to my surprise, I think the green/espresso looks better.

Thank you both!
CDR, that’s great advice on wall color - I haven’t yet started tackling all the different creams... If anyone has specific Ben Moore color ideas I am all ears!

Yes, you know maybe @CDR Design, LLC is onto something. I think the espresso most definitely looks better. I think the hard part though is the counter top but if a cream could work that would be the best. ( I do think the green works and I am not a green lover).

You need to get more grey into the wall paint. The counter has yellow and red undertones, so grey will tone it down.

This is a really bad photo from our home inspection, but it shows the wall and floor colors fairly accurately. Sorry for the mess, even though it is not ours! (The cabinets however do not look as dark as they appear in this photo.)

Second option.

I think both the navy and the green emphasize how mismatched everything else is. Put me in the cream with espresso camp.

The current wall color is not flattering to the countertop at all.

Thanks everyone, looks like cream and espresso would be a nice safe combo for the space.

And a random (possibly stupid) thought I had: what about wainscoting? Would that do anything to benefit the room? Would installing it be a big expensive project?

No, that is not a good idea at all. Adding random design and architectural elements and colors is not the way to update a bath. You also have to consider the rest of your home and the design elements in there.

As you have correctly observed, just cleaning up the junk in the space will do a world of good. I have designed extremely expensive bathrooms, only to return and see the sinks filled with a drugstore full of cosmetics, meds, etc. Personal choice, but I prefer a clean bathroom without those accents. Some people like all the "stuff" on the vanities.

Can you tell me about the closet? You might consider placing a barn door there (not with a farmhouse style, just the function of a barn door). Looks like it cannot be opened fully.

Thanks so much for the thoughtful response CDR! We are very much about minimal living and I hate having anything out on the counters other than a small basket with shaving and tooth brushing supplies (i.e. things that need to dry out between uses). Everything else lives in the vanity.

That “closet” is actually a fairly large space that goes under the stairs. It is currently unfinished and houses a large water heater tank. When the current water heater dies I would like to consider cleaning up the space: changing to tankless, moving our washer/dryer stack in there and widening the doors, plus making some shelving for household/laundry items. The condo is two levels and has two entrances, and the downstairs entrance has no coat closet but instead houses a washer/dryer stack in a closet right in front of the entry. I think the bathroom would be a much better spot for that.

The space circled in green is the bathroom closet and the current W/D space is in yellow. (The other small closet space to the left of the entrance is HVAC).

Thought I'd add a rendering with tan walls and dark brown vanity. The more taupe tans look a little drab on the screen, but that doesn't mean that they will do the same thing in the actual room. I'm drowning in paint chips and will be ordering a couple of Samplize samples to start narrowing things down.

Hard to tell without more information, but moving the W/D to the current closet area makes some sense. That current paint color is much better, as it is more taupy.

That is perfect while you wait for your complete renovation. The candles are an example of how you can add an accent color, without painting the cabinets blue. Example, if you had oranges in your adjacent bedroom, you could add orange towels in here.

Once you start adding a specific color in a bathroom, you are tied to it for the long haul!

i wouldn't bring in yet another cream, beige neutral. I also wouldn't do a blue green -it is fighting with the yellow in counter and making scream. I would go for something that works with both the yellow beige and green beige. Maybe something along the lines of BM misted green. A bit darker, grayer, more subdued. What color would you wear if you had a shirt that yellow? Would you wear beige? Would you wear a fresh minty green? Would you wear a fern green or navy?

Are we painting the ceiling in a ceiling white, I hope.

My thoughts... Not a pro, so consider the source... lol

I think there are too many neutrals fighting. Put some color on the walls and the ceiling (one color for both). Navy, plum, wine... Something deep and cool-toned to recess into the space.

What is the current vanity color?

The blue and green antagonize the warm tones in your counter. I wouldn't choose either of these cool tones.

Aiming for a tranquil space? If so, then avoid contrasting cool/ warm colors.

- a white vanity, less likely to show dust as opposed to a darker paint choice.

-darker nrown counter top

See the master bath in this model home.... https://tours.stevenjamescollins.com/public/vtour/display/429999

North Texan, yes, ceiling and trim will be White Dove like in the rest of the house.

Jennifer Hogan, thank you! What a lovely color, it's like the grayish/cooler version of Soft Fern that I like so much.

One Devoted Dame, you can probably tell that I am a bit scared of color! I am going to do the upstairs powder room in navy, but that one's easy since it doesn't have all this tile going on...

DK Haas, here is the current vanity:

Trim and door navy blue.

Maybe White Dove, to match the trim and ceiling, then? :-)

Although, I still think a nice bold color would be fun, lol!!!

White vanity with coffee colored countertop, not dark espresso

white acessories

walls to match the tile -

Houzz problems with posting web example pics today

Here is the link:

https://tours.stevenjamescollins.com/public/vtour/display/429999

So I wanted to post a quick update - Houzz just lost a fairly lengthy post, so quick summary below.

I'm leaning towards a light cream (BM Linen White) for the walls - it's fairly close to the lightest yellow on the floor tile and the lightest specks in the vanity, even though it's hard to tell from the below photo, and espresso (BM Bittersweet Chocolate) for the vanity. The mirrors ended up being in rougher shape than I thought and are glued to the wall, so I will be swapping them for something in a thin black frame. Also, one of the contractors I had in for a quote made a great suggestion - to remove the tile baseboard and replace it with white, which would minimize the areas where taupe and yellow meet.

Hopefully this photo posts

Thought I’d update - remodel is coming to an end and here’s what we have for the bathroom so far. I chose BM Bittersweet Chocolate for the vanity and Sandy Shores at 75% for the walls. Need to install the second mirror and considering putting down a runner, but overall I am very happy with the results! I’ll have to take some better pictures when everything comes together.

Huge improvement! Great Job!

Thanks for the update! Looks good.

Big improvement

How about a picture with the wall paint next to the shower tile? It looks great on the vanity side of the room. Boy, did changing the color of the vanity help!

Very smart to keep things neutral. When you have an odd assortment of neutral in a bathroom, bringing in colors, like blue, is not a good idea......just reinforces that the colors are off.

It’s pretty tricky to get a picture of everything, but here is what I could get of the shower tile next to the paint

I feel like getting rid of the tile baseboard was probably the biggest improvement! There is now so much less taupe touching yellow

One of the before shots

Bingo! You hit on just the right color.

One of the things that really bothered me about the existing setup was the curved faucet handles - it was the Smile version of Kohler Purist. I even considered swapping out faucets, but considering the Purist line is not cheap and the faucets were in great shape I decided to change out just the handles. I was able to find the regular straight Purist handles on eBay for just $26/piece, and in my opinion they look a thousand times better.

Perfectly executed!

Great job !