You said you want to avoid painting the walls because you'd have to repaint when you move out, so I'm confused as to why this is a better alternative. Are you a renter? If I were a landlord, I'd be more pissed about someone painting over wood than painting a wall.

I'd leave the cabinets alone anyhow. They're pretty. And, assuming you are a renter, not yours.

Ok, sorry. My previous comment sounded a little snotty.

Why don't you sew (or have someone else sew) a long, gathered curtain to hang under the lip of the counter - I think a curtain would hang nicely hung from airplane wire (find a kit at ikea) or a long tension rod, depending on the length of the cabinet unit. That way you wouldn't be making any permanent changes, and when you move on you can take your curtain with you and use the fabric for something else.

we painted our bathroom walls turquoise, and my wife added some acrylic decals to liven things up a little bit.

she even left some strange quotes around, using acrylic letters - but that's what I get for marrying a designer, lol.

stuff like:
"if it's yellow, let it mellow. if it's brown, flush it down!"

Hi Jessica
Im having the same problem, the wood in our bathroom is a strange dark red and I really dont like it.
I think turquoise could be nice or, you could paint them in a soft orange colour, i used Bongo Jazz by Dulux in my old bathroom, it was lovely, it's between orange and pink. This might sound a bit girly but it wasn't. It would go well with your shower curtain. It was also very luminous.

Good luck with the painting!
Margaux

I agree that painting the cabinets seems more drastic and renter-inappropriate than painting the walls. You don't wanna get stuck having to strip off paint when you move out. The fabric skirt option, or perhaps some self-adhesive paper treatment, seems like a better bet.

That said, you already have a lot going on in a small space, with your artwork and all your towels and toiletries on display. Adding more color will just add to the noise level in there. I'd try to keep it more on the neutral side if I were you. Oh - and please close your toilet lid before your hair dryer falls in there. I've learned that lesson the hard way!

Definitely, close the toilet seat!

Painting the cabinets sounds like an insane option to me, entirely too much work if you are a renter and will need to undo it at some point. Did your landlord approve of the idea?

I think declutter and then assess what you have , the suggestion of a fabric skirt sounds best if the color of the cabinet is truly the problem here.

Turquoise would make it really spunky! Maybe too spunky? If you go for it, aim for a turquoise more in the neighborhood of Tiffany-blue.

Otherwise, looking at the colorscheme I noticed a big, fluffy towel, on the top to the right. It's a lavender-ish color. In my opinion, it's also a neutral, and would tie your colors together nicely.

I'm with everyone else. How is it that you're allowed to paint the cabinet, but not the walls???? Doesn't seem possible. But if that's the case (?), I still wouldn't bother. I don't even notice the cabinet with everything else that's going on in that bathroom.

I'm going to add my hand to the "Are you SURE you can paint the cabinets?" crowd. Especially if you want to paint them TURQUOISE. While it might not specify in your lease every single surface that can or cannot be altered, your landlord will likely still consider that damage that needs to be repaired come move-out time. Especially with turquoise or any other non-neutral color. White you might be able to get away with.

The shape of your cabinets (esp. the one by the mirror) is so cute. I was a "paint everything girl" - but am starting to be converted back to not painting my wood. After painting lots of wood in my home, I've discovered it is harder to clean, it chips off and looks cheap, things stick to a painted surface that didn't stick to the wood surface, etc.

I think your bathroom has LOTS of potential, but (in my opinion) the key would be to reduce the amount of stuff and colors. I would:

1.) Make the bathroom predominantly PINK & BROWN with WHITE accents.

2.) Display only 1-2 colors of towels - like your bright pink ones best and then white is a nice complement without making the space to busy. Relegate towels to the middle shelf only. (This doesn't mean you have to get rid of the towels that don't match this color scheme, just don't display them - store them in the bottom cabinets or linen closet).

3.) Get storage containers for your above toilet shelves that are pink, white, or brown. I think woven/rattan baskets of the same size and color - two large for the both shelves, two smaller for the top shelf - put towels in the middle.

