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For most of my life, the places I’ve lived have had white walls. From the painted white cinderblocks of college dorms to the cheapo primer-coat white of starter apartments, it was ubiquitous, boring and was unconsciously conditioning me to believe that walls were supposed to be white. I quickly learned to cover that plaster canvas with anything I could get my hands on, from posters, colorful quilts and strings of xmas lights (in college) to mirrors, artwork and 8×10 photographs. But when we moved to a little bungalow near the beach with lime-green walls, I had a Saul on the road to Damascus-style revelation: walls can decorate themselves! Not only that, but the color of walls has such a subtle (but noticeable) effect on mood, so if you have your landlord’s blessing to paint your own walls, by all means do — but choose wisely, grasshopper!
The design blog freshome has a great article on wall color as it correlates to mood, and it offers the following explanation as to why everyone who visited our place seemed to love the living room (pictured above).
Some curious color theories and what to do with my bathroom, all after the jump…
Green is considered the most restful color for the eye. Combining the refreshing quality of blue and the cheerfulness of yellow, green is suited to almost any room in the house. In a kitchen, a sage or medium green cools things down; in a family room or living room, it encourages unwinding but has enough warmth to promote comfort and togetherness. In a bedroom, it’s relaxing and pleasant. Green also has a calming effect when used as a main color for decorating. It is believed to relieve stress by helping people relax. Also believed to help with fertility this is a great choice for the bedroom.
(Needless to say, fertility wasn’t a big concern in the living room, but we liked the color anyway.) In our new apartment, the guest bathroom is also green — a horrifying shade of electric green, to be precise, which has unintended effects on its users; their trips within tend to be brief, hurried and anxious. Our landlord has offered to repaint it, should we decide on a more suitable color. On that note, two questions:
1) Which wall colors affect you most?
2) What color should I paint the bathroom (pictured here)?
Comments (43)
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I would paint it a light yellow. Not bright yellow as that would be mean in the morning. Just enough to wake you up.
For me, any shade of red tends to make me anxious and irritable, which is funny considering the company I work for.
posted by Dusty on 10-25-2007 at 11:52 am
I agree that light yellow would look nice in there. A sage green would also be pleasant – basically anything that’s less flourescent than what you have now.
I generally like light blue walls, but one color that sickens me is periwinkle – specifically the shade of periwinkle that was very popular during the “country-style” trend of the late 80s and early 90s. When I am surrounded by that color I get a very sharp and unpleasant flashback to my childhood . . . boring summer days cooped up inside my house or my friends’ houses because it was too hot to play outside and mom wasn’t taking us to the pool again, watching afternoon TV til my head ached even though there was nothing on but reruns of cheesy 80s cartoons and “Small Wonder”, aesthetic abonimations everywhere one looked (honey-stained furniture with fake brass fixtures, fussy “country style” upholstery and curtains, Precious Moments figures, crimped bangs, teal clothes), and everywhere the nauseating, suffocating smell of football-sized scented candles.
Periwinkle sucks.
posted by just_say_no_to_lutefisk on 10-25-2007 at 12:09 pm
I love deep wine red, almost burgundy. There’s something so inspiring about that colour. As for the bathroom, if you’re into more romantic styles, a soft gold colour would look great, do one of those overlay paints, where you do a base coat and then half cover it with a sponge roller. If you’re more into modern styles, then something in a creamy off white would look good. White is too harsh, but an off white can be very soothing.
posted by Jess on 10-25-2007 at 12:13 pm
White.
It would really open it up. Brightly colored walls tend to make a room look smaller than it actually is. (says the girl whose bathroom is Dora the Explorer Orange)
White. It’s my number one choice for taking a number two.
posted by Lindsey on 10-25-2007 at 12:15 pm
I have to agree with Dusty, I love the look of deep red walls – unfortunately it makes me hyper and anxious as well. I have found a very soft pale blue to be very restful. That might work in the bathroom. Yellow in the bathroom would also be nice if it is a soft shade. My s-i-l painted the his family’s living room BRIGHT yellow. Makes the kids hyper enough to bounce off the walls!
posted by JaneM on 10-25-2007 at 12:26 pm
while deep red is an awesome color, I think for a bathroom, since it’s such a small space, it puts more of a horrifying thought in my head more than anything and makes me think of The Shining.
