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I don't see anything wrong with the tile. Are your walls going to be red?

newhomebuilder - That red stuff is the waterproofing goop.

Oh no no haha that's just some kind of sealer or something the tile guy uses before he puts on the thinset. I'm debating on wall colors right now. I think the tile is very pretty, just not at all what I had envisioned. I'll try to get another pic tonight - its very hard because contractors are in and out and the lights in the shower are the only ones installed so far so the color reads really red.

That's the RedGard membrane. I think that makes it hard to evaluate the actual color of the tile in the room.

I think pulling out the gold (which is kind of minimal) makes the tile skew violet which may not be what you want.

Just another opinion for ya - I think that tile looks beautiful and coordinates well with your accent tile. To me, it seems like it gives you an opportunity to shift to more a cool stone grey/brown pallet (very natural and hip) and a medium to lighter mocha/grey wall color would look great. Look at paint SW 6073 Perfect Greige.

Personally I'd say a darker cherry-ish finish on your vanity would go great and contrast well with the stainless you have elsewhere. Just another opinion for ya! Remember the color of your lightbulbs can also cast a warmer (lower K) or cooler (higher k) vibe in the room too.

If your lighting and your wall color goes too warm, it might steer you more toward to the "poop" color range and cooler colors steer you more toward the latte/stone coloring. :-) Good luck!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: paint idea

"I think pulling out the gold (which is kind of minimal) makes the tile skew violet which may not be what you want."

You're absolutely right - I wasn't even thinking of it that way! Thank you palimpsest - you put into words what I could not.

It is violet!

SoCOME that color is very pretty - back to SW!

Haha you know how I picked gold? I'm wearing a khaki/camel colored blazer today and the tiles looked very pretty next to it. Never mix fashion and home improvement, I guess.

This post was edited by Swentastic on Mon, Oct 13, 14 at 16:13

I like the top row, fourth color from the left.

lol, I find that the colors in my house are also predominantly the colors in my wardrobe, too. the heart likes what it likes! :-)

lol, I find that the colors in my house are also predominantly the colors in my wardrobe, too. the heart likes what it likes! :-)

Don't think you can force the warm tone vanity in a room with such cool tones. You could do walnut, white, taupe, expresso, but not the teak. Also all those paint tones are too warm for the tile selected.

Thank you so much! I agree the vanity is just too much - like I said I couldn't quite articulate it but I knew something was amiss.

I've already cancelled the teak vanity and am looking at dark espresso colored vanities now. If I can't find what I want there, I'll start looking into the whites. This is the best option I've found thusfar - like I said, I'm limited because the plumbing needs to go through the floor. This one would work and you wouldn't really see the plumbing underneath because you'd have to be standing 10 feet away and our bathroom isn't that big. I'm not so sure about the top though, carrara white composite. Looks creamy enough on the website. What do you all think?

This post was edited by Swentastic on Mon, Oct 13, 14 at 17:50

Is there a lot of light in your bathroom? You could go bold with something like BM Deep Caviar (maybe not that one exactly- I'm working off memory here) or some other cool toned brown.

Not sure a carrera composite is going to work with your other finishes.

Woah. Ok is it my imagination or is there a big red spot in the middle of all of my pictures? Am I losing my mind?

It's impossible to photograph this tile. I already had more of this stuff installed, but only had the first pic from the contractor on my phone. Here's what it actually looks like today.

Also, if you look close there are bits of rusty red. Really pretty but definitely didn't expect the reddish undertones of this one. It's really weird to photograph - looks different in every picture. I realize also that it'll be sealed which darkens the colors.

So, the two look ok together, IMO. The floor tile is creamy with bits of gold and it does have pieces of the wall tile in it.

I picked up some swatches of the taupes you guys suggested. I even went so far as to buy the sample of the Perfect Griege. They looked good together in the store but I didn't get a chance to put it on the wall as it was pouring rain in said bathroom and on the brand new plaster. Added the roofer to my sh!t list today.

I'll give the taupe a shot but I had the chance to spend so much time in there today sopping up water that I really wonder if a creamy white on the walls would work. Meanwhile no more pictures from the phone.

