Good Questions: Paint to take away the red?

Hi AT,

I am at a loss for what color to paint my (very hard to photograph) bathroom. All I know is that I want to minimize the red tones that appear in the "slate look" tile that I inherited from the previous owners. Replacing the tile isn't really in the budget right now. But we are going to replace our white pedestal sink with a teak or cypress wall-hung vanity.

Note: Include a picture of your problem and your question gets posted first.
Email us with QUESTIONS in subject line: sf(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com
Link To All Good Questions

I have been considering a blue-gray color, but I'm worried that it will bring out the red colors even more. All of the fixtures are white, and we only have one tiny window above the tub. I'd like to create more of an earth/air feeling and less of a wine cellar look. Any suggestions?

Cora

Anyone???

Comments (6)

I just put slate tile in my bathroom and the room is painted blue with white accents. I think the blue works really well but maybe my slate is less red (though there are definitely hints of orange and purple!) you can take a look if this is sort of what you're thinking about.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajftuba/432828828/in/set-72157594319201538/

Hope that is useful. I would definitely look for a blue-gray to pick up the cooler tones as your slate looks much bluer than mine to start with. Good luck!

Yellow and green tend to neutralize the garrishness of red. you might want to think of that.

Anne's blue is a good idea as blue and red are primaries and compliment each other.

If you look for other colors in the slate, you might want to select a paint based on those, therefore highlinting them and downplaying the red tones.

With white fixture, I would think downplaying the white would be as important a concern. All that white with red might look worse with the wrong paint.

i think a blue-green-gray would be great in here, though it may darken the space considering how dark the tiles are. a richly colored shower curtain might be nice, too. to lighten the space, maybe translucent or stainless accessories. something reflective and sparkly. if you're bringing in wood, the red tones might be brought out more, so if you could live with it, encourage the reds! it would flow better, i think. otherwise, i think slate-grays, blue-grays, and cool whites will be your best bet.

I vote for a modern, light mint green to counteract the "warmth" of the slate. My sister used slate in her bedroom and used a light green paint, and it completely alters the feeling of the slate.

You call the tile "slate-look" - what is it made of? If its a ceramic style tile, maybe you can have the color changed by reglazing the tile. I have looked into this myself and its not a bad deal, but I have very traditional subway-type bathroom tile. If you think its ceramic, you might want to contact a local reglazer and see what they think is possible and what the cost might be. I have no idea what they might be able to do with stone or other materials if its not ceramic but it might be worth a little investigating.

Follow-up: Just a quick look around at reglazing sites seems to indicate that they work in a wide variety of materials. Check miraclemethod.com - they seem to have a lot of locations in the bay area. Apparently, you can do custom colors, so who knows what is possible (and they claim its 70% less than replacing the tile...)

On painting, using cooler tones will only accentuate the red - it creates contrast. The best suggestion would be to stick with white (or pale gray) until you can address the tile in a satifactory manner. If you want to try and trick the eye, JacksonMarie's suggestion to use a white with a tiny bit of the same warm tone as found in the tile is a good one. This will make the red less apparent by muting the contrast with the walls.