The Case of the Elusive Paint Color

I have seven paint colors on a section of my hallway wall. Last year I painted it Grey Matter by Behr. After living with it for a year, it's just too dark in this section of the hallway. So to brighten it up I picked a cream color. Only it turned out stark white on the walls. Probably would have kept it if we had white trim; ours is a cream color. 

Thus the saga begins. I picked out a champagne color and got a sample size of the color and another with it at 50% strength. I liked the color in some spots and then in others it was a completely different color. Disappointed I searched more online, I brought home four more samples of various colors that on my computer looked shades of creamy neutrals.

What have we here?

Steamed Milk

Ivorie

Champagne by Behr & at half strength

Champagne by Sherwin Williams

Pale Moon

Blonde

Of course I do not like any of them.  And I'm starting to question my abilities. Never have I had so many missteps in decorating. So it's back to getting more sample sizes until we find the perfect shade of paint for all the contours of lighting. The next color I have in the queue: Woodmount Cream. 

   May this be "the one"! 

I'm not quite at "close enough" yet.