Light blue would be nice for a bathroom.
posted by Susan on 10-25-2007 at 12:31 pm
My bathroom remodel was just finished a couple of days ago. When we bought the house, the bathroom walls were bordello red! Then I wallpapered it with a pink pattern, and the cats shredded it eventually. Now, with new drywall, I had it painted white. It’s much easier to change decorating ideas with white walls and fixtures, and I may want to sell the place someday.
The floor, of course, should be dirt-colored.
posted by Miss Cellania on 10-25-2007 at 12:34 pm
I agree that a nice sage would look good. Pale greens are nice (much less shocking than what you have). very pale yellow is okay, but it has to be very pale, unless you go more gold or tan with it.
posted by Karen on 10-25-2007 at 12:36 pm
I hate white walls (my kitchen is sage green, my living room chocolate brown and rust orange, and my bedroom is chocolate brown and tan), but I have to say some shade of white is best for a bathroom, especially a small one. Since you have a shower curtain, towels, and rugs for color, they can be changed more easily than paint. My small bathroom is a cream color and I love it.
posted by Meagan on 10-25-2007 at 12:44 pm
Good lord, that bathroom is GREEN. I suggest a lighter green or blue. My prent’s bathroom is a sort of dusty cornflower blue and it’s really nice.
I’ve always been fond of really dark, awrm colors, like deep red or purple. It lends an air of mystery and comfort (if that makes sense lol) to the space.
posted by heather on 10-25-2007 at 12:50 pm
Dark chocolate on the walls with white trim/accents has worked surprisingly well in our small bathrooms.
posted by ErinM on 10-25-2007 at 12:53 pm
Whatever color you decide to paint your bathroom, be sure to use a primer first. The paint job will look better and last longer (as most people, including me, have learned the hard way). I like Kilz – it has a good indoor primer and a great color selection.
posted by Erin on 10-25-2007 at 1:06 pm
it sounds odd, but grey walls look fabulous. i actually used disney colors – it was called hundred acre raindrops (cute, right?) and it looks really nice. its very subtle, but accents everything else in the bathroom.
posted by samantha on 10-25-2007 at 1:10 pm
I’d go with Karen (#8).
The color you have is nice, but jarring. Try a lighter shade of green, kind of sea-foamy green, with a few drops of yellow, but no blue. (Sorry, I used to mix paint) It’ll wake you up with the appearance of a spring meadow without punching you in the face.
posted by TMo on 10-25-2007 at 1:16 pm
Definatly paint it off-white and then accessorize with colors.
posted by Melinda on 10-25-2007 at 1:29 pm
I like a sage green or a soft yellow. Off white can be okay if you accessorize properly, but if you want color – just not as much color as there is now – go for softer shades of something. Grey also sounded good, which I never would have thought of.
I love deep reds (I have deep red accent walls in two of my rooms), but in a small space it might be completely overwhelming…
posted by khm on 10-25-2007 at 1:41 pm
I’ve read somewhere that green walls tend to give the user a sickly pallor when looking in the bathroom mirror.
This breaks my heart as green is my favorite color!
I would suggest painting it a darker shade of cream/almost tan, with black trim/accents. (Like the medicine cabinet.) Classic and masculine.
posted by mrs.djs on 10-25-2007 at 1:47 pm
I may be outnumbered here, but I vote for a very light, pale purple – It reflects whatever natural light you might have, looks clean, hides dust, is soothing, and if you try to get something in the same color family (art people help me out here) it can match the calm and warm feel of your living room. Bathrooms should be a happy place.