4.) Remove all your toiletries that are sitting out or on top of the shelf by the mirror and put them in the baskets over the toilet.

5.) Line the inside of the sliding doors of the small rectangular shelf/cabinet with opaque paper (contact paper or attractive scrapbooking paper you affix with double sided tape). This will keep the clutter from your toiletries from being seen. Pick paper that is pink, white, brown pattern or solid of one color.

6.) Replace current artwork with one bold image. I searched pink flower photo on Etsy (there are tons to choose from) - I liked this one - http://www.etsy.com/listing/13040002/zinnia-8-x-8-photo-print?ref=sr_gallery_35&ga_search_query=pink flower photo&ga_search_type=&ga_page=31&order=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title.

7.) Move pink clock to be centered above bathroom mirror that is over the sink.

That's my two cents - for whatever it is worth! Have fun - and I hope you love your bathroom once you're done!

I like the way you have it decorated now and I also see no problem with the cabinets' wood stain as it is. However, the fabric skirt idea may be the best option if you leave plenty of openings for access. And, I agree that storage containers should be used on the etagere for the towels, etc. Fabric-covered cardboard bins are a good option and can be found at Big Lots, Target, and The Container Store. Also, square or rectangular baskets are well-made and plentiful at Cost Plus World Market.

If you had permission to paint the cabinet, make it either black or white.

If you really hate the cabinets why don't you sand and re-stain? I know it's a bit more of a hassle of a project but it will look way more polished and your landlord will probably be happier with the result.

I'd suggest leaving everything as is and painting the cabinets black. Get some turquoise accents (like toothbrush holder or tray or some such) for a little pop, but yellow pink turquoise might tend towards too much color in such a small space.

Then again, you can always try the turquoise and paint over it if you don't like it -- about a $12.00 quart should do all the wood.

There's too much clutter right now - instead of spending your time and energy worrying about the cabinet, I'd invest in some decorative boxes/organizers. Anything sitting on a surface (the kleenex, your cosmetics/supplies on top of the shelf, the towels, your hairdryer, etc) could be put into baskets or other organizers that will minimize the mismatching and cluttered appearance.

I'd also think about relocating the two small pictures and replacing them with one large graphic print. If you keep everything else sleek, that spot will really catch the eye (and detract attention from other less attractive areas).

As a landlord, I'd be irate if someone painted my cabinetry without checking with me first! Walls can be repainted pretty easily, but stripping/sanding/refinishing wood is a whole different story. If the landlord is OK with the idea, you could always paint the cabinet with a high-gloss oil-based paint in a dark wood color. I did this in one of our rental properties - the old oak cabinet is now a modern-looking expresso finish with satin nickel hardware. Its still neutral (not turquoise!) but made a huge impact in a small space. It only took a quart of paint, so its also a cheap fix.

The cabinet and the wall color isn't the problem - what you need a serious decluttering:

That shelf thing over the toilet is a mess and you've got enough product in & on the over-sink cabinet to last you for the next 2 years. You also have a riot of random towels and teenaged-girly accessories: Not a restful or appropriate environment for a grownup lady.

Take care of the basics first: clean the lipstick heart off the mirror and get a simple white shower curtain, white towels and chrome & white accessories your place will look much better.

Turquoise is a nice choice for a bathroom and it would complement the sandy tile colour. Turquoise and sand are usually associated with the beach, or spas. This colour scheme can give an impression of space and luxury.

A pale turquoise is best to create that look, like Sico 6156-21 "Bottled water", and it would help expand the space. If you can, paint the walls white and keep your towel and accessories in the same colour scheme.

I also think you have too much going on for such a small space. Less is more.

I'm going to agree with the majority, who seem in favor of NOT painting the cabinets. In addition to the reasons listed by others, the dark brown doors appear to match the rectangular above-sink storage. If you changed the cabinet color, then you will also need to change that.

I will echo the cries for decluttering! Simpler fixes than painted cabinets might have a much bigger impact.

