I am having trouble deciding on a paint color for the living room of my condo. The living room walls are contiguous with the front door/hallway which poses some challenges. For one, the hallway only has artificial light and the living room itself is flooded with natural light from a patio door. This affects the way the color looks pretty drastically. (I tried for a light margarine yellow and it looks OK in the room but crayola bright in the hallway- awful) The other problem is that when you walk in the door, the wall immediately in front of you frames the bedroom which is already painted a very light blue. I feel like I have to be sensitive to the way the two colors will look against one another since the door to that room is generally open. My furniture is dark brown- leather sofa and chair, big dark brown bookshelf, dark brown wood table and chairs.

I want the room to feel cozy and warm. I'm at a loss for a color palette that accomplishes this without just going with beige which I think will just make the room look rather blah.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Amanda

Ive always been a big fan of earth tone colors, tans, burnt orange, cranberry, light browns

Amanda,
Here's a good idea... I think it will suit your situation perfectly.

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Wall Color Idea | HomeGoods Openhouse (http://openhouse.homegoods.com/index.php/2007/04/14/wall-color-idea/)
Here's an idea for more dramatic interior wall color. Instead of picking 1 color to paint your walls, try 3 on the same chip.
They will ALL blend but will be much more exciting than just 1.
Find a paint chip in the paint store of the colors you want.
Pick 3 colors on the chip that are next to each other (see green arrows in picture), or 1 away, depending on how dark you want to go.
They all have the same color value except they get darker down the chip. Paint different rooms 1 of the 3 colors.

Example: Paint the entry the darkest, the living room the lightest, the dining room the middle color. Or a combination, walls the darkest, ceiling lightest. A large wall the darkest the rest of the walls the middle color etc. Any combination will work because they all will blend. It's a great look and works well with open floor plans where rooms run together or are seen from other rooms.
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I watched a home improvement show. That combined browns, beige and light blue together. Also they had candle holders... mirrors and picture frames in brushed sliver. I did not think at first that it was going to look good but it turned out great. Btw it was a living room.

The best condo I have seen used really nice pastel colors. Maybe paint the little area which picks up light from your windows fuschia pink. Paint a room or the hallway orange. I would also use white in a bathroom; it is a very clean color for a bathroom. The rest I will leave up to you.