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What Color to Paint the Bathroom?
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bath073009.JPGQ: We have just ripped out the old school vanity lighting in our tiny bathroom, and now with all the demo, we have to repaint....so we are thinking of switching up the colour a bit. Currently the wall colour is a dust sandy brown with pinkish undertones, the color is not bad but not fantastic. The bathroom has a few things we need to keep in mind...

 
 

bath2073009.JPG

First , its tiny! It has white painted wainscoting that has to stay (and I think should stay white) and it only has one tiny window (that we would would love to eventually make bigger). The flooring is linoleum that resembles (very well) slate tile.....Any recommendations on paint colour would be fantastic, especially if anyone thinks we could do a dark blue and pull it off!.......for some reason I'm leaning towards dark colour.

Sent by: Rosa (whose home was featured right here in February)

Editor: Please share your color suggestions with Rosa in the comments below - thanks!

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Comments (16)

I would totally paint it a dark grey!! I think it would look very dramatic.

posted by mvastudios on July 30th 2009 at 2:47pm
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I like your thought of dark blue. Maybe a really rich, deep dark blue. I can understand your concern with the darker color overtaking such a small space, but with the right bright and simple accents you may be on to something...

posted by ellearRVA on July 30th 2009 at 2:50pm
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my first thought (before the jump) was a fresh (but not annoyingly bright) green. however, you already know what you want to do! there is absolutely no reason a dark blue couldn't work. the rest of the bathroom is neutral, so why the heck not?! it sounds like you just need a little encouragement. go for it.

posted by doubledutch on July 30th 2009 at 2:50pm
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I'd choose a color from the tile - so if it truly resembles slate, I'd choose one of the grey/green tones for the walls.

posted by bepsf on July 30th 2009 at 2:55pm
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I love blue in bathrooms but I think too dark would be too much contrast in such a small space. I would aim for a nice medium blue. Something like Sherwin Williams 6529 Scanda. I love this color and have used it on a couple of projects. It's rich and bright and not too serious.

posted by dustin on July 30th 2009 at 2:56pm
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Like Doubledutch, my first thought too was a bright basil green, but I think a dark color would be great! Personally, I would go with black (it looks like you already have a black and white thing going with your shower curtain), but dark gray or blue could be lovely too. The nice thing about it being tiny is that it shouldn't be too much work to repaint if you eventually tire of whatever color you choose.

posted by Emily the Cat on July 30th 2009 at 3:01pm
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yes! dark! a super dark slate-toned blue would look SEXY. be bold and go with your gut!

posted by lilalcarese on July 30th 2009 at 3:04pm
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Definitly read this blog post on Gorgeous grays
http://blog.myperfectcolor.com/712/house-painting/gorgeous-gray.html

My Personal Favorite is:
Wofl Gray - Benjamin Moore
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-2127-40-Wolf-Gray-p/mpc0004910.htm

Great beige/gray tone:
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-HC-87-Ashley-Gray-p/mpc_bm_hc-87.htm

This is a link to top selling gray / blue colors also:
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Top-Blue-Gray-Colors-Myperfectcolor-com-s/3231.htm

Good luck it's gonna be fabulous :-)

posted by nowstarter on July 30th 2009 at 3:06pm
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don't match the tile, find something that would be a good compliment. I say go the the dark blue. Navy, or a slate grey/ blue color would be cool in the bathroom.

I agree with lilalcarese. Go with your gut. I just painted my bathroom, tangerine dream by benjamin moore a totally bright coral orange. I also have been obsessed with greys and blacks and decided to paint my kitchen using Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore mixed with BM's Greyhound and simply white for the trim. It creates a nice contrast. and I LOVE the way they both turned out.

On a flip side, i recently saw a bathroom that was totally cool, they kept the walls a pale/ light grey white and painted the wainscoting a dark cool grey color.

posted by crossfitcourt on July 30th 2009 at 3:20pm
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We just remodeled our bathroom. I used a grey/blue color, smoke, by Benjamin Moore in the spa/bathroom matte finish. I highly recommend...

posted by jen64 on July 30th 2009 at 3:23pm
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Black!

posted by Elise_B on July 30th 2009 at 3:26pm
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I'm with pretty much everyone here. DO THE BLUE! Make it a good grey/slate blue. Make sure you have good lighting in there, and give the beadboard a good fresh coat of nice bright white.

and I love the Benj. Moore "Smoke" recommendation. Lovely color!

posted by Limeliteshines on July 30th 2009 at 3:43pm
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I don't know how much light you get with the small window you have, but I always thought it would be cool to be that dramatic (dark blue, brown, and deep red) in a small bathroom-but one that's used mostly for guests. I would think for everyday use, a lighter color in a small bathroom might be more uplifting, so to be a contrarian, I'm going to suggest a very light blue, but soft-so blue grey, and not baby blue.

posted by edava72 on July 30th 2009 at 3:57pm
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periwinkle - cool, soothing, relaxing, and expansive

posted by Lady J on July 30th 2009 at 5:02pm
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I just painted my tiny bathroom "tin" by Glidden. It's a dark grey with purplish undertones (at least in my room). I think the white fixtures pop beautifully against the dark color and the room looks great. It was the second color in that bathroom in a month. I had painted it an light to midtone aqua blue that I ended up disliking (loved the color but not there).

I'd suggest going for the dark blue that you want. It'd be easy to paint over if you end up disliking it. Especially if you decide to paint over with another dark color, like grey.

posted by kelleyk on July 30th 2009 at 6:09pm
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Rose, tangerine, or a mid- to dark-grey. The first two would be lively, the second two would be sophisticated.

You're doing well thus far - the white wainscoting and fittings provide great bones, and I like the fashion-forward use of the B&W paisley shower curtain.

posted by Blandwagon on July 30th 2009 at 10:42pm
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