I would leave it white. It looks great with the wood, clear and uncluttered. My second choice would be deep red, but could be too claustrophobic in such a small space and might be to much with the white ceramic.

I thought that small powder rooms were the very places that benefit from darker colors. After all, they're so small that no amount of visual trickery will make them look bigger so why not make them look more interesting? Have you thought of some funky wallpaper in an interesting pattern and rich color palette?

Here are some interesting powder rooms:
Fishes
http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/2F/53AC1ECCA7D09BE2A1DABE7A16884.jpg
Birches
http://www.houzz.com/photos/107808/Ackerman-Residence-Renovation-Addition-Norwich-VT-traditional-powder-room-burlington
Deadwood
http://www.houzz.com/photos/321452/Lynne-Barton-Bier---Home-on-the-Range-eclectic-powder-room-denver
Zebras
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9yHCn9bv19g/TS0_95mVXwI/AAAAAAAAAIM/y2ycz9eK6d8/s400/Powder%2B4.jpg
Chinoiserie
http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/13-living-color-hallway-dec0607_xlg.jpg
Hildy
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PQj0m7YsxPw/TYfPgbzCatI/AAAAAAAAGyc/LnUFgbOiDLI/jewel+box+bathroom.png
Kandinsky
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dqHfmmPGQio/Tzfs_i74vZI/AAAAAAAADJ4/v-dF99KwB2A/s640/A&A+pr+convex+mirrors.jpg
Well, you get the idea.
Just don't do what I did and paint the walls raspberry red. It tends to give your guests negative afterimage.

i disagree with @KHINNJ on the basis that if you're concerned about warm darker colors making the room feel small, you will definitely think it feels small with those crazy faux prints and designs.

i would go with an earthtone that will bring out the character in the wood. i'm partial to warm colors as well...so maybe a nice terra cotta (my preference in a room with lots of light), or a muted clay green like @medusa12120 recommended.

good luck!

Nice wood for a ranch themed bathroom! Or maybe you want a more contemporary look? I would go either white, gray, or blue, with a bit of black somewhere in the mix.

skidou again: hope you show us the finished project and more photos...

i've been into gray lately, especially dark gray. look at benjamin moore's historical colors line. i recently painted my bathroom a semi gloss 'coventry gray' on top and a flat white on bottom- bisected at the 'chair rail' line. That way, the toilet didn't stand out. I LOVE how gray looks with wood. i think it's sophisticated and the wood warms up the gray beautifully.

As long as the room is well-lit, dark colors don't "close down" a room nearly as much as anyone says.

A navy blue would contrast the porcelain and wood nicely. Gray would work as well but you'd need to use brightly colored linens to prevent it looking too dreary.

In the end it's just paint, not a tattoo. A 6' x 4' room would probably take a couple of hours to prep and paint a second time.

i love the combination of dark gray and wood. Here is a link to something I saw at a design center and a link to what i did with that color.
http://pinterest.com/pin/77194581082822003/ http://pinterest.com/pin/77194581082821981/
I used cracked pepper from Behr.

I agree with grey, it's been one of my favourite colours for years (I know, boring!). I might pick a darker grey for the wall with the sink and the beautiful wood and then pick a lighter grey (from the same paint chip) for the rest of the walls. That way you get a great saturated colour that you would be drawn to and you don't over power the space.

OR

As an alternative to painting the walls - leave them white, which will look great with the wood and paint the bathroom door (inside and out) one of your favourite colours. That way you leave the bathroom light and airy feeling but have a punch of colour. The bathroom door can then also add a pop of colour to the rest of the loft. Then pick up some towels and accessories that look great with the door colour.

I'm in the process of painting my doors a dark charcoal (It's not a bright colour, but it sure does have impact!) - No one says doors have to be boring white all the time :)

OR

Do a combination, pick a light colour to paint your walls and paint your door a darker version of the walls.

One more "OR" from me. This option might clash with the wood - so you'd have to be careful.

Get a great wall paper, pick one wall to do it on and leave the rest white (or pick a very light colour from the wall paper) and either a. leeave the door white or pick a darker colour from the wall paper and paint your door that colour.

