Well all colors reflect light except for black. But if you stick to light colors you will increase the sense of space. White would be best because the count ours of the room are deemphasized (think white limbo). Adding a dark accent will create contrast but you want the base colors or feel of the room to generally be high value colors. Light pastels, off whites, whites, etc. Do a Houzz search for white and you'll see what I mean.

I think that is supposed to say ; contours of the room.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that all white spaces need a dark contrast to "anchor" them. does anyone have any ideas on this?

I'm doing what you suggested, ncreature, and doing a search. I will be careful not to spoil the "white limbo' feel!
And I didn't know there are paints which actually grade their reflective quality! I'll certainly check this out!

Black being dark, does not reflect light, brings whatever is painted seemingly in closer as opposed to white or pastel which reflects light and does not define a space like dark colors thus making a room appear lighter thus larger. The word "anchor" is a fad term made up by the magazines and is not used by professionals who have degrees in design. The word is meaningless.

This shows me how much there is for us to learn from each other. So can I ask you, Suzanne, what happens if you have a dark floor-covering and then an all-white kitchen?

Black makes a wonderful contrast with light colors. A mostly all white or light kitchen with walls and cabinets and black flooring makes for a stunning and light filled kitchen. There is a lot of light reflected when the cabinets and walls are pastel or white. The black becomes an accent color to the white/pastel and should be spread around the room not necessarily in large amounts, for example the lighting with black or black antique metal, a color in the granite or a black counter top, cappuccino machine, window treatments, chairs or chair cushions, etc.

@ S Powers, I think colorbug is asking about the effect of darker colors on depth and mass. If you don't call it grounding or anchoring, then what do you call it? Many "pro" designers have used those terms on this site.

You can use whatever terms make sense to you. We need to be able to communicate with words that have meaning to each of us. I think a dark floor looks great, but if you are wanting to bounce as much light off surfaces because a room is dark, you don't want a dark floor.