apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

A27 looks good, but why go for one color. Mix things up a bit. use A27, along with some lighter colors and create a nice blend.

I concur with the idea of mixing it up. If you don't like that idea, then I would also pick the turquoise.

where are these beautiful glass tiles from?

That will end up being a lot of color (whichever color tile you choose) in the room, so I think there's no problem with going white with remaining walls.

If still committed to color, I'd go with a barely-there version of whichever tile you choose.

Since I LOVE the "non-color color" of etched glass, I vote for either the green or turquoise, since the barely-there version of either will yield that etched glass/sea glass color...

i think the green is more appealing if it's going to be a one-color job. but i do think mixing the colors would be have a great effect and the the 'barely-there' version of the gree would have the best effect.

i think the green is more appealing if it's going to be a one-color job. but i do think mixing the colors would be have a great effect and the the 'barely-there' version of the green would have the best effect.

p2 calls it. in a small space, colors that dark will be too much i think, but if you insist, then walls should be very light.

i lean to the green. sea glassy, indeed.

you guys are amazing. its so nice to get all the wonderful ideas.

i definately like the idea of mixing up the green/turquoise with another color. any suggestions on which color would go with it?

any tile pattern suggestions?

Another thought -- if someone is using this bathroom for regular grooming, you want a green or blue that will make you look healthy. You might want to get some large sheets of paper in your favorite shades and pin them to the wall for a bit, just to see if you suddenly develop bags under your eyes or a weird skintone against some background colors.

i like the idea of mixing it up.

you could transition the colors from green at the bottom, to turquoise, to blue at the top - and they don't have to be evenly distributed. you could create a blending effect by mixing them at the margins where the different color sections meet. you could even design it on your computer first and treat each tile as a single pixel.

We have glass tiles in our bathroom, and while they are beautiful, they are very fragile. Several have broken inexplicably. So bear this in mind. If you have a low tolerance for things going wrong, ceramic might be better.

I would go with a blending of the green and turquoise with a few orange thrown in the mix. Then I would paint the walls a lighter, warm orange-yellow color. A random design with tiles could be quite fun or you could do mostly green with a "border" of sorts where about 3 or 4 tiles in (whatever makes sense for the room) you do a row of the turquoise - maybe 2 or 3 turquoise then one orange, 2 or 3 turquoise, 1 orange, etc.

I like the mixing idea. I have a picture from an old H&H from the NYT of a largish bath with lots of natural light from a large window that mixes these exact colors in a random way. The floors are tiled and the walls are tiled, oh, say for 4 feet off the floor and the rest of the bath is white.

What's the best way I can show/send this picture for Piya to see?

Also completely agree with wende: I had to cover a pair of skylights for which I sewed canopy-like shades in what seemed like a pleasing green fabric. When the sun shines through it, everything in the room, me included, looks like we've been puked on.

I say whatever you do, don't mix it up.

I like the "green" out of these three but if I had my choice of all greens, I'd choose a pale pale pale light smoked green. Almost a light "creamy" green

Being from Mediterrenean>>> turquoise is my fav...!

OK, my Dad is the Tile King of Florida, so I consider myself...uh, the Princess?
whatever color you go for (and I like the green best) be choosy about the GROUT. Buy samples and lay out tile on several boards and play with tinting the grout (from white, to light grey, maybe try a pale green), and change up the width of the grout lines (thinner is better, but you'll need to check with your tile dude if width makes a difference in the durability of the wall.)
Personally, I would like to see a continuation of the color of the tile onto the walls -- a shade lighter, as someone mentioned. If there is too much contrast between the tile and walls 9ie white) it might look like you cheaped out and only bought a little tile...like, why not tile all the walls and/or floor? I've seen a lot of modern bathrooms that use glass tiles, but not enough of them, so you kind of notice the space that doesnt have them rather than the space that does. But if you paint the walls the same shade, it all looks intentional, there is less contrast, you take in the color, and the gloss, rather than where the glass tiles end and the white walls begin. yes?

Piya, I've posted a picture here for your reference.

http://tinyurl.com/o4lay

Being from Mediterrenean>>> turquoise is my fav...!

