In the case of color, perception is reality!

Your old tan wall color could very well have been reflected as a dingy cast on your white fixtures. With it gone and the wall white, that dinginess would be gone, and everything would look fresher and cleaner.

So if you want a rich color, you should have it, with the understanding that the color you pick could also affect how you see the white things. If you choose red, for example, your white could seem a little pink - if you choose blue, it could seem icier and cooler.

Your lighting in the room will also make a difference reflected off your white things. Florescent, incandescent, halogen, and LED lights have very different effects.

So before you choose something, get a sample, maybe more than one, paint a nice big piece of foam core with two coats, and put it by your fixtures for a couple of days to see what it does.

And don't worry about how much you know. Just gaze at everything, think about what you see, and trust that.

It makes complete sense. The white will definitely pick up a cast from it's surroundings. There was a story in the back of This Old House magazine or Old House Journal where a man demolished a bathroom full of fixtures he thought were pink, and it was only the walls that were bright pink--but he only found this out when the broken fixtures were outside.

White is a beautiful color and an all white bathroom is so refreshing. If you like the white, then give it a go! You can add some color with your towels and textiles if you like, or keep it all white. As beautiful a look as color, when done well. You mention old fixtures and cabinetry, so the lack of contrast with the wall could also play them down, as less of a feature to look at, less visible, less pop.

You could also do a pale tint. Layering whites can be tricky. Watch the undertones.

Funny with the fixtures. I love my creamy biscuit white and just painted the small powder room green (good amount of yellow). They took on a much more yellow cast that made me kind of sick. It showed most on the tank top (very visible and a little green) but the floor also reflected enough green to wreck the beautiful cream and gold tile I loved so much. Then I changed the bulbs to a whiter, cleaner one (EcoVantage Soft which were great at washing out color, lol). It removed some of the yellow, cleaning it up enough so I don't want to repaint! The room doesn't take on that gray fluorescent look at all, like the kitchen did. When all comes together, I think it might actually turn out like what I envisioned!

This post was edited by snookums2 on Wed, Apr 10, 13 at 11:54

I just had the same thing happen to me. We have a small bathroom in a Florida condo that had hideous wallpaper. I stripped the wallpaper intending to paint it a chosen color. The white walls after stripping were so appealing to me that I went with a soft white. I am very happy with the results.