Some basic decorating questions!

[Arohaitis]

so am thinking about painting for basically the first time and I have some really basic questions.

Is it possible to paint Walls only and not do ceiling or when I do the walls will I look at the ceiling and say 'yuck! Looks old and dirty it needs painting'

What are the rules, ceilings should be White right? Is that even if you use lightly tinted whites on Walls? Does it look better with 1 wall bright colour and the others White? Or White with a hint? Or should I not use White with a hint with another colour? Or doe sa room look better if all Walls same colour?

What about woodwork should it be darker or lighter? And what about if you are using really pale shades or really bright ones?

Thanks

[mummaemma]

Yes you can paint the walls only if the ceiling doesn't need doing but I would suggest you do paint the ceiling Matt white to freshen it up. It's up to you what to have on the walls, bright or pale colours. You can use white eggshell on the woodwork if u want to keep it simple.. what room are you doing? Is there much material light, which way does it face?

[Arohaitis]

Thanks living room and bedroom really need it
both face south with good sun and light etc both a decent size but not huge both hot in Summer and OKish in Winter

1 bedroom really needs doing too but it is a tiny corridor with a toddler bed in and not much else light is OK since it has 2 windows but it is small and cold (north facing)

was thinking of a light mint or pistachio type for bedroom but unsure about living, the tiny corridor might go pink!!

[MadeOfStarDust]

We painted our living room recently - ceiling matt white, walls magnolia - and feature wall copper/pinky brown, and woodwork/radiator white with a sheen wood/metal paint (not gloss). Looks nice and clean and warmer than white if you know what I mean....

[Arohaitis]

copper/pink sounds nice

I worry about overusing white (and that beige rental property colour ha ha)

[wonkylegs]

Ha you can't overuse white. It can be used to create a basic backdrop for accessories to create different looks.
We've got lots of completely different looking white painted rooms depending on the accessories, carpets, lighting, furnishings.
But if you want to inject a bit of colour on the walls and keep it light and bright stick to very light tones.
I tend to avoid mint greens because some look a bit institutional or sickly, I'd prefer a leaf or pale sage green which has a tiny hint of yellow tones. It's warmer and fresher.