But mixing sounds like more fun..

Mixing it up looks great... in a larger room.

(And for the record my first answer to the actual question of "What color to paint the remaining walls?" is still white. Get your remaining color from the tile, from seaglass accessories, from a stainlees steel towel bar, from a teak bath mat, from a walnut tissue holder...)

deepa,

thanks for the link.

pam h,

hadn't really thought about the grout. thanks for pointing that out.

Had to come back..

If you ARE going to mix, buy a premixed layout. Ends up looking so much better and cheaper too I would think.

I like mint pennies/sticks in the example linked

i'm not huge on the mixing idea - in a small space, it might look too busy, overwhelming; continuity might go a long way towards unifying the surfaces and making them seem more expansive.

Julianna: excellent choice! They look stunning.

Really appreciate the heads-up from Andrea and pam h.

a friend just had his bathroom done in something similar to the sticks, but the color was different - green, but almost a mossy (bordering on chartreuse, but much more organic) sort. it's gorgeous.

i think the matchstick is a bit more of the moment than the pennies - but that's neither here nor there, i guess. just love the shapes. would *definitely* go for them over squares.

Wheee Haw!

That is gonna be a lot of color. Make sure you love it for all time before you install.

Shattering.

There is a difference in glass tiles. The better ones are tempered (also called annealing, heat tempering and a couple other names which mean that after they've been formed...they go through at least one, and maybe several processes of re-heating and controlled cooling). Tempering changes the internal structure of the glass so it becomes more regular. More regular = stronger.

Annealing is the secret behind pyrex and old Coke bottles. Annealed tiles are less likely to shatter.

I think I'd go with the blue or green as a second choice - I think the turquoise will end up looking dated far too quickly.

scott, great info THX!

my friend has a smallish windowless bathroom with something like the green, mixed with a couple shades in the blue/green family. It's gorgeous. It was a high end contractor job, and the shower wall is curved...

make sure your tile guy/gal has experience with glass tile - it's translucent so the grouting is much trickier
I am told

The Princess of Tile has good advice, but forget doing it on the floor. I have a tiny bathroom that I had tiled in a random mix of three blue Bisazza colors. A couple of things to know (from my experience): 1 - these tiles will shatter if something hard is dropped on the floor AND make sure they're grouted well (floor or wall). You'll always have one or two pop out here and there every year or so. Why? I don't know. But I've had it happen here and seen it happen elsewhere. 2 - Make sure the surface below is in perfect condition. Mosaic tiles (like these small squares) will show any surface irregularities....and they need perfect clean lines for the edges (corners and seams between surfaces. 3 - Make sure your tile guy has experience with this material. It's not very forgiving.

I'm with Patrick (too) on this one. Keep the color as non-intrusive as possible. Also, glass tiles (and particularly glass tiles of various colors used to make a design) are very of the moment and may look dated within a few years.

Unless you absolutely ADORE glass tile and will ALWAYS adore glass tile, I'd re-think using it and go for a tile or stone that will be have a timeless look. Bath renos are so expensive and take so much energy that I'd stay away from anything trendy.

Finally, go with a color you love that will be attractive to possible buyers if you plan to eventually sell your place.

Piya,

I'm an interior designer for a manufacturer's tile showroom, and I've been using a lot of glass lately. I suggest seeing if free design consultations are available from the store/showroom that sells the tile you're considering. I spend my entire day designing patterns and reviewing the pros and cons of various materials with clients, and someone in a similar role in your area probably could provide invaluable guidance about your design options and the practicality of the applications.

terry, i agree with your comments on trendiness - but honestly, if the correct glass tiles are chosen, they won't look "trendy," they'll just look beautiful. damn, wish i had a picture of my friend's bathroom, you'd see what i mean...

in short, almost anything can look dated, depending upon what happens in the style world.

I forgot to mention that my company lets me give samples to clients (or have them shipped directly to the customer if I don't have them on hand) FREE of charge. I assume that other manufacturers/showrooms also will do this, so don't be shy about asking. The worst they can say is no.

