Grey Cashmere by BM is a great cool neutral that I use in light filled rooms. It changes throughout the day, and can be shades of grey, green or blue.

Because you have a northern exposure - the light you get is indirect and on the greyish/cooler side...
...so I'd suggest a warmer tone:

Perhaps a pale creamy yellow or a Terracotta?

My husband and I lived in a large loftlike space and painted one focal wall Behr (I think that was the brand) Awning Red. It's a beautiful rich cool red, and it doesn't vibrate in that make-your-eyes-tired kind of way. I think that would be amazing in your space. Something bold like that would be amazing with the neutral furniture, dark colors, and bright light you describe.

Check out this blog for inspiration. Their house is really bright and they have the tall ceilings like your loft.

http://moderninmn.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html

enough with the oft-repeated idea that bold colours make spaces look smaller - to paraphrase a designer i once heard "if your furniture still fits, no size has been lost."

personally i find darker colours warm and cozy. i once saw a loft space with a single dark grey-brown wall on which all of the owners' artwork was hung to great effect.

if you insist on light, i'd go with a light warm silvery blue, which would look great with the dark wood.

myself, though? i think i'd go all out with chartreuse or tangerine. but that's me.

I love chartreuse, but I'm inclined to agree with the terracotta suggestion due to the cold weather you get where you live. It meshes with neutrals and brighter colors like blues, chartreuse and other greens, etc., and it can look gorgeously saturated without being overwhelming. My $0.02.

P.S. I love your place!

I went with Benjamin Moore "Jack O'Lantern" for my bedroom wall. The wood of my furniture has a similar espresso (mocha in my case) stain.

Here's how it came out:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3379/3317353137_7ac5904606.jpg

I agree, go bold! You have a lot of light, and the argument may be made that dark colors recede and therefore create the perception of more space. Anyway, I'd go with a deep, warm taupe. Like Sherwin-Williams Mocha. I think that a light color would be too contrasty with your dark cabinets and trim. This place is begging for bold sophistication!

I'm in the warm taupe camp too. It's a gorgeous place.

I'm with The Polish Chick. Go dark. Like this:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/house-tours/house-tour-steves-mancave-sydney-076954

I've found that dark or bold colors don't necessarily make a space feel smaller. Rather, dark, warm colors bring the walls in, while dark cool-toned walls visually push them out.

Anyway, I'd definitely avoid icy blues, grays and greens--too cold for such a slick, modern space. Spring green might work, but green walls tend to make people look ill, especially in cool light. How about saffron or marigold?

Wow- bold seems to be the consensus! I hadn't thought about colors like terracotta, or about painting just one wall; thanks for the suggestions. I'm seeing the space in a whole new way now. FYI, we just bought two red Natuzzi chairs from craigslist, so that will have some bearing on the paint.

BTW, amygesler- That "Modern in MN" blog is fantastic!

I think BM Mocha cream would look good. It's a warm light taupe. Whatever you end up choosing my advise is to first paint a good portion of the wall and leave it and live with it for a couple of days to see how it looks in different lights. I've had bad luck with pretty much all the light grays of Benjamin Moore, even after testing them on a ~1 sqft area.

Instead of painting a whole wall in a bold color, why not keep a very light neutral and have one huge "stripe" painted to define a living zone ?

generally speaking, cool colors recede, warm colors approach.
often a sky blue room feels bigger than a white room.

its hard for me to suggest colors to someone i haven't met, but a nice technique for walls that actually makes a place feel bigger is colorwashing or glazing.

I say go black. It's a big space and well lit, so why not be dramatic? Use a reasonably high gloss and leave spaces like the fireplace surround white, then add some art to break up the expanses of wall. It'd be bold and sophisticated.

Benjamin Moore Glass Slipper is a beautiful grey/blue; you should try it.

red chairs, espresso cabinets? I would go with a warm mocha on most walls and a rich chocolate brown on one big wall, wherever you'll get the most contrast between the red and brown. Your place is nice- post pics when you're done with the painting/ decorating!

Warm, bright yellow with orange undertones. At the moment, the impression I'm getting is cold, cold, cold - the snow probably doesn't help. You get enough light, it can handle a bright colour - I really like golden poppy or golden yellow.

I had a very small room which happened to have good light - the very similar yellow I painted it did NOT make it seem smaller.

Don't use a cool colour, northern light is quite cold, which is probably why you feel the white walls look harsh (the same walls in a south or west facing apartment would look bright and warm).

However with such great big windows a dark colour could indeed make the place feel smaller, simply because of the large scale bright view outside your apartment.

I think your initial thought of green is a great one. I'm a big fan of considering even a strong green to be a neutral - after all, all colours of flowers look great on a green plant.

You can get a strong green that is not dark and to balance out the coldness fo the northern light I think you should go with something that is every so slightly a yellow green. Think "sun coming through summer leaves". I think this would also set off your dark cabinets beautifully.

What a lovely space and what a range of ideas! What about painting the whole apartment a light, warm taupe like SW Malted Milk?

I think it will definitely feel cold with a cool color and might be a little overwhelming with a bold color. This color is not too light and not too neutral so it will create a warmer space to balance the coolness from the large window and modern design.

Instead of bringing in a bold color on an accent wall, why not bring in your statement colors with accessories so that you can get some unique colors and change them when you get sick of them. I'm sure you won't want to re-paint your apartment everytime you fall in love with a new color!

I am definitely with onedaydesign as far as going with something you can live with for a long time. Neutral no longer means (only) beige though! Taupe, maybe; not beige!
Remember, your cabinetry and windows are dark, and whether you blend those in or make them pop will really affect the overall feeling of the space.
If you do decide to try an accent wall, make it one where you can reach to repaint when the mood strikes without a scaffold. You will thank yourselves later!
Best of luck. Please post after pics!

rob gomes, i am in love with that BM jack o'lantern - gorgeous! and i think it would rock the loft space and warm it up tremendously.

Emily - my husband and I just had this exact same problem. We really wanted to go with a light blue, but the cold north light was way too harsh for it. We settled on C2's Curry and *love* it. It really brings together our mismatched furniture and looks quite modern. Plus, it really really warms up our room.

We opted to leave one wall in C2's Architectural white. But the rest are in the Curry.

Btw, the C2 curry looks great with our charcoal gray sofa, black-brown cabinet, red cabinet, white high-gloss credenza, oak table and so an so forth. :)

Looking at the snow and grey skies outside, why not go for a warm terracotta colour? It will go with blue or green accessories and furnishings, it's an earth colour and it will be warm in winter. It can be light enough to be considered neutral or you can have it very bright. White walls can be very cold on a grey day.

unless you live there part time or paint seasonally, which would be wonderful, don't base your colors on the weather.

Anymore neutrals and you'll end up with a blah-partment.

Hi Emily - I just bought a 1200 sq. ft. loft and had the exact same problem. It is a beautiful space with tons of light, but the mixture of harsh extra white and lots of glass made it feel a tad cold for our taste.

We chose to go with Benjamin Moore OC-1 and could not be happier. It's an awesome color, a warm off-white beige neutral, and since we sprung for the Aura paint there were virtually no fumes. If you haven't yet painted your place I can't recommend it highly enough.

Thanks for the suggestions! I've enjoyed looking up all the colors. We still haven't painted the place, though I've bought a few sample containers and tried them on the wall. Argh! It's hard to commit to something! But my New Year's resolution is to choose a color and paint within the month... :)