Reader Help: What Color Should I Paint My Bathroom?

by Elizabeth

I've been gradually working my way through all of the badly painted rooms in my house, eradicating all the "builder beige" slapped casually on the walls, and this weekend I think I'm going to try to tackle the bathroom.  It REALLY needs to be painted, especially since the current paint job is a bizarre layering of flat and semi gloss paint.  But I can't decide what color to paint it!

I'm not afraid of color, but for some reason I really can't think of any color to paint this bathroom besides white.  Is a soft off white a mistake, or my best bet?  The bathroom is the only one in the house, and it's tiny.  The floor is a tan colored travertine tile, we have all white towels, and the woodwork and trim has already been painted white.  I guess that's my concern, mostly, because I like it when white woodwork stands out against a paint color and I'm worried that if I paint the walls white it will all just blend together and look lame.

I'm not afraid of color, but I'm not a fan of green, and I've heard blue is unflattering in a bathroom. I've already painted my bedroom, hallway, and living room gray.  And I don't want to put a dark color in the bathroom because it's so small, and I really can't do any more baby poo beige (especially since this is the color it is right now).  I actually wanted to paint the bathroom pink, since it's supposed to be really flattering, but my husband isn't a fan of that idea, shockingly. 

So what do you think?  Should I just paint it white, or is there a perfect color out there that I'm overlooking?

Here's a picture, if that helps:

(eventually that hideous vanity will be replaced with a pedestal sink, btw.)

Comments

[Amanda]

I hope you get a lot of good advice, I'm in the same boat! Our bathrooms have similar colors. And I was going to paint blue because the only thing I have in my bathroom is a picture with light blue and a little red on it.

[Home Sweet Sarah]

My master bathroom is in dire need of repainting, as well, and I think I'm going to go with a peachy color, probably something that's light-beige with peachy overtones. Or undertones? Whatever.

[maggie]

I picked a verrrrry pale baby blue for my bathroom, which has white trim and travertine tile. Like you might not even notice except against the white trim. PRETTY. But I will never actually PAINT my bathroom. All the little corners! Ack!

My neighbors, living in the exact same townhouse, painted their bathroom a soft lime green and I LOVE IT.

[emily ann]

Here are some ideas:
A pale yellow? Our bathroom is the BEST yellow - ever. Yellow is really hard to pick. Benjamin Moore Paint has a pottery barn collection that is nice. OR I think coral would be really cute with the travertine tile. Sometimes a dark color can be good in a small space! Good luck!

[Shoe Lush]

Sage green! Speaking from personal experience, it looks fabulous against white accents.

[Ashley]

I painted our bath a blue with grey undertones. More of a slate blue if you will. I have pics! I think blue and white work well in the loo!

http://craftyashleyonthego.blogspot.com/2009/02/painted.html

[Shoe Lush]

Oh. I should also add that with the floor tile and the cabinet color, you don't want something with a cool undertone. (I missed the not being a fan of green part on the first read through, sorry)

[Jennie]

Maybe not pink but a really light peach?

[auntie]

well, i'm in the minority so far, but i really like all white in a bathroom, especially one so small. you can do color with accessories and/or towels (if you want to change at some point), and i think it makes it feel slightly spa-like.

[Swistle]

Orange. ORRRRRRRRRANGE. We did ours orange and it is GLORIOUS. I'd thought it would be kind of wild-'n'-crazy looking, but with all the white it really isn't. We used Behr Orange Spice, 250 B 5. If I were doing it again I would go a TIDGE less orange---maybe the Vintage Orange.

[Emily]

I love anything from Restoration Hardware. Maybe something in their Shore or Butter collection?

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/category/category_w_4products.jsp;jsessionid=F4IE00OB2TSIXLAWCQKSCAVMCYKBMH20?navAction=jump&navCount=0&categoryId=cat1017001

[Laura]

Oh, I just read through your comments and am so happy to see Swistle over here and even with the same thought I had -- some sort of tangerine color was what I had in mind, not a pale orange but something that would really contrast with the white, pick up the color of the floor a bit, and be a pop of color in the middle of all of the other beautiful grays and whites in your house.

[Shin Ae]

Hee hee hee, I just consulted my husband, who didn't read the post and just looked at the picture. Guess what he said? "Pink."

[natalie]

I like the color that it is! I wouldn't do all white. What about gold?

[Suniverse]

I love a deep periwinkle blue. Yum.

[Kimberly Lang]

i agree with suniverse on the periwinkle blue.

[Marie Green]

We have two bathroom, both with white wood work, one with the bottom half having white bead board. That one is red, which works really well since only half the wall is red, so it's not overpowering. The other one is a dark purple, which also looks great with the white. The purple one needs to be repainted though, and since I think it's boring to repaint the same color, I'm thinking of doing a celery green in there. I know you said you don't like green, but a crisp green with the white says "clean" to me... which is how I want people to feel about my bathroom, even when it's not (ahem) so clean.

Let us know what you decide!

[alittlecoffee]

If it were me I would definitely paint it green... an apple or sage green would be fantastic with white towels. I would definitely not paint it white if you are going to use white towels as well, I think that will look very uninspired. I think a pale sunny yellow or orange are also great options if you don't like green. I love blues but I agree that you should avoid them in a bathroom, it kind of skews the lighting and makes it hard to apply makeup so that it looks good.

[Swistle]

Oh, I had another thought. I know you said blue was unflattering, but I still think it would be awesome to match a paint chip to the "chipped aqua" color you like.

But if not: ORRRRRRRRRANNNNNNNNGE.