I try to steer my clients away from doing glass tiles (especially the clear glass types) over a large area. Kitchen backsplash is the only area I MIGHT consider doing glass tiles.

As others mentioned, glass tiles are breakable, but also another big point to consider is the impossible difficult installation. I don't care how good your tile installer is, he could be Michaelangelo, but he will not be able to provide smooth thinset surface consistency over a large area such as a shower. Installation itself is a catch 22: 1) a smooth thinset means tiles won't adhere properly, and with glass tiles, you'd want to see a smooth background behind them; and 2) when tiles are installed, they get pressed down into the thinset and the reason why tilers use a trowel to apply thinset is so they get the groove marks, and those grooves are what help to bond the tiles to the wall.

The tiler might be able to get certain spots nice and smooth and get the tiles to adhere, but he definitely won't be able to maintain this flawless consistency over a large expanse. Tiles go on nicely, but they set and they start to slide (gravity) and that's when you run into problems. The thinset surface is too smooth and the tiles won't adhere, but if you make the tiles sturdier, then you'd bound to see groove marks behind them. And nothing looks more horrible than seeing groove marks behind tiles.

Without fail, glass tiles have been a very expensive mistake for clients who insist on using them based on what they saw on a 3x5 sample board in a showroom.

The other option is to look for glass tiles that are more opaque so that the back isn't visible. Most of all, use glass tiles sparingly if you must

Like those above counter vessel sinks, glass tiles are starting to look very dated

Did you see the iridescent Abalone at Ann Sacks?:
http://tinyurl.com/kocv5

Look at the enlarged image of that mosaic...all your colors are in there. The blues, greens, aquas. I like the swirls of colors, that some parts may be more opaque (or look like they are more opaque) than others, and that they will change appearance with the lighting, and the direction from which they are viewed.

Bath textiles could be bold colors, or colors with barely a hint of color. Looks great with the grey grout, which is also a real timesaver when it comes to cleaning...it's supposed to look grey. LOL!

I was looking for a specific picture which I haven't found yet, using all the sea colors in the bolder shades. If I find it later, I'll post again.

On another note, are you just doing a shower, no tub in the bathroom? I am planning to redo my small bathroom, which currently has a tub. Not sure if I want to eliminate the tub due to resale. Any thoughts on just going for a shower? Do people also want a tub too? Thanks.

Re: grout. It is very interesting that they are coming up with so many colors of grout, but I notice that some of the colors, grey for instance, give me a creepy feeling as though they have never been cleaned. There may be some collective unconscious that I am tapping into that makes me think that only things that can be bleached or thrown away belong in a bathroom.
JP

Here's a site that has some lovely pictures in the Gallery area (although it's a little hard to navigate, see if you agree).

http://www.susanjablonmosaics.com/p_Home.cfm

It helps to see as many installations as you can before choosing a specific color or blend of colors. Be sure to view the Lime Green Bijou picture in the albums...that's not nearly as much tile as you'd be using, and look at the intensity of the color, how it fills the room (even though it's only a backsplash).

There's a link to a Tile Designer there, that I guess would let you try some ideas...but it's not working for me (I'm on a Mac/Safari browser).

I still haven't found the pictures I wanted to show you, but I keep finding other things in the process.

piya
don't listen to the naysayers
you like glass tile, and it *is* indeed possible
to have it done so it looks good, even in an *entire* shower

I wish I had a photo of my pal's bathroom!
which is several years old btw, and still looks
impeccable

I think it's a great look

TUBS and resale value:

YES, very important. Lots of people love tub baths, and they are a deal-breaker for many people (myself included).

Though showers clearly take up less visual space, I would not live in a place without a tub, no matter how much smaller the bathroom looks.

A thought: I'm considering installing a deep tub in my own bathroom when I do a reno. Although my bathroom is teeny, I believe that the comfort of having a deep tub will offset anything else. I plan to deal with the lack of space with visual tricks: mirrors, clear glass, etc.

Just my 2 cents.

Andree, thank you for the Susan Jablon link. Believe it or not, the lime green bijou is exactly the look I was imagining for the kitchen, and now I have a new image for the idea file!