Don’t go super dark!!! It’s hard to paint over, makes the room feel cramped, and I swear makes mold grow faster.
posted by Mary on 10-25-2007 at 1:48 pm
Our bathroom is a soft blue called Blue Reflection and it’s fantastic. It softens the light which is very flattering. It’s so great to get up in the morning and have your mirror be kind to you!
posted by Lauren on 10-25-2007 at 2:14 pm
I agree with mrs djs (#16), as I read an article once about how bathroom colors affect how you look. I think the result was a warmer light color, like a warm peach or pink. I saw a peachy-orange color in a bathroom once and loved in to death- but when I painted my bathroom the EXACT same color, it turned out horrible. The problem: LIGHTING!!! If you have bright lighting- preferably natural, you can pull off a bolder color. No windows/bad lighting? Go neutral. Not everything bathroom is the same!!!!
posted by Kelly on 10-25-2007 at 2:38 pm
leave it be! I love that color. I painted my room that color when I was growing up. I wore that color tie and cumber bun for my wedding. My wife stopped me from buying our first car in that color!
posted by Vince on 10-25-2007 at 2:45 pm
Of course, you’ll get many different suggestions but I like the colours ofthe autumn palette: deep red, purple, forest green, gold, deep blue. I like to go especially bold in the half bathroom since I only spend a few minutes at a time there so it’s not as overwhelming as if it were a room I’d spend hours in. Our half bath is a dark blue with gold accents.
posted by KJ on 10-25-2007 at 2:51 pm
I have to say that I really like that green color also… But it is a bit jarring (especially for such a small space). I really liked samantha´s (#12) suggestion of the really light grey. You can have the black trim/accents and add some color with just a few decorations.
posted by GTT on 10-25-2007 at 3:10 pm
My vote is cornflower blue. I like the lines of the white sink and black cabinet. I think it would be good with a cheerful, not-to-dark blue.
By the way, nice job accessorizing with the color you’ve got. The black towels and picture look nice already (as if you’d actually planned the wall color). They aren’t a color I would want to face every morning and night, ugh! I think it would depress me.
posted by Andrea on 10-25-2007 at 3:14 pm
if you can stay with green, get a honeydew melon colored green. my bathroom is that color. it’s nice.
posted by danielle on 10-25-2007 at 3:17 pm
3 walls off white, one wall deep red.
posted by DW on 10-25-2007 at 3:25 pm
Well, maybe it’s just the way my computer is reading the color, but I have to say I LOVE the current color. What others see as jarring I see as vibrant. But certainly, it’s not for everyone. I agree with an earlier sentiment: PRIME BABY PRIME! That’s definitely going to be mandatory. Think about this – cream or taupe stripes in enamel and high gloss. A subtle difference that will actually make a BIG impact.
posted by Matt on 10-25-2007 at 3:37 pm
Great find ..thanks .. I was looking for something like this.
posted by Carl on 10-25-2007 at 4:15 pm
The grey is definitely the way to go. It adds interest inan understated way. My friend has grey walls and I swear it took me months to realize that they were actually grey. Never thought of that – total paradigm shift. Now I look for ways to use grey when I eventually remodel.
posted by aTribe on 10-25-2007 at 4:17 pm
i always wanted to paint my bathroom dark blue with white flecks and then have the fixtures in the room match, i.e. dark blue tub, sink, toilet.
black and dark blue towels.
seashells (come on, let’s face it, when you have seashells, where do they always go? on the back of the toilet or on the sink. lol) of course.
then you could just lay in the tub or take a shower and have a relaxing disjointed sense of weightlessness, but you can still clearly see where things are so you won’t get dizzy, sick, or fall over.
posted by Sue on 10-25-2007 at 4:25 pm
Wallpaper that b$%^!
I prefer a floral pattern with a nice country style border along the top. But what do I know?
posted by Sherwin William on 10-25-2007 at 6:01 pm
Don’t paint it a dark color. Dark walls in a small room without much natural light makes it feel claustrophobic and dingy. Go with a light warm shade. If you want to have some fun add an accent wall. Most of all, get something that you like and will make you happy; you do have to live with it.
posted by Sally on 10-25-2007 at 6:27 pm
I would say paint it a light blue. Sort-of this “light Blue” http://www.wildthingsforgreys.com/product_images/coats/602_Denim_Light_Blue.jpg
posted by Emily on 10-25-2007 at 6:59 pm
We lived in a continually foggy area, and used a lot of sun colors in a house we remodeled. We did a small bathroom in a gorgeous light orangy color – but not too out there. It was a milky ripe mango color, creamy and warm – just luscious.
