Painting the Sam Hillborne: Color Suggestions?

The topic of bicycle color has definitely come up here prior to today, but I am currently debating colors to paint the Sam Hillborne, so it has become more personal at the moment. When I bought the frame, I was having trouble finding one in a small enough size to fit me, and the one partner of Rivendell who had the appropriate sized frame had already built it up as a bike.  The owner of the shop indicated that it would probably save me money to just purchase the whole bike from him, but I can be stubborn and had dreams of picking everything out for myself, so I declined his offer. He warned that the frame would likely have paint chips around eyelets and such due to removal of racks, etc. I assured him that it wasn't an issue, and regardless of whether I had purchased the bike whole or not, it would have needed to be disassembled for shipment, so I can't very well blame my stubbornness for the paint chipping off the bike.

There is a very small chip in the paint on the seat tube in this picture, however,
most of the major ones seem to be on the alternate side of the Hillborne.

When the frame arrived, there were indeed many paint chips on eyelets from removal of the prior parts, however, I knew that they would be covered for the most part by items I would be attaching. I had actually inquired about touch up paint from Riv, but that was not a possibility. Unfortunately, the paint on the rest of the frame soon began flaking off on its own (I don't know if this was merely a fluke with this bike's paint - others have said they've had no problems with theirs, and I've had no issues with the Betty thus far). For the first several months of ownership I didn't let anyone near this bike, I babied it as though it were a - well, baby - and never did anything harsh or abusive to the frame (not that I abuse it now, but I'm less fanatical around the bike as I realize it is still just a bike - regardless of what I may want to believe - you know, that it has mystical powers, makes me look better, etc).  At this point, there are several places that the paint has come off that are visible on the frame (some of them quite large), and since it is steel, I don't want it to get to the point that it begins to rust. Not to mention, I was never particularly in love with the color of this bike, so it seems a good time to start thinking about color change. In some ways I am happy that it needs paint because I can justify changing the color sooner than seems reasonable, but it's actually created quite a dilemma.

I thought that I knew the color that I wanted to paint the bike - I've had it picked out in my mind for over a year now - but as I think about it more and look at color options, I can see things going in two ways. First option: keep things more muted, classic, and understated (this was the original idea), or (second option) perhaps it is better to try out something bright? In some sense, I find that I'm more visible because of the orange color (even when there isn't as much light out), so perhaps going brighter makes more sense?

RAL 4009 - A lavender/gray-ish color to keep it looking classic

I tend to be drawn to very brightly colored bikes, but I appreciate the subtly in more muted colors as well. It's a little disturbing to be drawn to such different colors... but it's fun to think about what the Hillborne would look like with each of the different possibilities.

RAL 1016 - Maybe bright yellow is the way to go?

There are so many options to choose from that I find it difficult to make a decision, so I know I will hold off until I'm certain of the direction I want to go. But, when you have a chart of colors to pick from, it's difficult to narrow things down it seems.

RAL color chart - so many colors!

I find that I am fond of many different options, but I'm curious, if you were going to paint your bike, what color would you choose? Do you prefer the more muted tones, or would you opt for a brighter option? And, of course, if you'd like to offer suggestions for the Hillborne specifically, I'm all ears... err, uh, eyes.