Turquoise is a very trendy color, maybe here in Europe it is so I'm leaning towards the green and then the blue, though the blue might be too dark.

Lisa in SF

Re: Lime Green Kitchen

It's amazing what a small amount of tile can do to a room. On a large scale, I think many of those colors would be too intense for some people.

Piya!! Read this too!

Yes, I have examples.
Cobalt blue:
http://tinyurl.com/j3kb7

Check the picture after the above one for more blue. The blue is in the paint stripes. The shower and floor are done in black and white. It's a very adaptable bath, since walls can be colored much easier than retiling a bath.

Browse the other pictures, to see more colors. And there's a Pastel Baths (no, they aren't all girly) slideshow after the Colorful one. Seeing colors in the rooms gives you a much better idea on how an overall look might be.

In the blue bathroom in the link, it might make some folks clap their hands in pleasure and say "YES YES YES, that is EXACTLY how much blue I want!!!" The next person says "Yikes! That sure is a lot of blue...uh..."

With the second picture that has the blue stripes, that could be a great look throughout the entire bath, with the paint matched to the tiles exactly.

Oh, for crying out loud...it didn't link me over to Pastel Baths. Let me pull that up.
http://tinyurl.com/epmo7

Okay, remember the black/white bath that had the blue stripes? You'll probably remember it as being a blue bathroom...and then look at the first picture in the Pastel Baths slideshow. Well, that's done in pale lavender, for the paint. But the tiles are...black and white (plus the tan in the tile "rug" under the bathtub).

I love bathrooms. Not that I have a nice one. But it's a smaller space that can be really indulgent to your biggest cravings for color. For a particular style.

There aren't throw pillows on the toilet. There generally aren't vast windows needing to be covered. Huge amounts of flooring needed. You can do things in a small powder room that you wouldn't or couldn't do with the same effect in a larger room. Oh, yes, I have LOTS of examples of those.

This first slideshow, the bottom picture with the framed prints, the text description doesn't match the picture. Just look at the pictures, eh?
Perfect Powder Rooms:
http://tinyurl.com/lj5ye

Another picture of the gold leaf bathroom here:
http://tinyurl.com/p5mog

7 Perfect Powder Rooms:
http://tinyurl.com/qk3du

Same floor layout, but look at how it can be done in different ways:
One Sink, Three Ways
http://tinyurl.com/hhzsc

Here's a quote from the above link:
"I love small rooms!" she says. "Expensive fabrics and wall coverings can be affordable when you're dealing in small quantities."

------

Lisa in S.F., DO take pictures of before and after if you can. The color and life the backsplash would bring to a kitchen would be incredible.

I did A21 for my kitchen backsplash, and I wish I had gone lighter, brighter. My vote for you is a mix or A27.

Be careful before removing a tub and leaving only a shower in the whole residence. It may be against building codes for an apartment.

I'd kinda be afraid to ask a Good Question lately...

It seems like the question is sort of like "Should I wear a white or ivory dress to my wedding?" and people answer with "I'd consider a different groom" or "Marriage sucks." :)

...or "It's not the dress that's the issue. It's YOUR HAIR." ;)

P2, it can't be JUST a tile question or color preference. Can it? Any more than your lovely wedding gown question.

Light affects color. Other things in the room affects color. Grout color affects the look. What other things they have or will have in the room.

I'd want to know the style of the dress, whether the wedding was indoors or out, day or evening, skin tone, hair color, what the groom was wearing, etc. It's not as simple (for ME) as just picking a color.

If I had to pick a color from the above selection, knowing nothing else, I'd pick turquoise. Because I've seen a lot of turquoise items available recently, and I like the color.

Turquoise is warmer by far than the blue (I don't like that color of blue at all, it's too cold...unless living in a hot desert area, in which case it would be a welcome chill).

But I'm not sure if I'd have that much turquoise. Or that particular shade. Sorry. That's MY preference. And the question was "which color do you like" and if I don't like any of them, should I not answer at all?

Which is why I plugged in lots of links. Whether the room is painted all in blue or tiled all in blue, it still gives an idea of what THAT MUCH BLUE looks like.