What is the make, name and color of the shower tile? I find it helps to google and go on houzz.com to find out how it was combined with other tiles and colors in finished bathrooms.

It's driftwood travertine from the tile shop. I only found a few pics but that's a great idea chickadee.

I know it is just primer or something but in your last set of pics, I like the off white wall with your tile. I think that's the way to go. And I like the espresso vanity but with a different top.

Of course every espresso vanity I find online is backordered. Do you guys have any good suggestions about where to go for vanities? Signature hardware has been my favorite so far...

Anyway, here's one option. When I was hanging out in the bathroom last night I wiped down the tiles with a wet rag - that brings out quite a bit more gold than is evident in this pic. Anyway, at the end of the day I think a dark vanity would be much prettier. Do you think this one is still too warm?

A lighter espresso or a dark chocolate would look great! I love your tile! Sometimes the best things are not planned! I agree - check out the greige pallete! I think it will soften the red/violet colors and neturalize your tile. Stay away from anything with a green undertone because it will highlight the red in the tile! Orr...if you like the reddish hue in your tile, then pick a color with a green undertone like a Bleeker Beige. I think a Kilim Beige would look great in that room! Keep the color lighter if you are putting in the darker vanity. Looks great! Keep us posted.

I like the last vanity that you posted. It looks like, or similar to, a vanity we considered for our recent master bath project. We chose a different style vanity by Avanity, and found it most convenient to order through lowes for delivery to the store (my contractor picked it up). Most of their styles were available without a countertop, so we chose our own stone from a local granite store. I was surprised to find that vanities that I saw on houzz and wayfair could be ordered online from lowes; the online selection was leagues beyond anything on display in the big box stores.

I think I have a sample of your tile in my trunk (leftover from tile shopping!). I can see why you were surprised by the reddish undertones.

I think the tiles in shower and shower floor are very nice together, what is the floor of bathroom going to be.

I think that might determine the color of your vanity.

Kiwigem - there's very little natural light in there. Just a glass block window facing north :-/ I think that's why I'm having such trouble with the tile color.

mamorella - you're spot on - I think the creamy whites might work too. I'm going to try a few samples this weekend and see what looks best.

RightDi - thanks for the encouragement! Funny enough we use Kilim beige in most of our rehabs so I'm very familiar with the color and might even have a can in the basement so I'll take a look.

Robin_dc - how funny! I ended up pulling the trigger on the Madison model (in light espresso) this morning through Signature Hardware because they had it in stock and ready to ship. We must have similar tastes! This is a total departure from the rest of the house but I don't really care. I'm hoping it will feel rich and luxurious when we're done.

Iyban - we're doing the smaller cream versailles tile on the floor of the bathroom as well.

I'm really struggling right now with lighting options - I had originally planned on two or three (depending on size/configuration) white or off-white tube pendants, but I'm having a hard time visualizing them with this transitional style vanity. We need to run the electrical through the ceiling because the wall the vanity sits on is an old exterior wall and very difficult to get anything through.

Would some kind of art nouveau style pendants look ridiculous?

This post was edited by Swentastic on Tue, Oct 14, 14 at 15:25

I think you'll be happy with the cream and travertine palette when you're all done. It will look luxurious...cashmere colors!

Thanks Kiwi - I certainly hope so!

So, maybe art nouveau is going too far. I think what I'm looking for is milk glass. I found this gorgeous shop on Etsy - this guy does some really great work. I'm particularly enamored with the schoolhouse lights but don't think i have enough space to make them work. Do you think these would look ok? I can get them in satin nickle to match the rest of the hardware, but honestly I think that antique brass color is so pretty. Rules against mixing metals?

Here is a link that might be useful: Lucent Lampworks

looking good and I really like that darker vanity - really pulls the cooler tones out of your beautiful tile. Let's see a pick of your favorite nouveau pendants!

if they are the small ones in your last pic, it's a little hard to tell but you may need to swap out the hardware on your vanity if you go that direction. you can go with the same color metal (although I don't tend to get hung up on that to avoid being overly matchy matchy), but a nouveau style is much more organic/swirly/almost floral in nature. Having the clean lined contemporary hardware on the vanity may not go well with that style.

Depends on whether you lean more toward the modern/clean line look - then go modern or industrial for your lighting ( there are some awesome Edison bulb fixtures out there these days).

