Hi Annie,
I love your blog and read it religiously since discovering it via Washingpost.com. I have a question I’m hoping you can answer.
I moved into a relatively new house about a year ago (it was built in 2003), and while the master bath is very spacious, it has very generic “builders beige” tile throughout (4×4), plus honey colored cabinets and horrible lighting.
I had grand dreams of replacing and personalizing, but with the economy the way it is I need to do something a little more budget-friendly. What color would you recommend that would make the bath a bit less generic but work with the tiles I have? I’m happy to paint the cabinets too.
Thanks for your help! Hope you had fun in Miami :)
Kate
P.S. I painted the ajacent master bedroom Pale Powder by Farrow and Ball, if that helps.
A: Hello, Kate! Darn those builders. I refer to a similar color as “rental unit cream.” Ick. (Gentle Readers – the above pictures are NOT from Kate, but I thought it would be helpful to have something in mind.)
I’m going to assume that your tiles go up the walls and therefore are a major design element in the room. I think the biggest bang for your buck actually would be painting the cabinets FIRST. The honey-colored wood could look dated.
Use a medium color darker than F&B’s Pale Powder (very helpful to know that, btw). Sticking w/ Farrow & Ball, Stone Blue, No. 86 is a beautiful medium blue; Castle Gray No. 92 is a sophisticated gray-green.
If you have energy left to paint the walls, Green Blue No. 84 or Teresa’s Green No. 236 would look lovely with either color cabinets. (That’s Teresa’s Green on the dado in the above picture, taken from the book Farrow & Ball: The Art of Color.)
Good luck, Kate!