For a backsplash, could you do some more of your beautiful countertop wood? What you have already is so lovely and soothing, it seems almost a shame to add anything at all, and more of the countertop wood would be the closest to 'nothing' design-wise...

On the long plain wall, I'd go with art. Wait for the *perfect* piece, size and mood-wise (maybe a soothing photo of a deserted pebble-strewn beach scene?), then choose your wall paint from your artwork. Something 'misty' in tans, taupes or greys sounds perfect.

Maybe add a silk orchid in a pot on the vanity top?
Then nothing else! Keep your space beautifully simple and serene.

I love the wood counters with that sink, looks wonderful. I went a little crazy with the colors. I personally like them lighter but the light colors come out really brash on the monitor. Light color options I'd consider are my usual, SW comfort gray, sea salt both of which are very light, there are some others that are in the same family on the strip samples that would look equally as good. Also RS Silver Sage is a popular color that would look beautiful in that room as well.

with some of these having the same color side by side sort of detracts from it, but you'll still get the jest.

Here's some pics I did with grays and darker colors just to help you with some visuals, all of which are SW.

Artisan Tan:

Blackberry (kind of wild and different):

Bold Brick:

Calico:

Downing Stone:

Gray Matters:

Keystone Gray:

Pavillion Tan

Backseas & Breezy:

Sweeby, thank you for the reply. I completely forgot about the stained wood option till you mentioned it. I was wondering if by doing the backsplash in the same stained wood if it might turn out looking too country or being too much wood with the mirror frame so close?

Why do I feel like the vanity area and shower area look so separate and not pulled together? Maybe that will come with paint, accessories, and artwork. I think I've been over thinking this whole bathroom.

I like the orchid idea by the way.

Luk, thank you so much for the photoshop work, that stuff takes time and I appreciate it! I like the Downing Stone and the Grey Matters-it's interesting to see the bathroom with color. Every grey and beige paint chip I try seems to look good with one tile and off with the other, maybe I need to mix my own color.

Hmmm did I make a mistake by painting the trim white? The trim on the floor is new because the bathroom use to be half carpet and I decided to paint the stained window and door trim to match. I was thinking the room was so narrow and had such a closed in feeling that having a lot of white was better.

Roo, you're welcome, I'm biased, I love white trim but I think once more of the finishing is done, it will make more sense visually. I do understand what you're saying about the flooring. I found the same to be true when I was working with your picture. I forgot to include a green, I had tried a couple of mossy / olive greens and they looked great with the wood, but it was hard to tell with the flooring If you'd like to see them I can do them up real quick and post pics for you. I really think that instead of trying to match the floor, you may want to try something that contrasts with it. The slate we put in our master bath is all browns and neutrals and I ended up putting SW Sea Salt on the walls. The color is a subtle gray that leans towards blue or green depending on what's in the room. It's very light except for when it's next to white and works beautifully with the browns.

If you see some other colors that you like, shoot me an email, and I'll be happy to work them up for you.

Luk, thanks, I was so focused on pulling a paint color out one of the tiles, I didn't even consider going a different direction with a contrasting color. Now I've got some more colors to think about. I'll look into SW Sea salt, I don't think I've looked at the SW colors yet.

You are so sweet to offer to do more colors for me, I feel a bit guilty though because I've been photoshoping for years, I should be working on my photos. I must admit, it's really nice to have someone else do it for me for a change. :)

I agree with you on the white trim, it just makes a room seem brighter to me.

Your welcome Roo, if you've been PS for years, you probably have much better skills than I do, as I'm just learning. Yes, contrast may be the better option for you. Here's the sea salt. It doesn't photo well in a lot of light, looks white, but at least you can see the color this way:

I like that Downing Stone...it really pulls the colors out in the floor and the white trim looks fine with it. I also think the brown window treatment on the back window that lukkiirish mocked up looks great. Some luxurious brown towels with white and light gray accent towels/washcloths would look inviting.

I also agree a tall colorful plant on the counter would add impact.

Your bathroom is really nice. Lot's of good suggestions so far.

I think you should do a pebble backsplash if you can match what's in your bathtub. As far as the paint, I'm liking the soft blues if it looks good with the tile in person.

{{!gwi}}

Laurie

Luk, your bathroom pics are great and the Sea salt looks better with the warms tones than I thought it would. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Vampiressrn, thanks for your input it's helpful, I need to get over to SW and get some paint chips. Great suggestion on the towel colors and I agree that some sort of brown roman shade or maybe matchstick would look work-I can't wait to start picking out the accessorizes and be done with the main stuff.

Laurie, I love the warm colors of the bathroom pic you shared. Thanks for the ideas, I'm still thinking about adding the pebble accent tile to the backsplash.

roobear, your bathroom is magnificent! A truly great DIY job. It's almost a shame you have to install the toilet, it looks so spacious without it. But, I suppose you really need it, huh?

Do you want to carry the shower tile or the river rock accent tile onto the backsplash for cohesion? I think the river rock would look nice.

You could look at Sarah Abbott's paintings to see if one of her pieces would work for you.

Thanks Roo, Good luck at Sherwin Williams, and please let us know if you find something!

I agree with mrose that a pebble backsplsah would be nice, but I really don't think you need to do anything. A coat of paint, some artwork and a few small details, pretty towels etc and your done.

Kiko- thanks, LOL, I know, the bathroom looked twice as big when it was down to the studs, as we keep adding things it shrinks. It use to look a little more spacious when it just had the orginal bath, but we added a shower so we don't have to constantly go down to the basement to shower.

I'm on the fence with putting tile in the backsplash area because I don't want it to look busy, but I also want the room to have a "pulled together" feeling. Thank you so much for your thoughts and the tip on the paintings, I'll check it out.

Luk-will do.

Susan- Thanks for the input on the backsplash, I like the idea of being done soon, sounds good to me! :)

Lighter beige or grey would be pretty. I would do either the riverrock or the small tiles that are in the shower, for the backsplash.

I too though was thinking of doing nothing for the backsplash because it does look so pretty already.

As for the Weird Wall I suggest three, say 12x12, framed pics of nature. White mats with wood frame to match the mirror frame. I would do sepia colored pics of leaves or trees. You could save a bundle by going outside and taking some pics yourself, get readymade frames if you can get color to match.

I like the idea of a simple plant on the vanity. Maybe a white, ceramic pot. I would cover the "dirt" in the pot with small river rocks. You can get them at the dollar or craft store pretty cheap. Or to save even more you can get some out of the yard, like pea gravel, and shine them up with spray on sealant or I think when I was a kid we used glue.

Shannon, thank you so much for adding your suggestions, I appreciate it. I agree that the area looks so nice the way it is now, and I'm wondering if that's because of the plain white color behind it.

I've decided to try and mock up the white wood backsplash with an inlet of the river rock tile and see if it's simple enough to look ok. If I go with a white backsplash then I will probably end up painting the bathroom a light tan out of the shower tile, I found a really light color that may work and still look good with the floor tile.

I like the idea of nature photos instead of a painting, I think they would go better. Matting them gallery style with huge white mattes might be the way to go.

Thanks again for your thoughts!