Cathy’s Birthday Color Conundrum
When Lisa and her husband Shawn contacted us to whip out our paint swatches for a surprise bathroom makeover, we jumped at the chance. Here’s their letter:
Hi John and Sherry! For my husband Shawn’s mother’s birthday, we’d love to surprise her with a color consultation for her spacious bathroom. Cathy has a gorgeous and huge bathroom in her new apartment that has some outdated wallpaper. She and her husband Mike are renting this apartment and though they can make changes, they plan to move in 3-4 years when they retire. They plan to remove the old wallpaper and replace it with some paint (but it must go with the existing color of the toilet/tub, cabinets, and the gold hardware which won’t change). Cathy likes neutrals, pastels, and beachy colors like tans, blues, and greens and enjoys her bubble baths in that giant tub, so she’d like something relaxing and spa-like. Thank you so much! Happy Birthday Cathy! – Lisa and Shawn
Of course we were eager to serve up some surprise birthday bathroom hue help. Here are three different options for Cathy’s spacious bathroom:
And now for the disclaimer: Cathy should snag each of the color swatches that we’ve mentioned and hold them up in her bathroom to get the full effect (the swatches above aren’t nearly as rich as the true paint chips, and the coloring is only as accurate as your monitor). But now on to the color scheme breakdown.
1. Each of our palettes includes a golden brown swatch in the back to represent the cabinet color and a creamy yellow swatch which closely resembles the existing tile and those cheerful yellow fixtures. Removing the dated wallpaper will make a huge difference and replacing it with crisp khaki paint (with creamy undertones to work with the existing cabinets and tile) will instantly update the entire space. Glidden’s Cream Tan is a fantastic khaki-greeny-tan tone that will work seamlessly with all the existing elements while injecting a moody and relaxing vibe. Paired with clean white trim and plush white towels (and maybe even some white framed pictures on the wall above the tub in the first picture) the whole room will feel warm and welcoming.
2. We also learned that Cathy likes beachy blues, so this palette pairs a serene gray-blue tone with the golden tan cabinets and the creamy yellow tiles and fixtures for a balanced cool-meets-warm effect. Glidden’s Cloud Nine has the perfect amount of gray to be current and soothing without looking like a baby’s bedroom, and crisp white trim will again keep things looking fresh and new. We’ve also tossed in a chocolate accent color, which will really bring out the rich tones in the cabinets while grounding all that creamy yellow- so everything from bath mats to the towels would look handsome and elegant in a rich chocolate tone for a bit of drama and contrast.
3. Our last palette is classic and earthy. A pale sandy tan (again with some yellow undertones to work harmoniously with the existing fixtures and tile) will lend a warm and inviting look to the spacious bathroom. Glidden’s Autumn Haze will fit the bill, and we’d love to see crisp white trim and fluffy white towels to complete the soothing spa vibe that Cathy so desires.
So there you have it. Three different color suggestions for Cathy’s surprise birthday bathroom makeover. We can’t wait to hear what you guys think- especially you Cathy!
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You guys are awesome – I love the combinations you came up with, and on such short notice too. :) Thank you so much!
I really like the 2nd option. I think that blue color will really pop!
I think #3 would give the bathroom a lovely serenity. From the photos, though, I wonder if a light bulb switch-a-roo might be a big help, too. My current house had a yellow cast throughout and swapping in pink bulbs made a big difference. (Of course, the light bulbs won’t actually make the tub, etc look not-yellow, but it might dial back the yellow cast a little, assuming that wasn’t the camera.)
Also, since they’re taking down the wallpaper, they might want to consider a matte finish. I did that in one of my bathrooms (which had been wallpapered to cover up less-than-perfect walls) and really like the way it looks. It’s a bit more expensive to get matte that’s okay for bathrooms, but in my case it was well worth it. (And the matte gray-blue I used looks especially sharp with the newly shiny white trim.)
This is the best birthday gift ever!!! Thank you Lisa and Shawn. As for the colors, I really like #2…no, no wait, #3…um, maybe #1….! And, thanks everyone for the constructive comments. I’ll be sure to post the after pictures!!! Cathy
Hey Cathy,
We’re so happy that you’re happy and we can’t wait to see which palette you choose. Don’t forget to email those after pictures. Until then we’ll just be holding our breath and counting down the seconds…
Happy painting!
xoxo,
Sherry (& John)
We definitely need ‘after’ pics for this project! Can’t wait to see the change!
I know this is from 2009 but were there ever after pics posted? I would love to see…
Sadly we haven’t gotten after pics yet, but if we ever do we always post an update at the bottom of the original post (like this one). Fingers crossed that they roll in someday!
xo,
s