I wouldn’t choose a deep color or gray for a lower level area. Reminds me of a dark basement, especially if the ceiling is low.

Is this room completely lower level or do you have a walkout door? Or lots of windows? That would help mitigate the dark closed-in feeling.

Are you painting over the stone fireplace? If not, be sure the colors you pick blend well with it.

Thank you for the suggestion. This lower level family room has 2 windows one south and one west. The lower level office has two windows east and south. w wI will not be painting the stone fire pla

I will not be painting the stone fire place

I agree, the tan carpet goes better with your stone. Gray doesnt go at all well, and would not go well on the walls either. The teals you picked are too blue, to work well. I would look for a much lighter brighter color, if you want tones like a teal, then maybe a very light aqua.

Good to hear that you’re not painting over the fireplace. The fireplace plus your wood cabinetry/trim are all warm colors. So choose warm colors: beige, cream, tan, camel, rust, red, gold, peach, terracotta, etc.

I like the gray carpet you chose. As for wall, trim paint, stay with a neutral which works with the rug. Paint the walls and ceiling in a eggshell finish. Use a sating finish on woodwork, beams and shutters. Fireplace and wood trim, leave as is. For this effect:

Spend a bit on a sofa to pull in color of fireplace which relates to the color of the knotty pine cabinets.

Don't add another color in the basement space. Three (gray, neutral and pine) are enough.

Cat_ky…. What color light aqua would you recommend?

There are two I really like. One may be a bit darker than what you are wanting, but, you can take a look. SW gentle aquamarine. The other is Benjamin Moore called barely Teal, and i think that is closer to what would look best. Both are brighter and not grayed down, to make your basement look lighter and brighter.

I concur - the carpet sample to the left of your selection is much better with the stone fireplace.

What all are you painting? The entire wall? Trim,

ceiling beams? Are you keeping cabinets unpainted?

I love the gold in your fireplace and concur with others about the rug color.
I would try a light warm color on the walls and a bit darker color in the same family on the lowers. Also, as suggested

a nice warm couch (Leather?) In caramel color. These are chairs, but the color is what I want to show.

debra

Here is a better view of the lower level

The entire room will be painted, walls, trim, doors, ceiling, beams , window trim, shutters will be painted or removed.

I am thinking of painting, trim, doors, ceilings, beams, window trim, and the shutters all white.

Agree with others about the carpet. It clashes with your fireplace. You need a warmer color, it at least a warmer neutral.

I also think the teal is incredibly bold and doesn't go well with your fireplace.

However I don't mind dark for a basement. We just painted ours black and it looks fabulous. So if you like the idea of going dark, maybe consider Urbane Bronze.

Do you have any inspiration pics of rooms you love so we can help translate what you like into your space? I too would be inclined to go dark down here. Just not that teal because it doesn't relate well to the fireplace.

This color combo, or something like it, could look good in your space.

Are you planning on changing the trim or keeping the blue?

If you are changing the blue I would go with another blue/green/teal, but you fell into the common trap where we see a small square with the color and don't realize how brilliant it becomes when we paint a large area.

I don't have an issue with the gray carpet - the fireplace has enough grays to work with the gray carpet and I think it will all tie together nicely with the pine and the fireplace with the gray carpet. I would test SW Quietude or Fresh Eucalyptus maybe Rainwashed and see how you feel about that colors, then decide if you need something lighter, darker, more or less saturated. I usually go a bit less saturated, something in the range of Silvermist, Comfort Gray, but often basement areas need a bit more color, just not as saturated as you picked.

The only things I will not be painting are the wood shelves and fireplace bricks. Everything else is getting painted . I am not sure if I want to paint the brown wood around the fireplace.

I really appreciate everybody’s help and suggestions . My goal is to have it look a little bright and cheerful and not be so dark and dingy down there. I’m just not sure what colors would work.

Command to MS Copilot AI: "paint the ceiling beams, door, and wall trim with a sherwin-williams paint color that pairs well with the stone fireplace and the wood that surrounds the fireplace."

Copilot wrote:

Here’s a refreshed take on your cozy basement: the ceiling beams, door, and wall trim are now painted in Sherwin-Williams SW 7048 Urbane Bronze—a rich, earthy brown-gray that harmonizes beautifully with the stone fireplace and its warm wood surround. Urbane Bronze adds depth and sophistication while keeping the rustic charm intact.

This color choice:

• Enhances the natural tones in the stonework
• Grounds the space with a modern yet organic feel
• Complements both warm wood and cooler stone hues without overpowering"

bright and cheerful and not be so dark and dingy

Think about whether you want it to be bright or light. (Two different things - though not always.)

Light needs to first come from lighting. Can you say more about your lighting sources? Do you spend daytime or nighttime down here? How much light comes in from the windows?

I see a lot of track lighting sitting on your hearth. Where was that and what light sources will you use to replace that light?

There sees to be a debate emerging about your carpet. I think it looks both light and dingy. :)

Show us some more bright colors that you like.

Confused by the @wdccruise AI pic that is supposedly urbane bronze.

Obviously color choice is not a strength of AI

There was track lighting in front of fire place that I removed since broken. It will be replaced once I can find a handyman to replace it. I was thinking of teal to put down there, but I don’t think that looks right. I am hesitant to put any white creams color such as alabaster or something that has very little color since there’s not much color down there anyways. The carpet currently there is being replaced. I was going to replace it with the gray carpet that’s in the picture circled in red. Not sure on new carpet color

Kendrah: "Confused by the @wdccruise AI pic that is supposedly urbane bronze."

It was an experiment. But Copilot did a bit better when I specified Behr paint where Copilot returned PPU5-02 Aging Barrel. I like the appearance of the beams and trim but I think I'd paint the door the same color as the walls.

If you want light and bright, then go with a cream. You can incorporate color with furnishings and wall art.

The fireplace is the boss and focal point of the room and you can't ignore it. The fireplace is warm toned and appears to have yellow/orange beige undertones (and so are the cabinets) so you need to lean into it and use warm toned colors (the gray carpet and the blue/teal paint colors are too cool toned for the fireplace and cabinets which is why they are not working together). Suggest some WARM neutrals, creams, beiges, tans, greiges, greens, golds, rust, etc. - think organic earth tones. Research warm paint colors and their undertones. When you narrow it down to a few, get some large peel-n-stick wall paint samples (suggest Samplize) and put them around the room in various lighting to see if the colorrs & their undertones go with (and not work against) the fireplace and cabinets (and any other hard finishes you are keeping). Then repeat the chosen color(s) around the room. Look up paint color experts Maria Killam (check out her Colour Wheel) and Kylie M Interiors to learn more about paint colors and their undertones - both of them are amazing and have websites, blogs, videos, etc. You will learn a lot from both of them and avoid costly mistakes. Best of luck