There. Done with my painted door suggestions. :)

Here's a couple of photos of a painted doors (alright - no more from me!)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HWfQvgcob1I/SpPNRbtdsfI/AAAAAAAACK4/xlELHaFYH7I/s400/yellow-sliding-door-l.jpg

http://indierocket.com/painteddoors1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wcURCJ_3Bp4/TaT3X_cNGBI/AAAAAAAAHAA/8fZGpsYpajQ/s1600/black-interior-doors-1.jpg

http://manolohome.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/painted-door.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36052101@N02/3427675992/

http://lh4.ggpht.com/-aKDtLyHeweo/TjqeT_za1XI/AAAAAAAAJ9o/4rX2evOebM0/red-interior-door5.jpg

http://thegraduatewife.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/painted-doors.jpg?w=650

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=46007586

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TUBSJu3YlNE/Twyq-kESw6I/AAAAAAAAEIU/pVaBI4sPIyU/s1600/april.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m236uZ4D8sU/TwW2cItZT5I/AAAAAAAACmg/jr5Ybji1uWE/s1600/kitchendoorsblack.bmp

I just painted my small room and bathroom one of the new Benjamin Moore "color story" paints: Lace Handkerchief. It's neutral but not boring to me - warmer than white but every color I've put with it sings (plum colored duvet, for instance). I watched them mix the paint and it has a lot of tones in there so it's not the same in all lighting. There are bolder colors within the neutral colors that I think would both complement your wood AND give the white fixtures a bit of contrast (and make them look whiter). I have gone the way of dark colors with white in a small bathroom (white tiles three quarters of the way up the wall then deep brown on the upper walls and ceiling) and it was like stepping into a hot fudge sundae!

Hmmm... what naturally goes better with wood than green? I'm actually thinking a chartreuse more than straight green. You really didn't mention what your decor style is. Chartreuse could be really fun and funky or could lean toward natural and spa like.

@stream13 I posted before I looked at the links you suggested. The painted door pic is very like the color I had in mind! Good choice.

@ KRAZYAKRES Thanks! that grey & yellow/chartreuse barn door is my favourite for sure.
If I ever buy a house with a similar master bath setup like that I'm duplicating that image :)

Matt (poster) - don't forget to tell us what you choose to do :) and better yet, photos! good luck

Bathrooms are where you groom, so white is my favorite choice because the light is best for make up and hair. The wood is enough decor, and white with wood will give you a really clean, modern look. I like the idea of a painted door for a punch of color. And there's towels and art to add more color, depth and interest. Any color that you like, or whatever works with the rest of the loft is the way to go. Doors look better when they are painted the same color on both sides.

I like that shade of clean, clear pale blue that's showing in the shadow between the boards in the photo. It works almost like a neutral in that pretty much any other colour will work with it.

White. Washable.

I say go with the unexpected. Like wallpaper or paint the ceiling. Inexpensive, but a great way to add a pop of color with leaving everything else white.

Ideas are on this blog post I found. I think the title of the blog is what I would be going for.

http://everythingleb.blogspot.com/2012/02/sweet-surprise.html

I think painting the ceiling would be a great idea. So you keep it clean but you have a detail of colour.

Thank you all for the comments! I see some great ideas here - extremely helpful. I'll be putting the project aside for a week (vacation) and back to it next week. Updates to come - so far I've just removed the fixtures and prepped the walls for paint.

For updates - does anyone know if i can upload photos directly to this site, or an alternative if not?

Keep 'em coming!
Thanks again,
Matt

Hey Matt...I noticed that u have a trim...u could paint that to add some color...maybe a rich brown to reflect the wood...
I'd keep the walls white, but add a border towards the ceiling (i.e. if u ain't painting the trim).
Another thing u could do, is add color or pattern to a single wall....maybe on the side where the sink is.
I liked one color scheme which would suit ur small bathroom...
http://willeydesign.com > Gallery > LA Residence > Slide 13/16

Do post pics once u're done! :)

Hey Matt!

If you're looking to share photos you could either sign up for Flickr or Photobucket and then just copy the photo link to post here.

Hope your bathroom turned out nice.