A 2700k led will definitely be a more yellowish color, closer to an incandescent. A 3000k will be leaning towards the blue bright white but no where near a 6000k, which is very bright white with blue tints.
I personally like the bright whites but it certainly can affect how things appear.

Maybe look at BM tranquility AF-490? Some shots of it look that way, not all.

Blue is a cool color. So no gray-blue will ever be warm.

I'd look to match the lightest cream colors in the tile. There are tons of those. I take a piece of tile to the paint store and pull many samples. Check those in natural light outside, then against the lighting in the room.

Different paint brands have different color ranges. Ben Moore has some very good beiges.

There won't be much of a difference between 2700K and 3000K with LEDs. What you are seeing, because those are bright white lights, is the undertone.

Deleted: duplicate post

This post was edited by GenB on Wed, Oct 15, 14 at 19:26

Grey can be warm, or it can be blue, but not both. Personally, I think that it will be very hard to do a blue-grey with that tile... It absolutely reads beige. I think you need to stick with warm colors.

To clarify: Every single grey is simply a desaturated version of another color. So, a blue-grey is a very desaturated blue. Since blue is *always* a cool color, so will the desaturated grey be cool.

A "warm" grey will be a desaturated warm color. Namely, oranges (and browns, which are a shade variation of orange), yellow, and warm-toned reds and greens.

Reading the helpful comments makes me realize just how much I do not know about color...groan!!! I am really overwhelmed on this.

DH insists I pick a paint color by this weekend since toilet will be installed 1/2 inch from the wall on Monday. Husband is REALLY pressing me to make final decisions: paint color when I cannot see the floor under the new LED lights because it has been covered up for 8 days, painted vanity or pick both wood specie and stain (I refuse to match a new vanity to all the turned-orange busy oak trim already in the house so a stained wood vanity has to "compliment" what is already here; and of course, DH thinks it should all match which means oak vanity/trim with that tile...not going to happen). I thought "painted" would be easier then dealing with wood/stain...wrong!

I want this to look as nice as it can and am struggling to make good decisions that do not come naturally to my "eye'...he just wants DONE!

GenB: thank you for that explanation about grey. The tile looks more warm to me in the shower than it does in the main area...the floor tile looks more stark with blue-grey being very predominant (more so than in the shower). I am starting to wonder if I got a warmer temp bulb in the shower since it had to be covered by a lens while the two lights in the main area do not have lenses.

When I initially agreed with this tile choice (DH wanted it in the new kitchen) for the bathroom, I originally envisioned warmer toned wall colors; but I am really having a hard time finding paint that is not a shade of gold that works with a light painted cabinet. The tile consultant suggested trying blue-grey which does look good with the proposed vanity color, but the color she suggested looks really blue. I am about ready to chuck the idea of a painted cabinet and go with stained wood.

Rococogirl: thank you for confirming that I am not totally clueless...I have spent so much time looking at paint decks trying to figure out what warm blue-grey was in relation to other blue-greys. I originally tried to match the lightest colors in the tile at the store with a tile in-hand...totally changed under the LEDs...nothing looked right. When the cabinet shop consultant suggested darker paint colors with the canvas color vanity, I stopped looking for the right light color. Can you see a light warm color with an off-white painted cabinet...too much the same? Maybe I give up a painted vanity?

Ravencajun: thank you for the suggestion...I wonder what my LED lights. would do to the color? I obviously need to go get more paint samples since my "warm" blue-grey detour! I wish I had a BM paint deck at home!

Because I did not research lighting (thought electrician would know what people did in houses and husband could handle it), I had no idea that LEDs have different temperatures until the cans/lamps and placement were a done deal. I was startled to see how different the tile looked in the bathroom light, so THEN I researched...lesson learned. No one I know has LED ceiling can lighting so I have never seen that type of room lighting before. I do not dislike it, but what I have does make the tile look different than what I originally saw.

We recently used Ben moore muslin and really liked it. it seems like a very versatile light neutral that could look nice with your tile. Also, its a very safe color. If you're pressed for time its a color that you'll probably not tire of very quickly. Good luck!

Benjesbride: I just pulled up that color on my monitor...I am off to get a sample card in the am to try under my lights...very nice color if my monitor reads true...and not gold! It is darker than the proposed vanity paint color so I think it could work with either paint or stain. Thank you!

We are using BM Shale in our new build. I really like how Shale looks so far in our house. It's a nice neutral. I'm thinking it might work with your tile, or possibly BM Pismo Dunes.

Pretty tile ,
Also take a look at BM coastal path and Weimaraner

Love the suggestions of Muslin and Weimaraner. Excellent ideas and a beautiful tile. Cannot wait to see the results.

ranton -- what you are trying to do is difficult if you haven't done it many times. It's not you.

