When painting a bathroom, stick to natural, pale tones
Pink or peach undertones, soft beige or warm tans compliment people most
Is it possible to suggest a colour that would give my bathroom a much-needed pop? With the cabinetry being an antique yellow and the tiles beige, I bought this shower curtain hoping to pick up an accent colour to brighten things up a little.
Looking to infuse some fun colour in a room can leave some feeling anxious about going too far. For a room that usually isn’t very large, deciding which colour to paint the bathroom can cause many people big headaches. Here are a few things to keep in mind to help simplify the process.
First, let’s look at the fixed elements in your bathroom. The tiles look to be travertine marble with slight peach undertones, and a darker accent tile banding the shower — overall neutral. The vanity is a soft, creamy yellow, and the tub and toilet white.
The shower curtain is a fabulous choice and has many colours we could pull from; some would work better than others. With an off-white background and pixilated leaves in varying hues of brown, terra cotta, eggplant, blue, turquoise, green and khaki, it really breathes new life into this room.
When faced with too many choices, eliminate. First, do away with the colour that you like the least, or that your significant other detests. When you’ve narrowed down your choices, trust your instincts and don’t second guess or look back.
Certain greens and yellows can leave many people looking sallow and sickly. If you’ll be putting on makeup or getting ready for your day in this bathroom, I’d consider colours inspired by skin tones. The hues that compliment people most, no matter their colouring, have pink or peach undertones, soft beige or warm tans.
Many hair salons go this route because when your business is making people look good, what people see in the mirror (including the backdrop) is important.
Putting a colour with too much peach or pink against the vanity may make it look too yellow and not work as nicely alongside the rest of the elements. Colour is relevant to what it is next to in a space. When you are picking colours, make sure you look at it against everything that is inside the room.
If you tend to leave the curtains open, my suggestion would be to unify the bathroom with shades of a single colour to make it appear as spacious as possible.
To do this, pick a paint shade that’s a tone in your tile. Using a more neutral wall colour will allow you to have more fun with accessories. You can spice the room up with a vibrant colour in your towels, bath mat and art to tie in with the shower curtain. I have made some suggestions you can use for the accent colours based on the shower curtain. Andrea Colman is a colour consultant and the principal designer and owner of Fine Finishes Custom Design Solutions, an award-winning firm. Send her your paint-shade questions: info@finefinishes.ca.