If you like more swirled, organic shapes, the nouveau style is beautiful and gives you some nice color options in glass too.

great progress!!

sorry, I missed your link in your last post - there are the closeups on your pendants! :-)

yea, beautiful stuff, and much of it is very industrial in nature. nice.

I would say, swap out the hardware on the vanity to "go with" the style of your lighting, not necessarily "match" it. E.g. if you keep the contemporary hardware on there now, check out those square shaped pendants he has. that might be a nice combo.

did you know you *could* rub wood stain on nickel/stainless hardware to age it to a warmer "silvered" tone if you wanted to go warmer but not go full brass for metal? just a thought, if you did brass lighting....but I'd still be more aware of the shape and form than color.

just my 2cents for ya!

SoCoME you have been so kind, thank you very much for all the help! I know it's probably annoying with so many noobs coming around asking for advice so I appreciate the patience. I would agree if I end up with the antique brass that I'd probably swap out the hardware but I'm very interested to learn more about rubbing it with stain - I had no idea!

I guess art nouveau is pretty broad - maybe deco? I really like the modern, clean lines, not the swirly stuff although it is gorgeous. I love the edison bulbs and industrial look but worry that might not be the most flattering light in a bathroom - I seriously considered several fixtures of that ilk and came to the conclusion that a frosted white or milky cream glass would be best for makeup application etc.

I'm a sucker for the chrome and speedy angular lines of that era - I'm a huge Frank Lloyd Wright nerd! I think it's so easy to mesh the 20s deco styles with the 50s mod look. The rest of our house is mid-century modern so it would be cool to give a nod in that direction with the fixtures. I think they'll either make or break this bathroom.

Here are a few examples of lights that I like (obviously won't work in our bathroom). These may be way more ornate than this bathroom will handle, but maybe there's another name for what I'm looking for?

no prob, and if we didn't like looking at and solving problems for this kind of stuff, we wouldn't be surfing the forum! LOL :-)

Craftsman style - that's the design style folks usually associate with Frank Lloyd Wright - a geometric design. those first two look very craftsman to me and latter couple, more nouveau. both beautiful.

that etsy site had an awesome vintage opal glass cube pendant -- my finger was hovering over the "must...buy....yet another....light..." button. :-)

YES! I know exactly which one you're talking about! If I had the ladyballs I'd totally order a couple of those - would echo the square tiles quite nicely, eh?

I'll google up Craftsman light fixtures and see what I can find. I do like Craftsman stuff but find that much of it is too "mission" style for my tastes. On the other hand, with the shaker doors on that vanity, it wouldn't be hard to get away with.

Anyway, thanks again :) Will keep you posted on the progress!!

Your last mock up looks terrific!

Thanks Kiwi! I think we're getting closer!

I ended up ordering the pendants in the mock-up - they're smaller than I rendered them before so I might get away with three of them over the vanity. I'm going to try for tall narrow mirrors - I think that looks so sharp. Now I just need to find great 20x46 mirrors (or so) without spending a fortune. Maybe I could make them?

As for paint colors, my light bulbs are a terrible culprit. I'm really nervous about going with anything cooler as 90-100 CRI is recommended for bathroom lighting but I do think I need cooler lights so to avoid the pinky tones.

This color looks a little pink, but it's perfect with the background of the tile and very pretty and rich in person, and much cooler under cooler lights (i.e. Sherwin Williams store - HA!). I think if I compromise and cool off our lighting a little bit it won't read so pinky. I did try the perfect griege and it's just too dark for the room.

This color is called Moderate White. I took these pics w/ my husbands phone so no more red spots.

I have a pair that are that dimension that I got a couple years ago from Home Decorators. They are much higher quality than I was expecting from that company, to be honest. Customer reviews on that site are pretty reliable I have found. Anyway, I bet you could find something there.

looking great! I know you said you didn't have much natural light in that room, but if your paint looks good under natural diffuse sunlight, that would be 6500k. you can pick up a "true daylight" cfl bulb (lol preferably GE brand, since I work there lol) at any big box for under 5$ to try it. Anything over 6500k would be cooler. As comparison, incandescent runs around 3000k.