I had a post written and then never actually posted it. So briefly...but I'll lead this off by saying I love strong colors. That doesn't mean neon, but more strongly pigment, earthy colors.

I think the color families you chose can work, but parhaps not those specific colors. Especially not the green. I'd look at a less "lawn-green" green. Something mossier. Still strongly pigmented, but not as "bright" as the grass-green that you have now.

The gold? I'm not at all a taupe-brown person, but I think going in that direction...browner....darker...would be better. A more subdued "gold".

Right now you have four colors. The wood, the tile, and the two paint colors. That might be a bit much in that area. The wood has to stay, and I see that as what you have to work off of as you main "color". The tile is sort of a neutral, but by being in the tan family, it sort of leads you down that brownish-beigish road.

If you really want to keep the two colors, then I'd look at something more like this green and perhaps something like this perhaps, edgy gold.

The gold I chose because it's in the same "family" of chips a the green. It looks like it has a little green in it, so it'll relate to the green a bit more.

Anyhow, I'm not the greatest at colors. But since no one else is chiming in...

Good luck!

Mongoct, thank you for taking a look at this and offering some good advice. We had thought the green would be a little less bright -- so your suggestion of going in the mossy direction fits with what we were seeking.

Similarly, your ideas about the gold picking up the brown/beige from the tile and being in the same family as the green should give us good direction.

We so very much like the elements in the bathroom (the sink, the tub, the Sapele and the wavy tile). We didn't want to undermine the look with the wall colors and felt like the ones we chose just weren't quite right -- but were having a hard time figuring out which way to go. So we really appreciate the input.

The gold is way too close in tone to the wood and it masks the superstar quality of the wood as a result. I think the gold needs to just go away entirely. The green is too acid. I'm not a fan of neutral everything either, but I think that you might do white that matches the shower tile everywhere but the tub alcove, and pick a more muted green for that area.

Or I'm thinking something brown or black like the granite might work instead of the gold. Maybe wallpaper with some natural motif or a large brown graphic?

Graham and Brown Novella, a bit too grey brown, but the spirit might be right.

Clarence House Flower Quince, wrong background color, but the little shot of red works much better as a secondary color than the gold. A tiny bit of red goes a long way as well.
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OK, here it is in a different colorway which I think works really well.
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Graham and Brown Superfresco Solitude, a bit busy, but the stylized image has the zen feel

Graham and Brown Floral Trail, nicely zen and natural and not too busy.
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Graham and Brown Tree Print, which has the greens, browns, and golds, but muted. It might just be perfect!

Design by Color Pebble Wallpaper, the browns and blacks work perfectly with the granite.
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You could even do a mural in the bath alcove. Something with greens and golds like this Forest Mural 216 from totalwallcovering.com works with your mission statement and colors.
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GreenDesigns: Oooh! The colors in that last mural! They truly evoke a bright, misty forest morning. Wow.

Going the other direction, that Graham & Brown Tree Print with the light greens, browns and golds is nice, too. Most of all I like the green & RED of the Clarence House Flower Quince. Yes, red!!

These suggestions are great. Very helpful in thinking about colors that would work better. While we aren't wall paper people, seeing the colors combinations in the designs really helps.

Also, I take your point about not detracting from the Sapele. We started out wanting teak but moved to Sapele, initially because of price. It would be a shame to diminish its impact.

with all the varying angles in that room, and the wood wainscoting I think you need to stick to a single color paint, the wood should be the focus of your room, and the paint should compliment it, not compete with it.

I agree with Lynne and I love the mood and the color palatte of the mural that GreenDesigns posted. You've got some beautiful elements chosen which really should get the attention that they deserve. Your granite, tub and sink are drop dead gorgeous... I can't wait to see pictures of your room as it comes together!

Lynne and Treasure, Thank you for the confirming comments. That last mural has really pushed us in the direction of those colors. We're trying our best to capture that mood: mist rising from a hot soaking bath, surrounded by the forest serenity -- and the wonderful light quality. We'll see!

Do you have finished pictures? I love alot of the elements your using and would love to see how it all came together.

mic111: Sorry for not seeing your question sooner. While the bathroom is finished from a plumbing, tiling, painting standpoint, it's still a work in progress. We've done very little by way of "decorating" yet. I've also found it tough to take pictures because of the way that light from the skylight bounces around + the problem of photographing a relatively small space.

Below are pictures to show you what it looks like now. You'll notice that the wall colors have stayed the same. I lost that battle with DH. But at least wall color is not permanent. Now that we've been using the bathroom for a little over a month, we are quite happy with it. We didn't get the lighting right, but that's an issue only at night.

Ok, enough talk. Here are the pictures, such as they are.

When you walk into the bathroom, immediately to the left is the concrete sink with vanity, as pictured below. The blue painter's tape is there to protect the space between the sink and the wall. We were going to use a tile backsplash (even bought some wonderful tile), but in the end kept coming back to how good the sink looked against the green. So we'll be running a bead of silicone instead.

Continuing around the room, the steam shower is next. You can sort of see the middle panel of tiles with a wave pattern that mimics the sink.

The tub is next to the shower along the same wall. I love, love, love this soaking tub!

The other end wall has the wall-hung toilet.

If you have questions or want other pictures, please let me know. And, thanks again for your interest.

It's beautiful, kashmi! I think you really captured the zen feeling that you were going for. The Sapele wainscoting is stunning and it's the perfect backdrop for your tub. And you know I LOVE your shower door handle! ;-)

It wouldn't take much to "decorate" your room because the elements that you've chosen are beautiful on their own. A sunlit forest scene, much like the inspiration mural, would be perfect to pull your colors together. I like the whimsy of the dalmation towel bar.

Enjoy your room!

Kashmi,
Thanks! Were also redoing our master bath and are going for zen like, organic elements with a hint of asian so it is fun to see all the elements you used. It is a beautiful bath. I also like stronger colors and our bath is mostly likely to end up an autumnal orange.

Wonderful bathroom Kashmi! Congratulations! The sapele and that sink (and tub) are just amazing. I too am just finishing up a modern zen- type bathroom, so I really enjoyed your pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Mic111, looking forward to seeing your space too!

TreasureTheDay: Thank you. And, yes, isn't the Dalmatian cabinet a kick? This is its third house. Several years ago, when, as you might guess, we had a Dal, a friend made it for us. He had a German Short-Haired Pointer and we think the dog's head is more like that! But no matter. The cabinet is fun and functional.

If we can't find a forest scene, we might be able to frame some ammonites that have similar colors. Here's a pix of two of them w/ the sink. We have the matching half for each size.

Mic111: Like Sochi, I'm looking forward to seeing your bath -- both in progress and after you finish. Autumnal orange sounds wonderfully inviting.

Sochi: Thank you, too, for your comments. I saw a picture of your walnut top and white sink on GW the other day. Wow!