I used a light violet-blue color as an accent on the towels, rugs, and cabinet doors. And of course some Gustav Klimt prints. And mosaic glass for toothbrush holders, etc.
But I’m a big bath person, so I like my bathroom to be very sensual and beautiful. But not so femmy as to chase out the menfolk. This color combo worked for men and women. It was right on.
posted by Rutha on 10-25-2007 at 7:37 pm
I would go with a really traditional bright robin’s egg blue, accented with very deep chocolate brown. It’s a very “now” combo, so it’ll be easy to find matching accessories (towels and whatnot) if you care about that sort of thing, but it’s also got a classic twist, and can be rationalized as an earth-tone combo for any anti-color skeptics who might deign to criticize… though they won’t, because it’ll look fabulous.
posted by Megan on 10-25-2007 at 10:40 pm
I painted 2 walls of my bedroom metallic gold, and the other 2 a great Hibiscus pink. Awesome. The gold just makes me happy every time I wake up.
My bathroom is painted a lime-olive green, and everyone loves it :\
posted by Renee on 10-25-2007 at 11:34 pm
Whatever color you go with, make sure it doesn’t make your skin look a funny color. This is especially important for girls, as makeup tends to change shades in different lights. The last you want to have happen is putting on a new foundation at home to then realize halfway through your day that your skin is painted orange.
posted by Amy on 10-26-2007 at 5:53 am
Looks like your bathroom is pretty small…I think you should paint it a pail yellow. It would brighten it up and maybe help the room look a bit larger.
posted by Shella on 10-26-2007 at 10:20 am
Brightly colored walls do not make a room appear smaller. Contrast does. If you paint an entire room one color (ceiling included) your eye does not sense a shift and therefore the room appears larger. In the end though, the room is the same size no matter what color you choose to paint it.
There are many colors that would work for your bathroom. The right yellow or blue (both mentioned many times) would work. Green would work as well, but maybe opt for a subtle lime green rather than an electric green. If it were my bathroom, I would paint it a light French gray. It would look stunning with the white & black fixtures/towels in the picture.
While stark white walls can be a good thing (think modern minimalist design), I don’t think they are in general a good thing. Even simply using off-white, cream or ivory will change the feel of a room for the better.
By the way, I am an interior designer. Try finding a place that sells ICI paint and looking at: Zeppelin (A1830), Pewter Grey (A1857) and Designer Grey (A1856). I can’t guarantee that those colors will work (since I am not there to actually see the bathroom), but it’s a start!
posted by Sara on 10-26-2007 at 10:38 am
Never ever green or yellow for a bathroom. It makes people look ill, and it is related to pus and mucus.
A nice shade of salmon or a soft orange is the way to go. Comfortable and homey.
posted by Random on 10-29-2007 at 4:49 pm
I have a small bathroom white tub, floor,
washed oak cabinet with white sink and
washed oak cabinet over the toilet. My
husband doesn’t want to remove the big
plane mirror or big cabinet sink. What
color can I use to make the bathroom
larger as well as going with the washed
oak furniture?
posted by karen frazer on 1-4-2008 at 1:21 pm
I am so glad I found this website because I am in the process of getting my small bathroom painted. I thought of a million different colors that I thought would work but I was not happy with any of them. After reading these blogs, I am absolutely positive now that I want a light, warm and orangy color for my bathroom!! Thanks to everyone!!
posted by Eliza Forman on 2-29-2008 at 6:36 pm
I loved reading all the comments.
My husband and I are painting our bathrooms this weekend. One is a utility room with no natural lighting. We want a burgandy color. Would you suggest all the walls burgandy? Or should we contrast them with the hall way tan color? There is a lot of cabinetry in the room and very little plain wall area.
Our master bath is fairly large with lots of wall space and natural light. We want to do a burnt orange color. Also debating all orange walls or leaving 1-2 off white along with the ceiling.
Any thoughts?
posted by Michelle on 5-22-2008 at 11:10 am