reacting to your Dilemma as if it were mine.

Don't introduce another color, white or otherwise.

I would paint the walls SW Pure White in an egg shell finish.

I agree that the gray is bringing everything down. You'd be surprised at how a different sheen in the same color shows differently. Not to mention the wall location and relation to the room.

Everything in the space contributes to the finished look and feel.

Your so called Cabinet Shoji may not actually be SW Shoji, so stay away from that. Let your accessories be the color and texture in the room.

What is coastal farmhouse? maybe pick either farm house or coastal. Are you on the shoreline? An airy almost white light blue might give a brighter coastal feel.

No more whites they are hard to mix even 2 sometimes not too many. There are 1000s of colors pick one . Maybe soft green to start.

Since you want a coastal look, I would paint the walls, a very light colored aqua. One that is not grayed down. There is too many boring white walls already. Its time, to use a real color.

I don't hink the paint color is bringing down the space. It is not that dark of gray! I would also not go white - too many whites will be a mistake as well - somehting will always look off. IMO no paint color will "brighten your space" . If you feel like it is that dark, you need to add lighting and have it on during the day unfortunately.

Personally, I would do a nice soft green.

It's a pretty space as it is!

What does coastal mean to you? For me, I think soft blue or aqua, and maybe some natural materials like rattan bar stools. I'd consider painting the walls in a blue or bluish green color, and maybe swapping out the lighting or stools. (Or keep the chandy over the table, but paint the black finish either white, pale blue, or in a silver/pewter(?) tone to match the pendants. That light is a pretty shape but I'm not sure the black finish reads "coastal." It might read "modern farmhouse" to some but personally I find that trend rather over saturated.)

First I'd look for inspiration pictures that speak to you and get some ideas from those.

I love white, but you have enough of it, and don't need the headache of trying to add yet another that will somehow magically work with everything else. Let me join the chorus in favor of pale "water/sky" colors. How about a Haint Blue?

You could go with almost any color, and more saturation, if you think you might like that. "Coastal" doesn't preclude yellow or coral, for example.

I'm not a pro, and you asked for professional advice. But I seem to be in line with the pros, so I'm letting my comment stand. You have a lovely home. I hope you get what you need to freshen it to your satisfaction.

I like the nice soft green that @Debbi Washburn suggested - I am also a huge fan of BM Navajo White (we had white finished cabs in recent a lake build and did Nav White on all the walls, love the combo - light and bright but still warm)

Another white is probably not going to be a good answer.

It seems like the Shoji White match does have the slight pink undertone that I would expect from Shoji White (Compare the cabinets to the pure white trim).

Pure white is a cleaner, brighter white, that works beautifully with Shoji White.

I am thinking that you could use a warm neutral that works with both the Shoji White and the pure White and your floors.

I would test a few of the lighter taupe colors that are not too violet. Thinking Shitake, Taupe of the Morning, Popular Gray, BM Edgecomb Gray. I would need to see the cabinet color with the paint samples to pick out the right one, but that should get you started.

Or test some blue green grays like SW Comfort Gray

here is B Moore muslin wall paint shade in a Miami kitchen.. if you hesitate w color [some people get tired of it or become fearful ]....you can do a beautiful saturated neutral. find pictures of what you like.

Evergrene Villa · More Info

The homeowner below wanted a coastal look for her home. Newly renovated kitchen:

Kitchen walls are SW Comfort Gray

Island + back of peninsula is SW Oyster Bay

Family room walls are SW Sea Salt

SW Sea Salt on the family room walls looks more minty green in the first photo than it does in the second photo posted above (although, it looks more minty than it does in my house).

I know that @Patricia Colwell Consulting has used SW Sea Salt at a reduced intensity (not sure if it was cut 25% or 50%) as a whole home wall color several times (based upon comments I've read over the past few years).

Sea Salt is definitely a color that will depend upon the amount of light/what type of exposure (n/s/e/w).

