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lauried1973

boring builder bathroom needs help

6 years ago
Hi there,
This is our master bedroom bathroom. The tile is tan/brown with small, dark/light grey accent tile. It is not my style but the best of the builder upgrade options. We had our house built 7 years ago and I still haven’t touched these rooms. I’m stuck on how to make this look more contemporary or romantic or Hollywood glam, the styles I like most.
What is your opinion of painting the ceiling SW Black fox and the walls SW Casa Blanca or should I stick to my typical grey? I also thought about painting the cabinets.
Thanks so much for your help.
Laurie

Comments (30)

  • 6 years ago
    I don't mind the current paint color. To glam it up a bit, I would make some simple changes -- add cabinets pulls, change the mirror, and change the light fixture.

    You could also remove the towel bar over the tub and add some artwork.
  • 6 years ago
    Annie (sorry if that is not your name)
    Thank you
    No paint in the bathroom yet. Did you mean the SW colors I am thinking about putting on the ceiling and walls?
    Thanks again
  • 6 years ago
    I like the wall color that you chose, but I'm not sure about the ceiling color.
  • 6 years ago
    Agree with others, paint is good. Definitely change the light fixture and add a glam mirror. I’d also do some fun artwork.
  • 6 years ago

    I like the idea of painting the cabinets. I think the wall colors are fine. What do you think about a lighter color for the rug and and window treatment to balance the dark tile? Custom light fixtures and faucets would give the room a totally different look too.

  • 6 years ago
    Please don’t paint any dark colors or grey in there. That brown tile is bossy so keep everything else simple but elegant. Wall color you have now is fine and painting the cabinet is optional - maybe a charcoal tone that matches your window treatment. agree to adding some art, all new hardware and fixtures would help. A new white quartz counter, mirror and sconces would help a lot.
  • 6 years ago
    A new patterned rug that may work with your existing hard surfaces
    Nourison 3'9 x5'9 Michael Amini Glistening Nights Light Gray Rectangle Rug · More Info
  • 6 years ago
    Invest in the vanity wall - something similar to this maybe -

    Naples Beach Coastal Retreat Series · More Info
  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Call a good interior designer who can visit your site and create a beautiful space as well as a path to achieve it.