Um, actually, it was a wall color question.

Yeah, but another misleading title that asks "Which Color Tile Do You Like?" and I can't possibly pick a paint color for the walls without first choosing a tile color. That's just asking for disaster. You can match paint to anything, but you have to deal with the tiles in the colors they are offered.

It's like asking which airline should I use, only to later say that I wasn't sure where I was going on vacation.

Stradivarius Skies, Cirrus Taxi, and Jim Bob's Flighty Flights.

Madagascar, Antarctica, or Disney World.

Since Jim Bob's only goes to Disney World (or wherever he runs out of gas), I can't go to the other two spots. So I couldn't possibly choose Jim Bob's if I was going to Antarctica.

I'm sorry P2, everything is SO COMPLEX for me. Complex to the point I can't make a lot of choices (there's probably a name for that, but I don't know what it is, anyone know?).

Everything seems so simple for everyone else.

Concrete example (which has nothing to do with concrete):
http://tinyurl.com/hof9r

Intense, beautiful blue and purple. Oooh, ahhh. Makes PERFECT sense for their home, in ARIZONA in the DESERT. It's visually cooling and would provide relief from the heat.

Would I recommend the same color scheme for everyone? NO WAY. From 66.5N north and 66.5S south, the sun doesn't rise during the days of winter...and those are Arctic/Antarctic regions. Why the heck would I recommend a perfectly good color for the DESERT to someone living in freezing conditions with no sun? I wouldn't do that.

Do I actually ask anyone what their latitude IS? No. Do I remind people that the color in the picture will not be the same as in their own home, unless they live next door to the pictured room and have rooms facing the same direction. Yes.

Patrick, most of the time I'd love to be able to flip a few switches and shut off HALF of what is going on in my mind.

I KNOW my long posts annoy people...the people to whom the post is generally not aimed at. But the people who are looking for ideas, THOSE people generally LOVE the long posts chock full o' links and ideas.

They like to have their home or problem or question taken seriously. They like to be fussed over and given oodles of options. They like to be validated. They like to hear the pro's and con's of various items.

There are a few people that will post and really don't WANT any help or ideas, they just want their choices confirmed. So they'll pooh-pooh any idea that is posted. Even if they asked for ideas. LOL!

I know you want to duct tape my mouth shut...er...duct tape my hands at my side so I don't post. Because I do go on and on. That's just me. Just like you are you and trying to get you to post a huge, long, boring to everyone but the person who posted the question, kind of post would be impossible. You just aren't that kind of person.

And I wouldn't want you to be anyone other than the person you ARE...because we ALL have value, whether we have short posts or long posts.

I've never had too many complaints about the length of my "post."

OMG, I almost peed.

I literally just laughed so hard I almost choked on my water.

I gotta say this about Turquoise (the color); I think it's one of the few colors that looks acceptable on literally everyone born on this planet. I also, personally love it. And it reminds many people of swimming pools and certain very clean beaches.

I think that Blue is trickier. So, if you're thinking of re-sale at ALL, you can know that not everyone will like it, but when they're having a look at the bathroom with intent of possibly purchasing, they'll at least not look bilious in the mirror when they have a look.

Mix mix mix!

You can try to do a silhouette -- like a woman with long hair that would look like she's under the water.. Or a cute looking fish.

Not easy, but worth trying..

If you decided on the darker blue color, check out the mix possibilities of using this also:
http://tinyurl.com/qy5l7

Here is the lighter version, a blue aqua:
http://tinyurl.com/n82z9

Using the lighter color might be nice, and mixing up your glass wall tiles in the shades of the water. You could even have it so there was a darker area near the center of the tub, that gradually fades to lighter tiles near the edge, then goes into white for the wall paint. I mean BRIGHT WHITE white, like the white of the porcelain fixtures.

I personaly love mosaic, especially in bathrooms
I would pick a27 as main colour an mix a bit the
others 2 here and there
Have you seen Sicis tiles?
take a look at their site for some inspiration:

http://www.sicis.it/Eng/index_eng.htm