Hi Amy,

It sounds like your bathroom has some lovely materials, but the mix of travertine, dolomite, and cream cabinets with a chocolate glaze is creating a bit of a visual clash. Here's what I recommend to tie things together and avoid too many contrasting elements:

1. Cabinet color: Painting the cabinets is a great way to unify the space. I’d lean toward a charcoal or soft black. This will give a modern, cohesive look while balancing both the travertine floor and the mix of marble in the shower and countertops. Plus, it will create contrast with the cherry cabinets in the closet without clashing.
2. Wall color: Opt for a warm white or light neutral that harmonizes with the warmth of the travertine and tones down the contrast between the stones. Avoid anything too stark, as it might accentuate the differences between the marble tones.
3. Accents & hardware: With dark cabinet tones, consider warm metallics like brushed brass or bronze for hardware and accents. These will work well with both the cream and darker tones while adding a touch of elegance to the space.

These changes should help bring harmony to the space without overwhelming your budget. If you'd like more detailed advice or specific paint suggestions, reach out to me on my Houzz profile!

Thank you so much. I'm leaning towards a charcoal for the cabinets so I'm glad you think that will help, and definitley warmer on the walls. The plumbing and hardware are CHROME and I'd like to switch those all out, but need to see if I can swap the tub fixtures without going through the wall before I change anything else out. I very much appreciate your input!

Ugh, someone tried to cram the 'gray trend' into a house built during the 'brown trend', and this is what you end up with.

The shower walls and ceiling look like porcelain tile?

Yes, chispa—100% that’s what happened. Someone was clueless. The shower walls are some kind of large format porcelain and the curb and floor are marble.

You might try a rug or two and see if covering up quite a bit of the travertine helps, before embarking on anything drastic.

I was totally thinking about rugs—maybe two runners—but I think I need to paint the cabinets either way. Just need to figure out what color that should be.

Does something like this-- working with the floor tile-- bring the color up with tan paint from the floor color, and you already have the cherry cabinets which I see a corner of.

Charcoal gray not black for the painted cabs. Let the marble be light.

@tracefloyd I see what you were trying to do here, and that’s the color cabinets I’ve been thinking, but I realllly don’t like the wall color. I totally get bringing the floors up to the walls to make them be more “one” element but then I feel like it’s more of the super warm color I don’t love. But I see why that may need to be the case. It’s all making me want to gut the whole thing.

I know, right? This wallpaper is beautiful in Red OR Charcoal for your bathroom.

You could bring in a natural sisal and gray rug. Gray Roman shades.

Too much red?

The grey wallpaper is brilliant Tracefloyd. Unifies the colors and is less expensive than a gut.

Tracefloyd I agree with Kendrah--that wallpaper really ties it all together fabulously. It's not quite my taste but I think I'll look for something else that has the color palette. Brilliant idea. Thank you so much!

Wallpaper with both colors - exactly as @tracefloyd showed -and a wide, long runner rug until you can take the floor out will make these element work.

Painting the cabinets will make the room cohesive, except for the floor. But the charcoal color with cream can be worked with for now.

Another wallpaper option.

Keeping as many elements as possible cohesive is what is needed…leave cabinets …pull a white from shower tile for walls….add new window shade with a fabric that pulls the warmth from the tile floor and the white from shower tiles together…wood wovens would also work..wallpaper would be overwhelming in this space.

White bath mats would really bring calm to the space and add a spa luxury feel to the room…I love these Ritz Carlton bathmats

Yes painting cabinets a solid white would really help…can you post a close up of the cabinet's for us?

I nominate Trace Floyd’s gray and beige wallpaper as the best idea! Really beautiful!

Yes but there's something about the matchstick shades with white by Home Interiors with Ease that adds a spa feel. And the gold Damask fabric is beautiful. So is Redryders wallpaper. A lot of great options.

Wow - why in the world would someone spend that much money redoing the bathroom - but stop short of the floor???!!! Does that tile continue into other places in the home? It just seems like a very odd choice.

I've seen some people use something like Floor Pops - Chris Loves Julia came out with a line of them for Floor Pops. I know someone that used the gray/white Chris Loves Julia ones for a rental. It's been almost two years - and there hasn't been any issues (they used them in a bathroom + a laundry room). They decided to caulk the edges + leave a little space in order to use grout. The two rooms look nice - people think that they are tile.