  • 6 years ago
    I would go an entirely different direction. Saturated Bordeaux colour on walls and ceiling. You may need several coats. Blingy lights and maybe a chandelier. Interesting but moisture resistant picture on tub wall instead of towel bar. Keep cupboard colour. Tile is fine. This will be darker but will reflect your taste for Hollywood glam. I have this and feel like I am walking into a jewel box every time I enter the room.
  • 6 years ago
    Paint the walls a color that works with your tile and the adjacent room. Previous advice to add cabinet hardware, framed mirror and new light fixture will go a long way to glam up your bathroom. Also take down the towel bar by the tub and adding art work. Sometimes the small, but easier fixes will give the best results.
  • 6 years ago
    Lepstein- thanks for advice. Can I pls see pic of yours? Tks
  • 6 years ago
    Karen, Tks for advice. Love the pictures your post suggested. Where can I buy?
  • 6 years ago
    Thanks everyone for advise. I most certainly will be changing the vanity mirror, lights, and hardware. Also removing towel bar, window treatment and rugs. I really want to paint a feature wall or ceiling but just not sure what colors to choose.
    BTW...Currently the walls and ceiling are not painted. It still just has the primer from builder
  • 6 years ago
    I would not add black to your bathroom...it already has plenty of dark color and dark colors absorb some of the light. And don’t use your “typical gray”.
    You could use the lightest color in your tub surround for the walls, because the tub surround is the largest colored surface in the room and you can’t ignore it. If you end up deciding on gray again, make it a silvery gray semi-gloss or glossy. A bathroom needs good light, a good mirror, good light fixtures and reflective enamel and hard surfaces to help bounce the light around the room. You can bring some color into the room with your towels, your throw rugs and art. Art in a moist room should be framed with glass to protect it.
  • 6 years ago
    After good lighting, whatever color you paint and accent with, make sure it flatters your skin tone. It’s your MB, not a powder room. Glam it up with accessory details and hardware.
  • 6 years ago
    Not sure I’d put a dark color on the ceiling of a master bath. The Casa Blanca is a bit peachy and may work with your floor tiles, but may be too peachy for the wall tiles. I don’t think it would be an upgrade from the White you have currently. Have you sampled it?
  • 6 years ago
    No paint on walls or ceiling yet
  • 6 years ago
    Felizlady, thank you. Can you please recommend a paint color you think would go with the tub surround. Also, the shade is usually down on the window for privacy. What sort of window treatment would you suggest?
    My make up vanity is in my closet. I do my hair and make up there so I definitely need to improve lighting in there as well.
  • 6 years ago
    Here is what color snap gives me for your tile. Caveat: it’s a rough guide, so get some chips and see how they look in the room. It’s just a starting point.
  • 6 years ago
    What do you think about painting the ceiling or walls and ceiling in a shiny metallic silver? Something light and smooth. Love it for the adjourning bedroom too! Prob do a texture wall in bedroom!
    Tks
  • 6 years ago
    Please no semigloss or glossy walls in any color in a builder grade bathroom. You need pristine flat walls to pull that look off otherwise it just looks cheap. The background tone of the tile is a beige - feeling like that will just bring the dreary factor up.
  • 6 years ago
    SW Shoji white will be just enough off white to look ‘painted’ but won’t tread into the beige family.
  • 6 years ago
    Awesome Susie. Thank you! What do you think about a shiny metallic silver for the ceiling? Examples in previous post.
  • 6 years ago
    Get your glossy bling in great lighting and art but leave the walls eggshell.
  • 6 years ago
    Thanks thinkdesignlive. I agree with the beige looking dreary. I really like silver and sparkling things and I love black so I guess that’s why I keep wanting to go back to putting them on my ceiling and/or walls. Can you suggest a window treatment please
  • 6 years ago
    I think your metallic or dark ceiling examples would be great for a powder room, but not a full bath like this. Also, your wall texture may not be meant for those finishes, and you’d end up thinking “why did I think this was a good idea?” Unless you hire someone to skim coat the walls and sand it between paint coats, it’s not going to be a good look. If you like shiny, there are a lot of lighting pieces that will help with that. This is a room where people need to see to put on makeup and shave, you need good lighting and walls that reflect it well. Keep the LRV of the paint in mind when you’re selecting it (it’s on a percentage scale where 0 is dark). Stay above 50 in here, maybe 60.
  • 6 years ago

    Hi Laurie-

    I don't think your wall color is problematic.

    Most people do have an eggshell or even a semi-gloss in the bathroom and kitchen just because they resist stains. One would hope that the bathroom walls are perfectly smooth.

    https://www.consumerreports.org/interior-paints/pick-the-perfect-paint-sheen-for-every-room/

    I agree with earlier comments about accessorizing.

    There doesn't seem to be enough place to put towels for two people who shower, bathe, wash their hands, etc. Even one person uses more than one towel for themselves when they get out of the shower or bath.

    Can you put double towel rods on the wall next to the bath, the shower, and on the wall adjacent to the sink.

    Also attractive if you need the space are the racks you see in hotel rooms that have space for towel storage as well. Some have one shelf for rolled or folded towels and a rod or two for hanging towels. Some have mutiple shelves for towel storage, and somehow, even though it is storage, when it filled with clean fluffy towels, it adds a look of pampered luxury.

    What do you think about adding some decorative touches to the bathroom that won't get ruined by the heat and humidity?

    How about a plant or two? Maybe you can find a place where you won't knock it over. or you can put up a shelf for it. I love, love, staghorn ferns for the bathroom. Makes you feel like you are out in the wild.

    Staghorn fern

    A large sea shell or two (such as a clam shell), maybe filled with some pretty smaller shells or anything you like or find, it looks great and doesn't break the bank.

    Clam shell


    Coral is also very pretty.




    You can buy sea fan coral, it comes in shades from tan to black to red and frame it and hang it on the wall.








  • 6 years ago

    Sometimes the hardest part is starting.....can you commit to the look you desire; glam, mod, romantic?

    If I were in your shoes I would start with the light fixture. Go shopping and find three lights in the three styles you are interested in and bring them home, open them and see what looks best with the existing counters and tile....then decorate according to the style of the light fixture...I like your paint, and white rooms are really in, so I would keep it white but with a fresh coat of paint. Also consider making a frame for you mirror to give it an edge, of course, in the style that works best with your light fixture....good luck, nice bathroom.