SFGate

Mary Poulos Interior and Exterior Design If you have no idea where to start, a good place to get inspiration.Take a piece, or match a paint chip to, your carpet and go to stores like Pottery Barn, or Calico Corners, and see what you like that just jumps out and is great with that color. This helps you to find a palette you can be happy with and will open up a l thought processes about where to go from there. Another place for inspiration is Houzz of course! Just type in your color, the room, and the colors of elements you are bringing into your room already, and you will tap into so many ideas.

Mary Poulos Interior and Exterior Design I always start with color, it is what sells everything. There is a marketing group that decides the future direction of color across all industries. So, it is difficult to find a forever color, it is just too much fun to enjoy the color of the moment. And, fortunately for you gray is it.

mdamron61 The walls need some color. A light gray or slate color would compliment the carpet and make the trims/paneling pop.

yvesun Usually I don't recommend painting out wood, but in this circumstance it's clashing with the carpet. So I would paint the top half wall Smoke 2122-40 and the bottom half Metropolitan AF 690, and the trim Wedding Veil 2125-70 all Benjamin Moore. I'd add white wood blinds on the large window near the stairs. It seems you are lacking a ceiling light in the hall, this flush-mount light would look fresh.

Positive Space Design Hi,
If you are going to stick with the carpet I would suggest brightening up the walls to liven up the area by painting the wood paneling and other wood tones a clean crisp white. Consider layering natural fiber rugs over the existing carpet to add depth and separation to the areas. (see pic)
Is the area with the sink the restroom?

Julie Dvorak For some reason, this house that we just bought has a sink in the hallway right outside the bathroom. I assume we will remove the sink.

Julie Dvorak Thanks to everyone for ideas so far!

Darzy Instead of removing the plumbing...how about making it the morning coffee/espresso bar? :) More like a sink for the coffee (but conviently can use for wash up).

Julie Dvorak Good idea!

Darzy Here is somewhat was I was thinking...a built-in cabinet and sink (non bathroom looking) for coffee bar. This would be a cool feature in the home instead of an odd space for a bathroom vanity!

Julie Dvorak Is grey really a hot color right now? If so, paired with what colors?

ASVInteriors Grey is very much on trend right now (although, technically it is not a colour). I have been an ardent fan of it for some time. It goes well with burnt orange, ochre yellow, light mauve, moss green, and silvers, taupe and of course, variations of grey!
Why I love it is that it makes a room elegant by day but so cosy and warm by night. It also puts whatever view you have out there into a wow factor!
http://www.houzz.com/photos/bedroom/grey-

Mary Poulos Interior and Exterior Design Grey is a color that pairs up beautifully with natural wood tones. As ASV above said, correctly, the warm tones of the color spectrum play well against the natural cool nature of grey, Then bring in your whites, creams and/or ivory neutrals, to give that zap of light,

libradesigneye Here's my prescription - grey is on trend, but in a dark hallway it will feel cold. I say bring in some sky.

On the upper walls, use the lightest tone of a gray muted spa blue on the upper walls (where the kitchen needs one step down), and whitewash the paneling and all the doors - it will only take one coat of the right creamy white paint watered down - test it first - so it comes out creamy and gray but with all the grain and texture. It will save you a lot of steps and actually be more beautiful / echo that vinyl wood floor I've suggested downstairs. Now you've carried your color scheme through all the public spaces.

Your master can be a camel and gray tonal sophisticated space with a few porcelain blue accents. Kids can have all kinds of colors but if they choose blue, try to steer them to the peacock family, or go gray, navy and red for a preppy look. Gray is great with pale yellow, or pink.

Before you tear out the basin, count heads. Whitewash for now and see how often it is used. It can become a bar sink in the future as noted above since you've got the space in the hall.

JAMEITE Hand-painted Silk Wallpaper Co., LTD Considering custom made some wallpaper

geoi My recommendation is to paint the walls the same color as the carpet and use a lighter grey/grey-blue on the ceilings. This will lessen the contrast and unify your entire floor. If you paint out the woodwork, lots and lots of it, you will get a fresh, clean look Consider painting trim/woodwork in a shade in between the walls and ceilings.
From here you can use accents of color to personalize each room. Also, the windows need to be addressed. On the one by the stairs, make sure your treatment does not hang below the frame. Hang the window treatments at the ceiling to gain height but keep them fun. They don't need to be traditional or heavy.
There is nothing more exciting these days than wallcoverings. Explore them. Don't forget your lighting. You can do all the recommended things to your rooms and they will still look univiting without proper lighting. Overhead, mid-wall and lighting near the floor. Lighting affects the look of the paint colors and your mood. My montra, 'no dark corners'.
I agree with one comment about layering rugs on carpet. With this, you can minimize how much of the carpet that actually shows.
Happy Decorating

Julie Dvorak Thanks.