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Your paint color for windowless bathrooms?

B H
9 years ago

I was wondering what color you painted your windowless bathrooms and if you were happy with the results?

I was bent on doing some kind of light turquoise (BM Blue Seafoam, Glass Slipper or Opal Essence) but when I tried them, it looked either too light or Crest toothpaste.

I just bought shower curtains but in hindsight, probably should have waited to pick my paint color. It's probably easier to pick a paint where the lighting in the room won't change but I'm having a serious block.

Going for a coastal look but would like to avoid too much kitsch in this children's/guest bathroom.

Thanks for any suggestions based on your experience with windowless bathrooms (which I absolutely hate along with windowless laundry rooms which we also have!!!).

:)

Comments (48)

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have 2 windowless baths.

    My wild a$$ PR

    And my guest bath

  • patricianat
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love both the WAPR and the guest bath. I think a lot depends on what other elements are in your room. What color is the tile, the countertop, size of room, the cabinets and what about lighting, what color appliances, etc.

  • williamsem
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PPG Tropical Splash, it's the one next up the card from our kitchen color, Montego Bay. I LOVE it!

    This is the pic with the closest coloring, though it doesn't show the room the best. It's about 65 in square.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'd go with a creamy neutral and then decorate to create a coastal look.

  • beths96
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I used Sherwin WIlliams Seat Salt. We have neutral tan tile, very light cream wood-look tile floors, and espresso vanity and wall cabinets. It looks awesome!

  • bestyears
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I did SW Tradewind in my half-bath with no window. Love it, and get lots of compliments on it. The color doesn't look quite right on my monitor, but you can get an idea of the look.


  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I tried BM Healing Aloe, which looked really, really depressing. So I ended up with a creamy white. Boring but it worked with some glass tiles that I glued around the mirror and a color-coordinated shower curtain. Also painted the vanity espresso color.

    I wonder whether a navy bathroom would look nice if you had lots of white.

    Check out link below to a makeover of a kids' nautical windowless bathroom.

    Here is a link that might be useful: kids' coastal bathroom

    This post was edited by nosoccermom on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 10:14

  • joaniepoanie
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My teeny powder room is windowless...it used to be a dark royal blue, now it is dark gray. Don't be afraid to go dark in a small space, especially a bathroom....you're never in there for long and a dark color gives it more presence.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Totally agree with JoaniePoanie. Dark rich colors in windowless bathrooms can be really beautiful. I LOVE very dark chocolate brown in windowless baths.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    nosoccermom, espresso vanity with that beautiful mirror? I'd paint your walls the beige color that is in the mirror tiles. It'd really make that mirror shine and the espresso vanity. REally beautiful color combos…beige, blue and espresso.

  • sundance510
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Please excuse the evidence of everyday living in this photo. Our hall bath is nowhere near complete. The walls are BM Gray Owl at 50% color-matched to Behr. My husband was painting faster than I was picking colors, so he rushed me and this is what I ended up with. I wish I had known about BM China White at the time. It's my favorite almost-white (on the gray side instead of creamy) and it's a great backdrop for my beach house vibe living room.

  • elleninmaine
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    annie, please advise what color you used for the SWAPR. "S" for spectacular. thank you.

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Tibb,
    nope, that's not my mirror. I used different tiles with brown, white, cream, slate, green (?).

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My PR is BM Adobe Orange. I used BM Soft Fern on the ceiling. The inspiration is Hunt's Lady of Shallot.

    This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Tue, Jul 1, 14 at 7:22

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Dramatic colors are usually fine for a bathrooms where you are not applying makeup. Otherwise you're likely to get reflection off the walls that will never render your skin tone in a color where you can evaluate your appearance.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, I thought that was your bathroom!

  • always1stepbehind
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I did a blue/green color in my bathroom with no window. I didn't like it at first when I saw it done, my first thought was "toothepaste" but once I put the bathroom back together with the new vanity and medicine cabinet etc etc, it was ok. I wish I had gone a little "brighter" though.

  • patricianat
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OP must have found the answer. No additional, requested information was given and OP has not posted.

