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Good Questions: What Color Goes Well with These Tiles?

6-14-bathroom-white.jpgHello AT,

I am moving into a new apartment with a newly renovated, but pretty standard bathroom. I would like to paint the walls but not sure what color?

I am having a hard time finding a color I like that goes well with those tiles. I would love to hear any advice.

Thanks! Beth

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Dear Beth,

We feel your pain. Tiles like that are meant to be neutral, but they can be very limiting when painting. However, if you choose a color that will go with your towels and bathmat, you will find the tiles lose their dominance.

Our picks of the day:

Seafoam Green
Dreamy Cloud

Anyone else??

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Comments (27)

black

posted by goofybuddha on June 15th 2007 at 11:06am
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Find a shower curtain you like first, then work from there.

But as is, I'd be inclined to do a PALE water-inspired color, or if you are feeling adventurous and want to go dark, a dark taupe in the same tint range as the tile.

posted by patrick (the other one) on June 15th 2007 at 11:13am
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Green rooms in theaters are not green because it makes your color bad and putting on makeup difficult. So, don't paint your bathroom any shade of green. What's your favorite color and go from there.

posted by Kurt on June 15th 2007 at 11:14am
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My personal favorite bathroom color is always some kind of muted celery. Calming and spa-like - the warmth of a yellowy green with bring out the earthness of the warm gray in the tile. It would be especially good if you added accents (like shelves, hooks, a little molding at the tile's edge, etc.) in a warm wood and kept everything else white. The two colors already posted are also nice, though. FYI when picking out these colors, on the chip they will look much more yellow/brown than you would expect, but on the wall they do read as green. Don't be scared, if you go to green, you'll really get green though.

http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?companyid=124338&lineid=618&cbn=THDC-X7T5-VAH1

or

http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?companyid=124338&lineid=618&cbn=THDC-X7T5-VAH1

posted by juliag on June 15th 2007 at 11:24am
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Taupe.

posted by Lori on June 15th 2007 at 11:24am
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Devine "Straw" or "Ale" (I did one of my bathrooms in Straw...)

posted by boomer on June 15th 2007 at 11:34am
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I would love to paint a bathroom this Grand Hotel Mackinac Blue. It's a watery blue with just a bit of green. Very crisp and cool.

http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?companyid=124426&lineid=824&cbn=9C4H-D105-VVEW

posted by Szig on June 15th 2007 at 11:43am
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This one is easy. Soft colors in warm sorbet-like colors or cool blues or greens will look nice.

Any of these towel colors from west elm would look nice. I'd probably avoid the dark brown towels, however.

http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODb025&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E&parentId=WE-SH1BEDTOW&retainNav=true&cmsrc=WE-SH1BEDTOW

posted by Jackie on June 15th 2007 at 12:05pm
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Hey, that looks like the bathroom of an apartment I saw on Essex. Is it a condo near rivington?

posted by mercury273 on June 15th 2007 at 12:34pm
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I was going to suggest you take a really good look at the tile and see if it's got some hints of other colors such as green or blue or what and use that as a jumping point, which will play down the overall neutral pallet some but going with towels and using them as the starting point is also a good one.

posted by ciddyguy on June 15th 2007 at 1:10pm
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I'd go with lavender. You could do warmer or cooler lavender with those tiles.

posted by thebird on June 15th 2007 at 1:16pm
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I'd pick up the border tile color, but a few shades lighter.

posted by JefferyK on June 15th 2007 at 1:32pm
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It's a totally boring answer, but I'd be inclined just to paint the walls a bright white and keep the whole space clean and neutral - maybe with the exception of a bright little glass bud vase on the sink or something, and/or a big, great bright painting or framed print over the john. You could warm the space up with a big teak bathmat, or even just a thick white fluffy cotton one to add softness.

If the walls were a color (especially of the pastels being recommended, which I otherwise really like), things like that little strip of paint showing under the medicine cabinet and above the tile would just bug me every day - though I realize that may well just be me... :)

If white really does sound too boring, though, I'd probably go with a muted, soft salmon - very flattering for reflection, and I think it would complement the tiles pretty well.