I would take tile samples of the wall tile plus whatever is on the floor to a paint store in your area that can color match for you. I'd call ahead and ask if they have the machine that can match tile samples. They can put those under a machine and tell you which paint colors from which brands are closest. Have them focus on the light colors, medium and then the gray. Then you can pull those color samples and adjust the color selection under the lights in the room.

Forget trying to do it in a monitor. It will mess you up.

More important than the vanity (which can be adjusted later) is the wall color. If you go light, it will pretty much blend with the tile and then the graining will show. If you go dark/gray (which I don't personally see with that tile) the tile may pop -- IOW look less integrated with the overall room.

It would be easier to help if you posted overall pix, even with construction.

I'd get the walls primed if they aren't already.

I agree that you just have to take the tile with you to a paint store and go crazy checking paint chips against it. Most places will have a light box that has different color temps that you can use to mimic your lights -- and yes, take them outside into indirect sunlight (being directly in bright sun also will distort your perception of the color).

Upward paint color SW 6239 by Sherwin-Williams

My preferred method of testing color is to get the small sample pots, paint them on poster board and hang them around the space. The same color can read differently on different walls in the same room, not to mention how different they can be in elswhere. It may seem like a lot of extra work, but considering how much work it is to repaint a bathroom ( my least favorite room to paint.) I find it best to play it safe.

My mother-in-law remodeled her bathroom and fell in love with a color on a strip in the paint store. I insisted on painting up a few poster board options and once we got the boards taped up, it was clear to her that the original color she picked would have really bothered her.

I hope you're finding a bit of fun in your project today. I'm looking forward to reading how it goes.

The first thing I did tonight when I came home from work was open this post. I have recorded all suggestions from today and am off to the paint store for sample. It helps me to go with certain names instead of going and just looking at all those color sample cards...less overwhelming for sure.

Benjesbride: I am not sure it is "fun" yet, but I am most appreciative of the suggestions people have offered. I did paint some sample boards...it is how I knew the Iced Slate read really blue. I will take your suggestion of trying new ones in different parts of my odd shaped new bathroom footprint; I did not think of that.

I have, however, made some decisions...DH is just going to have to deal! I am not going to be pushed/rushed into making vanity/trim/countertop decisions until I am convinced it is the best decision possible. He is on a business trip and expects me to order the vanity tonight...it is not going to happen. I just cannot envision anything with all the tile junk-- brown, green, bright blue tarps, dust, black tub, and not just one but two tile saws-- in a small L-shaped bathroom. This has been an expensive project (more than expected), and I am not going to make decisions I regret just for the sake of making a decision.

Allen468: I have not been to Sherwin-Willuams...Upward looks much greyer than the Iced Slate strip did at least per my monitor, I will try that for more of a grey...not so blue to see what it looks like.

Raee: Lightbox...never knew such a thing existed...a definite tell that paint colors intimidate me...my life is filled with decades of off-white. As clueless as I am, I am ready for color in my home.

Rococogurl: your words of advice about vanity later helped me see a clearer path...wall color first instead of trying to decide it all at one time. DH can just stew and maybe just pout a little bit. I picked out the grout color in less than 10 minutes...I just knew...I want to feel that way about the wall color too. Walls are primed, I will try to get a picture tonight after they leave. Toilet on Monday and shower hook-up is not going to happen based on what I see in there right now.

A2gemini and neroselover: Thank you...I have your suggestions on my list...I need to run to two paint stores before they close.

MizLizzie: THAT tile! I was so worried about too 'busy" when I finally ordered it; .thank you for seeing its beauty.

I was attracted to the store sample because of the lighter warm colors and the gray blue...husband wanted it in our kitchen when we remodel in early spring; but we like granite that has strong movement; and I could not imagine anything we had seen going with THAT tile in the kitchen. I posted here and was correctly reminded about "one star" in a kitchen.

So using the tile in the bathroom became a compromise with DH. I was really worried about the strong patterning but hoped that once floor and shower were in that it would all visually blend together...then I went to Houzz to see if I could see bathrooms where THAT tile had been used. The first picture...okay...it will be okay; the second picture made me put the project on hold for two weeks while I mulled ordering the tile. The second picture just visually screamed at me...it seemed so busy! I finally realized that part of the problem was the use of 6x6 tiles tipped for a diamond effect on the upper half of the shower walls along with all the tiled vertical surfaces outside the shower...so many grout lines with small pieces of varying pattern and the darkness/brownness of the picture itself; I was not seeing the warm and grey-blue that I liked.

With great trepidation, I placed the order and hoped for the best. I think it will be okay visually, probably not everyone's taste, but DH absolutely loves it...keeps looking at it, and has said (which I ignored) that we should use it in the kitchen too! Sigh...he has definitely forgotten our "one star" conversation. I am still mindful of "busy" so strong patterned oak is not going to happen...men and their love of oak...mine loves our "oranged-reddish oak no less.