It would be an inexpensive way to address the floor issue - and then you could replace the tile when you're ready to:

Here is from Chris Loves Julia blog:

Their daughters' bathroom -

Before:

After:

They also used a different one (they have three styles) in their basement:

Here are some photos from bloggers who've used them:

Below is the more beige style ones:

These are the gray ones (they also have ones that are more black - I didn't grab any photos of the black/white ones - they seem to be more solid colored = less movement/veining on the Floor Pops):

Here is are before and after photos where they were used:

They sell them on Amazon - lots of diy photos:

There are MANY photos on Amazon. People also provide tips re: installation. My friend told me that on Chris Loves Julia's blog, they provided the prep work they did prior to installing the Floor Pops - she followed whatever they suggested.

You could also paint the tiles - many people have used stencils when painting their floor tile. Your bathroom has quite a bit going on with all the veining in the mable/faux marble tiles. So, I grabbed an example where someone just went with plain gray (the floor was a hideous reddish pink color prior to painting it gray + some of the tiles had some staining that couldn't be removed - the stains had been "hidden" by really nice rugs when the house was purchased) - it was for a "One Room Challenge" (I don't know if you've heard about these challenges they do a couple times a year - but they have a short period of time to complete one room + don't spend a lot of $ redoing it - some designers are asked to participate - other people will also participate on their own):

My understanding is that if you use the correct type of primer + paint, it is pretty durable update for ugly tile (not saying that your floor tile is ugly - but it just does not work with the rest of the changes made in the room).

Anyway - just thought I'd provide you with an inexpensive way to address the floor tile. People have used the Floor Pops on wood subfloors/linoleum/over same size tiles + tiles that were different sizes than the Floor Pops. Some used grout - some didn't (Chris Loves Julia did not use grout when they installed them in the daughters' bathroom and in their basement - they just caulked edges (but they did remove the toilet in the bathroom - some people don't remove the toilet and do a very precise cut + use caulk).

It might be easier to paint the vertical tiles on the tub and use the Floor Pops on the floor (plus, it might look less busy). Someone wrote that it took her 10 minutes to remove one Floor Pop tile - that's how well the adhesive worked. Other people recommend adding some extra adhesive just to be safe. My friend used Mapei Flexcolor CQ premixed grout with her Floor Pop tiles - which made it easier for a novice who's never mixed grout before + provided consistent color. Also, the this type of grout can be used to repair any cracks/missed spots because it actually sticks to itself after it's cured (unlike most grout where it has to be removed prior to adding more).

Just an idea - using a wallpaper to tie in the colors is truly a great idea - if you can find a wallpaper pattern that you like. Some people don't like wallpaper in general - which made me think about how you could address the actual floor.

Thanks Dani. I just used FloorPops for my daugther's kitchen but it was a small, low-budget space so it worked fine. I REALLY appreciate all of the thoughts and suggestions! You guys are great. I am a designer/work for a contractor but sometimes things really stump me. I was just over at the house and have decided to scale back on a few other projects so that I can start over on this primary bath. I'm going to keep the shower but replace all the flooring and cabinetry. Thanks again to all!

Oh wow, I guess we helped you decide on priorities. This bath moved up on the dollar scale quite unexpectedly. Have fun!

Show us photos as you make the changes!

I think that you'll be happy that you made some real changes to the bathroom vs. trying to figure out something that will "make it work" - which really won't make you happy.

Keeping the shower will save you quite a bit of money - it is the most expensive part of renovating a bathroom.

Make sure that you come back and post photos when you've finished - or if you want any input when making selections for new materials!!

Floor pops, hmmm. I assumed they were a new product but after googling them, it seems that they are just re-named peel and stick vinyl tiles. Been around forever. Not that that's a bad thing, just shows the power of branding.

Wow, it came out great--enjoy!

Very smart decisions! Looks great!

Looks like you totally changed up the vanity area? only suggestion would be to paint the panels on the side of tub the charcoal like the cabinets.

Looks great! Clever choices. Good job.

Nicely done!

HIWE mentioned the tub surround color - which I did kind of question as well when I first saw it. I can understand why you might want the black to be limited. If you do end up painting the tub surround I might consider matching the wall color so it visually blends and goes away.

The shower has so much white that I feel the tub face being white balances it. The charcoal definitely feels heavy but I could definitely do the wall color if I wanted to lose the white.

The floor is perfect there. What is the LVP that you used?

So happy that you came back and shared your updated bathroom with us! Looks very nice!

@eld6161 it is a house brand from my tile supplier. I needed something stocked as it was a very last minute decision! https://www.mosaictileco.com/LVTSeries.aspx?lvtseriesid=1026