I suggest painting the recesses the same color as the walls. Your hunch seems right to me - limit the number and variety of colors in the background.

I would also choose to paint them the same color as the walls.

If my only two choices are gray or white then I'd choose white. I believe you need contrast to highlight this architectural detail. However, if I were you I would not rule out a high gloss black.

I usually paint them the same color as the walls, too, but I've also seen them--on some design website--painted black to match the window trim, which I thought was amazing looking.

I love tone-on-tone color schemes. How about painting the recessed areas a lighter version of the gray on the walls? This would add a subtle interest and brighten up your space, as the lighter color would reflect light around the room more. But it wouldn't introduce another color into the space. If you wanted to mimic moldings, you could paint a border of the lighter color around the windows as well, in place of moldings. That would be a more traditional look, though.

Consider installing "sheer blinds" to give a more finished look to your windows. It's a clean and modern solution. They also let in tons of light but the opaque louvers allow for privacy when needed. Blinds and roll up shades just look sad and give an old tenement/motel vibe.

I agree with high gloss black. The look would be great and it would be easy to clean.

freeleeNY: Totally disagree on the shades. I love roller shades! So easy and effective. Sometimes the simplest solution is best.

I vote to paint the recesses the same as the walls and the sills whatever color you are using for trim.

I ran into the same issue with deep window recesses. I originally painted them the wall color, but realized that they don't read the same color because the shadows. I painted them white and they not only looked great, but reflected more light into the room. Since you are dealing with northern light, white will give you more light. Sidenote: I think Albert Hadley used to mirror these spaces for more light in a room

I have similar walls, and I left mine white when I painted the wall grey.

Someone above commented on the window coverings, and I have modern, sheer (can see out, not in) darker grey roller blinds with a chrome bar on the bottom. They'd look great. You can even leave up the existing blinds and put the sheers in front if you want a way to block out all light.

A good rule of thumb is to keep features the same color unless you want to highlight them. Personally I would go with the same color as the walls. If you do decide on a contrasting color, consider white with a simple white pull-down shade to brighten and streamline the window boxes. And, totally unsolicited, think about investing in some lighting (new ceiling fixtures aren't that hard to install and don't take precious floor space). Dark walls plus a small city apartment add up to an urban cave.

Here's the mirror post. I did this after reading the article and I really enjoy it: More view, more light.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/close-up-more-w-13111

The house we live in now had all the recessed windows (just like yours) painted in the same color as the walls. I painted them in white to go with all the trim in the home. It made the windows seem much larger and finished. It turned out to be kind of like a mock trim and looked lovely. I used a heavy duty high gloss (the same as the trim) for easy cleaning.

White, mirrors, or, if you use the same or lighter grey as the walls, maybe something with a sheen.

Functionally, you need to add light to your North facing windows. White, mirrors or gloss will brighten things up a surprising amount.

I would agree the mirror trick on the side portions would brighten up the space and give you the feel of more windows etc. If you painted in the inside white it would feel like a "trim" detail and keep everything looking bright. It also helps to avoid the different paint colour feel with shadows (as someone mentioned earlier)

Otherwise I would consider getting nicer shades as suggested or try to create a very small valance inside the window to hide the roller portion (you can paint it the same colour as the rest of the window walls. I would also consider swtiching out the small curtain rods for one that goes over both windows and add additional curtain panels into the centre. I think the small rods and the curtains on one side just makes the small windows look smaller.

I would go for white because I think it would reflect more light.

Maybe it feels like too much fabric, or it's just that it costs twice the price, but I think the windows would look nicer if each window had a full set of curtains. I have roller shades with curtains and I think they look lovely. And, for what it's worth, my walls are grey (Benjamin Moore's Collingwood:http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/oc-28#ce_s=collingwood) and my shades and curtains are cream. My windows are recessed in the same way that yours are and I painted the recesses the same color as the wall--not that it's noticeable, since I have curtains flanking each window. They conceal the edges of each roller shade (and hardware) nicely.

White. Nice contrast, gives more of a reflected light, and will brighten up the room, plus add some geometric dimension and interest.

I used to live in an apartment in Brooklyn that faced brick walls, but if you put your cheek against the wall and looked out the window sideways, you got a glimpse of the Empire State Building and the Twin Towers. (Which gives you an idea of how long ago that was.)

I lined the window recesses with mirrors like in the post MirrorMom points to. It really helped--it brought stripes of sunlight into the room and glimpses of the great world outside.

Of course, it looks like you have nice open views, so maybe mirrors aren't necessary for you. But they might make your views more expansive. Otherwise I would go with white to bring in more light.

Black. Match the window frame. Your space looks sort of dark. Dark windows and frames makes the view stand out. There have been posts about it in the past.

My vote is for the high gloss black...I just have a feeling that would look really cool and turn those windows into a main attraction for your room...

I like the mirror idea posted by others, but if you decide to use your original plan and paint my vote would be for white. My windows are currently trimmed in the same color and I wish I had left them white when I painted the room. Having that space painted white lets in a lot more light and makes the windows seem larger (which may be important in your case as you said they are quite narrow already).

I think I would do what this guy did and create window trim with paint - totally ingenius! http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/at_-mark-west-village-house-tour/item/351833

I LOVE THIS!!! Ahem. Pardon my enthusiasm. :)

I want to thank everyone for their input. There are so many great ideas here. At the moment I'm leaning toward painting them white, but I'm very intrigued by the gloss black idea. It's interesting that you make that suggestion because I have been strongly considering painting part of a nearby staircase that very color (just the banister and newel posts). I love the mirror idea as well.

thanks again

-adam

I will go for white paint as it will accentuate well with the color of your walls! You can also find streamline painting very helpful as well. You can find several ideas there too.