    Is it just me or does anyone else feel a bit irate when someone asks a question and never comes back to give any feedback or response.

    Maybe I have dealt with people who are grateful for the everything so that when someone does not respond, I feel that is a slight for all those who took the time to respond and post pictures.

    P.S. You all have very glamorous baths.

  • sis2two
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just painted our windowless bathroom Wedgewood Gray by BM. It is absolutely beautiful in my opinion. I kept thinking because it had no window, that I should go lighter but as you said the colors looked like toothpaste or just washed out looking. Seriously, give it a try.

  • Sueb20
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We used BM Soft Sand for ours, after getting tired of a dark, dramatic purple.

  • AlyB
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We used BM Palladian Blue to match the adjacent kitchen (sorry lighting is not the best in this pic)

  • AlyB
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    And here's my comparison of the Palladian Blue (powder room on the left) with Glass Slipper (Master Bath on the right)

  • julieboulangerie
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I appreciate the photos. I wasn't the original poster, but I have a windowless master bath that I am trying to find the right color for. It's more of a closet for the shower and toilet. Right now it's BM Quiet Moments, but it doesn't fit with the rest of the house, and it just looks weird. Never thought about it before, but it does look like the classic Crest toothpaste.

  • patricianat
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think powder rooms and/or small baths should be little jewel boxes and like a dining room, I think this is where you can sort of go wild. It does not have to relate to the rest of the house, IMHO, because for one thing it is probably off a hall and for another, it needs to be a pleasant surprise rather than your everyday run-of-the-mill room because that is really what it is, so give it a little oomph.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is a nice idea. GEt some decals and paint over them to create a wallpaper-like look on one wall.

  • arcy_gw
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Again as always it is a huge personal preference. I have no interest in living in a cave. A dark, deep color in a bath in my world would never do. I want to see in a bathroom. Window or not would not really matter. Dark just reads dirtier, dank and not ever for me. Are they attractive, I am sure many are. Attractive is not the first place I go FUNCTION is and dark is rarely functional in my world.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like the elegance and richness of colors with more depth. I prefer "depth" to "dark". But the lighting is critical in such rooms. Otherwise, it absolutely can look, and feel, like a cave.

  • tomatofreak
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Despite the fact that the OP never came back, I'm glad she asked. I also have two windowless bathrooms in the reno house. My first thought was: Let's put in solartubes! Not even close to the barely existent 'budget', so on to Plan B. Paint and lighting. The bathroom off the hallway has a tub surround of turquoise-y 4" tile and the other has 4" tile in a goldish yellow color. (I have been totally unable to get good pics, but I'll try again today.) I'm not taking either tile out; it's all in pristine condition. (Go figure, since the rest of the house was a filthy mess.) Floors may stay - or not. Both are textured vinyl wood-look light/medium oak color.

    I've been considering a soft gray for the turquoise bath, but haven't come up with the right shade. Now, I wonder if I should go with a splash of bright color, perhaps just on one wall.

    The other bath opens into the master BR so maybe it needs to have at least a segue and not a complete contrast. That BR is on the south wall and gets lots of afternoon light.

  • kswl2
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We have wallpaper in all our bathrooms, and for some reason that makes the lack of windows in a couple that don't have them less noticeable. FYI, in case you are considering something other than paint.

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Binsd,
    no apologies necessary. Noticed that nobody jumped on the bandwagon?

    Love the BM Santa Monica Blue. I'd sample the pineapple grove in the room first. It might be a tad too bright in real life. My daughter once had a room in BM Sundance, and you needed sun glasses in there. A slightly more subdued yellow we also used is BM Lighthouse (not Lighthouse Landing, although that shows up a complementary color for Santa Monica Blue).

    You mentioned a shower curtain. Are these colors from the curtain?

  • B H
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    kswl - I'm a much better painter than I am a wall-paperer. :)

    nosoccermom - thanks. :)

    I am planning to get a sample. Yellow has bit me on the arse too many times not to! LOL

    I actually bought Lemon Freeze sample last year and my daughter grabbed a highlighter and asked if her brother's room was going to look like it.

