Are these your furnishings or the previous owners' things?

Since at this point all you want to do is paint the walls, I suggest priming the walls with white primer, then deciding on a new color. It is much easier to decide on a new color when the old color is gone. Colors that go well with pickled finishes include many blues and greens. The photos show two rooms with very light wood.

Rift & Quarter Sawn White Oak Plank Flooring, Living Room & Staircase · More Info

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Pickled oak has pink undertones. They look more pink next to more yellow beige colors like your current wall color.

I don't know if you want lighter colors or mid tones or darker so I provided a few different shades of each color.

Realist Beige and Diverse Beige:

Alpaca, Requisite Gray and Functional Gray

Popular Gray, Versatile Gray and Perfect Greige

If you go darker you can go even more pink

Armadillo, Truly Taupe and Poised Taupe. Angora and Temperate Taupe I think are too pink.

@Jennifer Hogan - Those ideas are fabulous!

Again you can't fix this if the pink carpet remains on the stairs. Sage or Olive is always a good foil for pickled trim and wood.

What color is your furniture or the furniture that will be replacing what is there?

If you already own the furniture you will need to work with both the new furnishings and the pickled finish when picking a wall color.

Color can never be selected in isolation.

Light Taupe or dark beige would work good with all colors in your room.