If you look at the variety of "white" paint these days you'll be amazed.

My aunt painted her halls in a muted sage green (flat paint) that makes everything you put near it or hang on it look stunning. I'm going to do my hall in that one of these days.

I have been looking for information about painting ceilings--it isn't always as easy as just painting them white. In a room full of wood (pecan) panels that end at a picture rail, a vivid color on the wall above would do a lot to pull the eye up beyond the paneling, and then there are the ceiling beams and the ceiling itself.

SRS