Wall Colour Woes

We are getting closer and closer to finishing off the new room in the basement that is going to be called the "studio". It will be primarily for me to fulfill my creative needs, that often involves many different types of media including paper, paint, computers and ink.

I already have a room set up in our house for this particular activity and it has been a god send, especially when the kids were really little and I needed some "mommy" time. And I LOVE my room. I love the colour of the walls. I love the feel of it when I sit down and take a deep breathe. I love how the sunset streams through the window each evening. I love how I can hear my kids sleeping when I am working in the evening. I love how the kids and I can all be working on our own projects and be in the same place at the same time.

However, because I have that room upstairs, our three children have been sharing a room since the day each of them were born. And it has worked well. I don't actually think they would have it any other way. They snuggle together in their beds and they read books together on the floor. Sometimes they even lay out all their blankets and have a "sleepover" on the rug.

The day is going to come soon when they will need some space. The writing is on the wall that Eden (and then Aaralyn) is going to need room for themselves - for homework, for time alone, and for their own sanity (that and Ephraim snores like a chainsaw...). So we figured we'd be pro-active rather than reactive.

This has been the motivation for finishing off the room in the basement so I can move my existing space to the basement and Ephraim can move down the hallway to have his own room. We are now at the point, after months of evening and weekend work, where we are ready to start thinking about priming and painting.

And this leaves me in a bit of a pickle because I am stuck on the wall colour. I know that I want a new feel to the space, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

I love the idea of a white room, but know that it is probably too stark and cold for a basement. But when I saw this room, I fell in love. The dark floors, the high ceilings, the 'airiness' of it. Unfortunately, this feel could definitely not be translated into a basement room that has low ceilings and one small north facing window...

And then I saw this office. I was immediately attracted to the graphic nature of the walls and the monochromatic theme with different textures. It is a bit dark for my liking and am afraid that the greys might work against me in the dead of winter. (and I LOVE the little bit of purple...)

I found this room and colour scheme, and I really like this one too. It is quite similar to my studio space upstairs, but the blue is much more on the grey scale (it is called Smoke Stack Grey - and Benjamin Moore colour) and I love it matched with the dark floor and white accents.

Not sure what to do. I guess I'm going to have to decide soon. If you could choose any colour what would it be?