    I'm going to take a look at BM Lighthouse.

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Also look at BM Mellow Yellow. We have that, too.

  • patricianat
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OP, it's not necessary to go into details, a simple apology without details is all that is necessary but there are many who never return. Should you wish to flame me, I will be away for a while. Death of an 18-year-old niece who will never use her college scholarship, funeral plans for the Fourth instead of her usual day skiing on the lake.

  • B H
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Patricia - I am sorry for your loss.

  • B H
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I really like the idea of the mosaic tiles around the mirror. Looks like I have another DIY project! There seem to be a few ways of doing this.

    I am also looking at colors for our master bedroom. DH has MS so I'm going for shades of purple (which is a healing color). Right now we're looking at BM Abalone, Kalamata, and Smoked Oyster - just not sure what combination they will be in yet. And definitely the mosaic tile frame around the ginormous mirror.

    This post was edited by binsd on Tue, Jul 1, 14 at 19:53

  • B H
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nosoccermom - I like the mellow yellow! It's similar to pineapple grove in hue but deeper/richer.

  • jdez
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We used SW Window Pane in a windowless bathroom. I liked it. It was very light and airy feeling.

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have Mellow Yellow in my entrance/hallway and it reminds me of sunflowers and Southern France.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Patricia, I'm so sorry for your loss.

    binsd, no need for any apologies.

    If you are looking for a nice yellow, try BM pale moon. I used it in my guest room and it's a lovely color...

  • runninginplace
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Agree--there is no need for an apology here, except from the person who insisted on one from you--she is way out of line. Especially for a castigating post within ~24 hours of the first request!

    Also, thanks for bringing this topic to the group. I am in the planning stages of updating a house with a windowless bathroom and somewhat stumped. For budget reasons I'm probably not removing the floor tile, which is a deep blue, or the wall tile, which is a somewhat faded white. All the opinions and images in this discussion are so helpful!

    Last but not least, hope your family is ok and that you are heading into a relaxing and uneventful holiday weekend :).

  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I appreciate this post as the color I found for my powder room no longer works now that I changed out some finishes! Lots of great ideas! I constantly want to go bolder but am a bit chicken when it comes to anything past the second line on the paint strip.

  • always1stepbehind
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    robotropolis...I felt the same way even though I went "safe"on my bathroom...the same day I was having the bathroom painted, I was also having my daughters room painted and she had picked a bright aqua and I kept trying to steer her to something lighter or maybe just one wall bright...well guess who's wall color I was in love in when it was done???

    This was the day it was done, sorry about the unmade bed etc.

    ALL the walls are bright and it looks really cute. I thought it would be way too much but it came out great.

    She was spot on for her room color and she kept saying "put some color on the walls" in regards to the bathroom paint..(she's 13)...maybe I should start letting her pick the paint colors ;-)

  • beekeeperswife
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Not beachy, but my windowless powder room is BM Dark Purple in Advance High Gloss (which give the look of wet paint even when dry) and stenciled over the walls with BM Dark Purple Aura Matte.

    First painted everything (ceiling, trim, door, walls) in high gloss since this stencil was a negative image (meaning that the background was what was being stenciled onto the wall, not the trellis).

    It's a bit crazy town in there, but it certainly is dramatic.

    Love it.

  • persnicketydesign
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bee...that is fabulous!!!

  • B H
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beekeeperswife - I noticed the photo (FABULOUS) before seeing to whom it belonged and when I saw it was you, it made all the sense in the world. I still LOVE the kitchen you did that was featured everywhere - the backsplash is still my dream backsplash. And your use of Wasabi is the reason I have BM Wasabi in my house. I think you moved, though, since I was last on here actively, so I will have to hunt down what you've been doing lately! I showed DH the pic of your Dark Purple bathroom - he loved it and said "You could do that!". Sure....like that's not time-consuming. I would definitely consider doing that in a smaller space. Gorgeous!

    always1stepbehind - I love that kids don't have the same fears us "oldies" do when it comes to color! Looks like your DD made a great, lively choice!

    robotropolis - I'm not afraid of color as much as I am afraid of picking the "neon" shade - which has happened during the 1st year we lived in our current house. My sitting room and kitchen are currently painted BM Dark Salmon - which looks fantastic during the day - it's like being nestled in a bowl of ripe tomatoes - but at night? Holy smokes! It's electric dark orange and I HATE it.