Best of luck!

i moved into a condo with a buddy that was probably really trendy back in the 70s.. but today the cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathroom are chipped, scratched and look gross.

i considered painting but wanted to to be creative so me and my buddy went with stickers from this "do it yourself" type website where we made our custom stickers

it's not that i'm bad with painting, i just wanted to think a lil outa the box

From the photo at least, I think the cabinets look nice - and match the little cabinet above them. It's the cheap countertop that is bringing them down... I would consider getting a wooden toilet seat to match the cabinets and make it all seem purposeful. Maybe get a set of bathroom toiletry containers out of wood or rattan too. Figure out how to work with what you've been given, and it will look much better. I personally would embrace the wood and pick up the yellow more and use that (and drop the pink, but that's just me.) This post might be helpful for ideas:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/bathroom/sharons-bathroom-before-after-good-question-revisited-120622

I think that almost everyone agrees that the cabinets are not much of a problem. I'd love to see your space after you've applied some of the advice above.

Looks like everyone has given you some pretty good advice. On the off chance that your landlord is actually ok with painting over the cabinets, I'd just go with white.

I'll join the chorus here. Please don't paint that wood. It's the best thing you have going for you in that room and likely to be a renter no-go anyway.

I would actually replace that shelving unit with something in the same wood tone to unify the room. Edit your scheme to one accent color and either white or a consistent neutral color and a limited palette of one or at most two other materials in addition to the wood (the white porcelain and brushed stainless you've already got going on would work well.) De-clutter with coordinating bins or baskets. If you want to paint anything, getting rid of the dingy wall color with a crisp, clean white or maybe a very pale gray would be a big improvement and neither are likely to require repainting on move-out.

If you want to be able to ignore/ work around the yellowish floor rather than incorporating it into your new color scheme, get rid of all the other yellow in the room. Right now it's creating a terrible discord and is calling attention to the floor, making it seem drab and unappealing when it could essentially read as a neutral.

If you can paint them... I'd do a black and on that vanity trim too!

If you paint ONE THING in this room, it should be the backside of the glass on that cabinet on the wall. Silver or gray. That eliminates one major source of visual clutter.
Don't paint anything else. Clean and PURGE. Keep it simple when you add accessories. ONE larger piece of artwork. Towels must match. You have quite a large vanity, perhaps your hair dryer can live under there. Try doing without the over toilet thing. Hang towels on hooks for color and texture on the walls. Sometimes you have to let the room lead the way...this one seems to be crying out for soothing colors and a spare look. Silver, pale sea greens, and/or flax.

I'm going out on a limb here... but maybe this curtain is a place to start and tie together your love of color with the existing colors of the bathroom:
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Retro-Radar-Red-Shower-Curtain/4564758/product.html

How many people use this bathroom? The frosted glass cabinet is full, there are items all over the counter, there's an added shelving unit over the toilet and, presumably, the cupboards under the counter are full too. Your first priority should be to declutter, then create a cohesive colour scheme.

As it is, adding bright turquoise cabinets to this visual cacophony will only strengthen the impression that a drag queen lives here.

Sigh.

I hope you're still reading comments and will see this one.

You do NOT have too much clutter! I see an appropriate amount of lotions and potions for a girly girl, and an immense amount of clear counter space. I wish my apt offered that much horizontal surface.

I do agree, however, that painting the walls makes more sense than painting the cabinets. You'd have to repaint either one, and the walls would be easy to return to pre-rental state. The wooden cabinets would never be the same, and the landlord would probably throw a fit

erm … Jessica didn't ask if the bathroom was too cluttered. she also stated that she hates the cabinets the way they are, and that she can't paint the walls, but is willing (so i guess, permitted) to paint the cabinets. so i guess she can drop about 80 percent of the above comments into the toilet … :-P

i would paint the cabinets either black, or a very dark shade of pink.

I don't think your bathroom looks cluttered. I think it looks lived in and cute. I love the pink and black accents. I don't think the cabinet is very noticable, but if I had to pick another color for it, I would choose white. Too bad you can't paint the walls, b/c light gray would look great.

Clutter? What clutter? Gah, some people...