I want a classic-simple cohesive look. The tile is the star in the bathroom...but once I get a wall color, I still have to find a counter, preferable stone, that works with all that patterned tile and the to-be-determined vanity. I hope picking the wall color helps point the right direction on those final choices.

Pretty tile, Ranton!

genb mentioned orange, which caught my attention. We have red oak floors which can be fairly orange-y, and I have two paint colors in the house which go well with the floors.

One is a pale blue, Vancouver Day (BM Aura):

The other is BM Grant Beige, a tan color which we painted in our bedroom, selected after finding recommendations online for colors which go well with the floors. Love, love, love it!

Good luck!

Oldbat2be: what a pretty blue! Could it be discontinued? When I search on BM's site, I get "no results" as a message.

Do you know what it is about your beige that goes so well with the red in the oak? Thank you for the suggestion and the photoshopped picture. Husband wants the same trim as the rest of the house...my once gorgeous brown toned hickory stain has definitely not aged well...red oak and old poly yellowing. When we tore out a closet, I found stained trim with no varnish that rarely saw daylight in 30 years...I got to see why we originally liked it. My trim looks way more orange-red than your floor.

I checked my paint cans - color is C2-491. I always forget the C2 part!!

I did a lot of online searching for colors which went well with red oak floors; and visually really liked pictures I saw of the Grant Beige with similar floors.

I have a gray/blue in my powder room that looks good with the cream trim & vanity that was already there. I will look it up when I get home.

My gray/blue is called Granite dust 5006-1C by Valspar. Looked more gray when I first painted it but now it looks more blue to me.

You might want to take a look at BM Pale Oak. It's a really nice gray - not too beige and not too blue. I am getting ready to use it in my bathroom and it seems to look good with everything I put next to it.

Okay...all the junk is out!

Plan: clean up/mop dust, mortar chips, etc. and spend the evening with my paint samples...narrow down to three or four...paint sample boards, and pick a color. I would love to have time to see the sample boards in different light etc.; but my get-er-done DH scheduled plumbers on Monday and convinced the tile setters to partially grout the shower and come back to finish on Monday too....Grrrr!

So...I plan to only paint behind the toilet and area and by bullnose edging. If I pick wrong.....I will not have to do redo the whole room.

If I pick the wrong color, I am not worried about repainting near the bullnose; it is the toilet area that worries me. Anyone have a tip for painting behind a toilet that is 1/2 inch from the wall just in case.

This is our attempt to correct a horrible inefficient layout...not thrilled about looking at the side of a toilet; but that compromise meant a towel closet in the bathroom (finally), a 60x60 angle shower, and room for a 77" double vanity while eliminating the 3 right angles in the second entrance from the master bath.

Meddam: I have not looked at Valspar paint samples; if nothing works that I pulled, I will have to see who carries it near me...if lucky, it will be Menards...five blocks from my house.

Jerzeegirl: awesome color! I saw it used in various rooms online...sometimes looked gray...sometimes beige...if I am lucky...it is in a strip I picked up...the name sounds familiar.

That looks beautiful!

Have the walls been primed? If not, that'll be your first step in the toilet area; I like zinsser. It's not a big deal to paint after the toilet is installed. It's not the ideal order of things, but it's okay. I just take a sheet of newspaper or painters plastic and wrap it around the back of the tank, taping it in the front. Take a paint brush and reach behind the best you can.

Ranton, I also love your tile. Could you tell me its maker and name?

I was so worried about "busy" but it does visually blend. I added links that, at least on my monitor, are the closest to what I see in my bathroom; many photos online do not really capture the tile well, even the ones from the manufacturer. The 6x6 one is the best/closest. I really see a lot of dark-blue-grey in mine which I like...cobalt blue is one of my all time favorite colors.

Be careful of Houzz pictures; one labeled as this tile was not Seymor (I do not think it is even a tile in this series), and another photo was really dark, more like brown. My photos do not really capture the tile exactly either.

I could have gotten better pricing online but I worried about different dye lots. The local tile dealer had the board, and his helpfulness and knowledge earned my order.

The Century Darwin series--Seymor

http://www.centura.ca/commercial/darwin/

http://www.centura.ca/commercial/darwin/

http://www.centura.ca/commercial/darwin/

Ranton, that tile is spectacular!

Are you still looking? How about a warm grey that goes well with blue? I have BM Wish in my powder room. In my powder room it is a warm grey-beige. I have read some folks see a pink or lavender tone to it, but I don't see that. I don't know if it is the lighting or the calibration of the tint machines that makes a difference, but if you look at it on the BM page, you can see it with blue and look at the other colors on the strips that might also be considered.

As far as painting behind toilets, the mini rollers are great for walls in bathrooms and other tight places.

Maybe try BM Stonington Grey? It definitely looks bluish in natural light, more warm in incandescent.