Ken, I have built two shops. I painted the walls in the first one white, my present shop is painted off white. To me, both colors are a great choice.. I find that you can never have enough light..
The walls in both are 1/2 inch AC plywood. It is easy to mount things on the walls without searching for a stud. In the upper areas that are not really feasible for mounting shelves, etc, I have decorated with automobilia. Old magazine ads, antique license plates, old car and truck photos, and porcelain signs that I have purchased at swap meets and on E Bay look great and give it an old time flavor..
