Maybe light gray? Then use gray accessories.

Can you post a picture of your bathroom? If your gut says black, maybe it could work.

As far as resale value goes, you probably know how the average buyer would react.

What about a shiny, pearlescent metallic silver? High drama without so much dark -- Maybe a 1940's Hollywood Glam look? Add some accessories in Mother of Pearl and silver?

I painted my former office ceiling black and loved it. I chickened out on keeping it when we sold, so I painted it cream. I then found out the buyers would have loved for me to have kept it black!

This was my inspiration pic:

While I definately do not support the idea of decorating for "resale" (how lame) it would be the very first thing I'd look at in that bathroom and want to change if I were looking to buy. No big deal, paint colors don't sell- or prevent sales of houses. It would be just one more project to address by potential buyers.
We had the 1940s pink and gray in the last house we rented. I left the room white, ceiling and all, to keep it open though I toyed with gray paint chips just to see what "spoke to me". I did "play up" the 1940s and the pink by making pink scalloped roman blinds for the two small windows, a colorful pink flamingo shower curtain and a couple x-stitched hand towels. It was the funnest room I ever worked on in that house.

The bathroom before...

And after

Shower curtain. It's actually a quilt I made for this particular use. I later ended up selling the quilt and hand towels at a garage sale for $20.

And little details to over-complicate the look :-).

Down to the shade pulls- just Christmas ornaments repurposed.

I bring all this up because your tile doesn't have to be the only color inspiration for the room. By introducing another strong element (in this case the shower curtain) I could have used any number of colors on the wall and ceilings: Greens, Yellows- even blues and it would have looked fine. You can do that same without such a dramatic color move that ultimately will be changed- and have you ever painted over black before? Think 3 or 4 coats of paint including the primer.

I would absolutely try it. What do you have to lose? It's a tiny spot to paint, it won't be that hard, not expensive and you could have a big payoff. If nothing else, the black will provide a nice background if you decide to use a metallic paint over it.

One thing though, high gloss shows every imperfection so you either want a perfectly smooth surface or an evenly imperfect surface to work with :)

Can we see pics?

I think bathrooms are the perfect place to experiment! Since we do not spend *that much* time in them, the usual rules are not as important. It can be a living jewel or art project!

In my last house, I painted my entire half bath a deep red including the 7' ceiling. I never regretted it, and my house sold very quickly.

I've never even thought of painting a CEILING black, but those pics in this tread are actually quite cozy and inviting. LOVE IT!

Love dark, warm and cozy, but if that's your main bath, I'd worry about the effect on lighting for grooming.

Reno, that black ceiling is amazing... too funny about the buyer.

Miles, is your home deco or moderne, bac? I can not believe you sold that beautiful quilt for $20.00 - please call me next time you have a yard sale!

Painter is coming tomorrow and I'm going to run the grey/grey metallic idea, as well as the high gloss black by him. I'll have him check out my imperfections, thanks Alex, lol

creekylis, I think if this was one of our 1/2 baths, I wouldn't hestitate to make it dark & dramatic (living jewel-like), but squirrelheaven makes a very good point.

I'm charging up the camera, will try to post a picture before heading out to work tomorrow!

Thanks for the feedback & pictures!

Miles... I did not initially see this, but now I see that your shower curtain "quilt" is the cross=stitch pattern. What a great idea! Was that your idea or did you get is from somewhere?

Your nathroom sounds wonderful!

I LOVE the idea of the black ceiling BUT if this is your main bathroom -- it MIGHT cut down on the light needed for makeup etc. So make sure that there is plenty of lighting, lamps etc.

Also -- for resale -- a white ceiling would simply work better for a wider audience of buyers.

IF you were planning on staying for awhile -- I would have suggested some really fun additions -- like black very very thin pinstripes on the white ceiling or black polka-dots (various sizes) OR black rectangles with the pinstripes ....... VERY mod .......

Jan

Thank you Jan.

OK, here's a couple miserable pictures. Let me assure you, it is extremely difficult shooting a tiny space while trying to avoid the dust bunnies & schmutz.

The wall & floor tiles are in actuality a better match than they show in the picture, fwiw.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Yes -- I would leave the ceiling in a fresh white OR add a simple shape (like a square or a rectangle) in black .... BUT do change the shower curtain to black with a black-covered rod and black shower hooks!

IF you have a vanity -- paint that in high-gloss black with crystal knobs.

For cleaning the grout -- I use Arm& Hammer's spray cleaner with bleach (bought it at Wal-Mart) -- it is GREAT!

Jan

Paulines, here is a photo of a black bathroom ceiling, matte paint.

Oh man, what a cool bathroom, paulines! You could probably do a black ceiling, though I think the darker pinkish/brownish color in the floor tile would work better.

Is that a Kohler tub that's original to the house?

Thanks again Jan! No vanity, just a wall mounted sink with chrome 'legs'. The RE agent recommended a vanity (which will be a very tight squeeze or a pedestal sink - I'm looking.

demifloyd, rich & elegant, talk about a little jewel! It looks as though they may have brought the paint down onto the walls?

Thank you awm03. Yes, all original (1948). The bathrooms are in amazingly good shape. Are you into deco? Here's a bit of our 'blue bath' and please ignore the statue and dead plant, lol

Question - is the rest of your home decorated true to the era of your house? If so, I would not paint the bathroom ceiling black.

Since you are going to be selling soon, don't paint it black. I don't believe that color will appeal to the greatest number of buyers.

You mentioned that the bathroom is small....and you have the blinds shut (I assume for a reason) - do not paint the ceiling black. It'll make the room even more claustrophobic.

I love the tile - I think a white ceiling is the way to go.

Great sink in that blue bathroom, paulines!

I wish I had a scanner, then I could show you photos of our old 1939 Art Moderne house. We had a cobalt blue Kohler tub thet fit into the corner (cobalt sink, large gray glass Vitrolite tiles on the wall). The downstairs bathroom was done in black & gray tile & had a glass block window.

paulines, thanks--no, it just appears that the paint dips into the crown moulding because I resized the photo!

I love the tile in your bathrooms--my folks built our home in 1961--black tiled bathroom with salmon pink tile trim, the opposite of yours. They've never changed it--mom always said it would come back in style and it is! I've always loved it.

You know what the black ceilings make me think of? Set design. On a theatre stage, there would be no ceiling to a "room" and usually black curtains above, giving a similar feel. Personally, I love the feel, but I used to be a performer once upon a time. :)

patser, the house is deco with a mediterranean feel to it (I know that sounds really messed up, lol) Thank you about the tile.

demifloyd, that's your bath? I thought it was a clipping from a magazine. It's very, very beautiful & classy!

I totally agree, creekylis - such a great way to look at it.

Well, the painter's recommendation was to stick with a fresh coat of matte (or a very slight sheen) white. Unfortunately the ceiling isn't perfect enough to take a high gloss and a matte black would definately soak the light out of the room!

Thanks again for your help!

awm03, I'm sorry, I had missed your comments. Yep, ours is a 1948 moderne (glass block too, although yours sounds more swanky, lol!). I would of loved to see your home - was it in CT?