    Same thing happened in our living room. I was trying to bring shades of California into our Texas home (transplants) and went with BM Opal Essence and Blue Seafoam. Toothpaste and aquarium. We felt like we were living in an aquarium. I thought the room could carry it off but even the south/southwest facing family room couldn't handle it.

    I finally did the family room and entry in BM Rattan and I really like it. My piano studio is in Kendall Charcoal (it was a can that a BM customer never picked up; the sold it to me for 1/2 the price!) and Concord Ivory. I'm planning on re-doing the kitchen (which opens to Rattan) and the sitting area (which opens to entry) in BM Papaya.

    I'm going for a lot more neutral than I'm use to but I like it.

    DD's room is Valspar Beet and BM Passion Pink and my son's room is in BM Midnight Navy and Patriot White (space theme).

    Still up in the air are the kid/guest bathroom and the mastersuite. My inclination for the kids bathroom was towards bright but I don't want to have to re-do a bathroom if it's neon again plus, now that I saw the glass mosaic tile frame around the bathroom, I'm thinking of doing that which probably changes my whole color scheme.

    Someone asked what was in the kids bathroom; I don't have a picture of it before I started making all the paint samples but it's basically always1stepbehind 's bathroom without the pretty touches: builder grade white tile around the tub, those hideous Hollywood dressing table lights above and builder grade sink/cabinet painted sorta-white (house built in 2000). Painted in Band-Aid pink with old world globe wall paper below imaginary chair rail line.

    Yes...it's as bad as it sounds. :)

    Runningplace - thanks! Family is good. Things never seem to go as planned when you (me) are the caretaker to several people in the family. But that's life!

    Our floor tile is sort of an adobe look which doesn't got with anything at all in the house! The previous owner must have gotten it on clearance before they put the house on the market. You know - thanks for writing about your tile - it made me think about my floor and now I'm wondering if I need to go with what I know best - Spanish Colonial style (we moved from San Diego/Santa Barbara where I learned so much about that style especially when we bought our 1929 Spanish Revival cottage there).

    Do you have a pic of your deep blue floor tile?

    AnnieDeighnaugh - your guest room is lovely! It looks like something about of a very high-end, old world hotel. I love the blues with the creamy yellow.

    nosoccermom - I haven't had a chance to get back to my BM store but will definitely be picking up a swatch of Mellow yellow. Sunflowers and Southern France is definitely a nice visual.

    JDez - SW Window Pane is such a pretty color!

    Tomatofreak - I'd love to see your tile surround. It sounds like something you can definitely work with!

    Well...off to teach. I'll be back!

  • teacats
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Two bathrooms here -- and both are painted bright white with a glossy finish. One bathroom has windows (the master bathroom) and the hallway bathroom is windowless.

  • sarah_hegland
    5 years ago

    I looked through this thread several times when I was choosing a color for my windowless bathroom these last few weeks, and wanted to post my results. I was thinking I wanted a more dramatic color, and tried SW Ravishing Coral on one wall. I liked it at first, but then it became a little aggravating, and I couldn't find the right neutral to balance it out. I looked at a warm gray (SW Agreeable Gray), and found that my warm lights washed out the warm tones, leaving it feeling icy.

    I talked to one of the employees at the SW store, and she said that she had the exact same bathroom (windowless, warm lights), ended up choosing SW Silver Strand and absolutely loves it. I bought a sample and ended up painting the whole room with it. I didn't think I wanted blue, but this is a very warm blueish-gray, with green and gold undertones. It feels so serene, and I'm really happy with it. My only regret is that I wish I'd gotten a satin or eggshell finish instead of flat, to be a little more light-reflective.