Let us know what you decide!

posted by helloat on June 15th 2007 at 2:42pm
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A color that closely resembles (or matches) the tile. Once you have that, you can accessorize easily. I'd make everything beige, white or taupe.

Oh, to have a tile color like that rather than the disgusting blue I currently have!

posted by Terry on June 15th 2007 at 3:03pm
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I think the color of the Restoration Hardware shopping bag (pale teal-turquoise) would look great! Enjoy your new colors!
Nee

posted by nee on June 15th 2007 at 3:13pm
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Paint or not...it's a nice, clean & new bathroom- no pain here- none that I can see. Enjoy your new home.

posted by right angle on June 15th 2007 at 6:06pm
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Try a nice warm coral or even an aqua green/blue; but go with tones, Colors, that are grayed out, not tinty colors; if you want specific suggestions, you can email me directly.

I have fans for BM, KB, Sherwin Williams, etc.

Good luck,

jana

posted by *jana* on June 15th 2007 at 6:46pm
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Paint the walls a deep taupe and then get a new mirror, something longer and a bit narrower (don't overlap the tile that is running vertically along the line of the tub) and in a deep rich wood tone like mahogany. Or, perhaps silver leaf. Add lots of fluffy white towels, with a few in the same shade of taupe you put on the wall. A super-crisp canvas duck shower curtain (Martha Stewart Everyday at K-Mart is a good one) with simple chrome hangers and bar will complete it. Keep it simple, fresh, and clean.

posted by gathering browse on June 15th 2007 at 8:33pm
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The tiles appear to have a rose hue; pick up on this color with: http://www.colorcharts.org/ccorg/resources/colors.aspx?companyid=124338&lineid=618&cbn=4J12-JP85-W0Q1

posted by margot45 on June 16th 2007 at 1:39am
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I'd go to kuler.adobe.com and check out their highest rated color palettes or click create, find a neutral on the color wheel similar to the tiles and create a color scheme of my own.

Other ideas to try, keep an eye out for that neutral shade. When you're flipping through magazines or walking through stores, keep an eye out for that color, see what vendors or painters or photographers do with that neutral. Find a color palette you like that uses the tile color as a highlight and go for it.

I do agree, if you find a bathmat and shower curtain that goes with the wall color, the tiles will be downplayed.

posted by anne lord on June 16th 2007 at 6:09am
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Perhaps a nice, light coral. Flattering to skin tones and warming.

posted by dianalily on June 16th 2007 at 11:50am
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Celadon

posted by Cracker on June 16th 2007 at 11:51am
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If I were you, I'd pick two colors, and personally, I'd make one a chocolate brown, so that the tiles (which look fairly tan to me) would end up just picking up a lighter end of the brown spectrum. So you could do something like the ever-popular brown-aqua combo, or something crazier like brown and pink/lavender.

posted by pollyhyper on June 16th 2007 at 12:30pm
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I think that I have those same tiles in my bathroom, which is painted lavender. It looks great, because bathrooms are too often painted neutrals.

The tiles I have, have sort of an overlapping tan and purple-ish dotty pattern on them.

posted by Geeka on June 17th 2007 at 4:35am
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After obsessive researching (apartmenttherapy and otherwise), I just painted my room (it's NYC, folks....) with Benjamin Moore Coastal Fog AC-1 -- a brilliant (as in great) color. I took the foyer/hallway to the step darker AC-2 and am now doing the bathroom in the next step darker AC-3 (it'll take two coats, but it will be nice). For an earlier bathroom, I used B Moore's Whittall Brown which I really liked too. Go into your B. Moore store, grab every paint color that seems appealing, take them home to the light you'll have there, and see what grabs you

posted by gregnewyorkcity on June 18th 2007 at 8:29am
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this is a great color combination incorporating brown and blue

http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-Pottery-Barn-Colors-Winter-07-RR-p/mpc-bmcombo_pbw07rr.htm

posted by nowstarter on April 15th 2008 at 5:47pm
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