Here is Sea Salt (top) + some of the other colors on it's paint strip:

The next two photos are how Sea Salt looks on walls in my home (I have it in a bathroom + a mudroom):

Below is how Sea Salt looks in my home:

Sea Salt flashes blue in some homes - the pantry door below is painted Sea Salt:

Agreeable Gray (below) is used for a living room in a home with colors that work with Sea Salt:

Many people use SW Pure White or Extra White for trim (or on walls in other rooms) when using Sea Salt in their home (I used Pure White).

I live on Cape Cod. My last home was an 1830 half-Cape. It was a farmhouse (we found petrified vegetables in the root cellar). I don't do beachy stuff. I have antique Asian pieces; family antiques, all upholstered pieces are not antiques. I used B.M. Palladian Blue. House was dark, dark beams, original dark pine floors. The only white was wood work. Obviously, it was not an open lay out like your house, but I would stick with Palladian for all areas, then add in other tones, Stratton Blue, Hollingsworth Green, even Chinese Red (my Chinese wedding cabinet). Oil paintings, needlepoint rug....that type of look. That is farmhouse coastal.

My home was featured in a magazine, Cape and Islands Home. If I can find it, I'll share some photos with you.

if it faces north, you're getting a cooler, bluer light. using anything w/blue/green undertones will make it more so. Youre pictures clearly give off a very cool hue.

I would NOT add another white to the mix.

I like the idea of something warmer.

this one is BM Sea Salt. very pretty. bring in some sisal or jute rugs, some warm wood accents

I love SW Sea Salt. I have it on my bedroom ceiling. Very calming. If you go with either SW or BM Sea Salt, get samples of each as they are different colors with the same name.

Hi Dawn, Wow, your home is gorgeous! Classic and refined, yet quite soothing. Your dark wood floors take up a LOT of real estate, and they suck up the available light. I think that is what is making it seem dark, and the dark gray island isn't doing right by the floors. Wood tones, from dark to light, are warm, grey is a cool color--like blue, black and bright white. Mixing cool and warm colors just confuses everything.

I see you've tried to "lighten up" the floor in the breakfast nook with that sisal rug. Great choice! You also have warm white undercabinet lighting in the kitchen--another great choice! You got this! Now, just carry that throughout your house... get as many paint chips as you can that are close to the color of the sisal rug. Get the paint cards that have the same base color in graduated shades or hues. Lay the paint cards down on the rug and find the closest match. Then take the lightest or 2nd lightest chip on the card and paint all walls that color. Get a sample of each first, then paint a few pieces of poster board and tape it on the walls--see how the light plays through all throughout the day and night. Make sure you put a sample right up next to the white trim and note the difference. You might even like the sisal rug color itself on the walls!

Take one of the kitchen doors to SW and have them color match it, and paint your island that color...the gray is too cool and dark, and it clashes with the floors. Then find a kitchen mat in the warm tones--yellows, browns/tans, earthy greens. Then put that blue Dining room rug in one of the bedrooms or sell it--it clashes with the floor. Find another very low pile rug in the warm earth tones--sage green, buttery yellow, cream white. Green is difficult though, you want to stay on the yellow side of green, not the blue side.

Good luck and make sure you post photos of your "new-new" walls!

Throwing out another idea: what about finding a wallpaper as an inspiration piece? You might need to pick a pale (green/blue) background color that would be used for the wall color in the other open areas. It looks like your “formal” dining area is the only isolated wall cutoff area. . It would add life to the open space.
I had the same north exposure, central kitchen w porches. It’s a struggle for light!

Hire a pro for an hour or two to help you find a colour, I am sure there is someone out there. They would take into account everything everyone here has mentioned. I would also do a few sample boards of the colours and set them up and see how they change during various times of day. You have a beautiful home.

Forgot Kylie's take on Palladian Blue for north light...

Palladian Blue’s particular blend prevents it from looking icy and uninviting.

Paint each color on a large piece of white poster board and tape it on the wall and see how each looks at different times of day in different light. Great you are getting away from grey - it never should have been a color to use inside anyway.

I see someone else said use sample boards too.

Just a correction I have never used SW paint and the painnt color I often suggest is Healing Aloe from BM yes I have cut it up to 50% for a hint of color .

Benjamin Moore has a great site for getting colors preselected that work together. I did wonders for my open floor plan