Painting bathroom - what colour with grey tiles?

[BabCNesbitt]

Half of my bathroom is covered in tiles that look like these ones and the rest is painted a kind of landlord magnolia (it's been like that since I moved in years ago). There was an issue with mould that's been resolved, but the room needs to be repainted.

It's a small north-facing bathroom that gets no direct sunlight, and the floor is tiled in a slightly lighter grey. As I've no budget to replace anything right now, what colours could go with those tiles other than basic white? I'm not bothered about trying to make the room seem brighter - if anything, a way to make it feel cosier would be great - but it seems like any warmer colours would clash with all the bloody grey.

northern light is blue/purple-ish unless you have some indirect light bouncing off a wall or something
what are the undertones of the grey tiles? a green which compliments the undertone and works with northerly light is a good bet.

Pale pink.

Little Greene Julie's dream

www.littlegreene.com/julie-s-dream

@Weefreetiffany No undertones that I can see (sorry, that's not helpful) - I've just had another look and they're grey as grey can be, with the very occasional lighter grey swirl.

@Chuchoter I hadn't thought of pink, but I'm not a huge fan of pastels and that looks like it might be a bit cold in a north-facing room?

Julie's dream has a warm undertone and wouldn't look cold.

Those tiles look to have a pinkish- red swirl through them?
I'd match that.
Otherwise, dark and cosy: emerald??
Or white, and loads of colorful towels and accessories?

@SnowyIcySnow That might just be the screen or a bad choice of similar tile to illustrate my point, but these ones definitely don't have any pink or red or anything except the soul-sucking grey of despair (unless you count a bit of orangey mildew that still needs to be scrubbed off). I do like the idea of a darkish green, though.

Sage green would work

I'm inclining that way, though I was wondering if something slightly darker, maybe along these lines, might work?

Landlord magnolia, soul-sucking grey of despair and orangey mildew – someone really needs to pay you to name paint shades!

Do you reckon there's an opening at Farrow and Ball?😁

Green was my first thought, then accessorise with some low maintenance plants.

You’ll need a green with a slightly yellow undertone to work in N facing - avoid anything with blue undertones. So forest or moss green yes, teal or sea green no.

Mustardy yellow could also work but it’s quite a statement!

Yellowy greens are one of my favourite colours @minipie, so I'm definitely leaning towards a mid olive.

Just noticed that the link in my earlier post didn't work - I was thinking of something like this? www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0D2HLMCDW

Olive and grey isn’t a great combination in my view. You could go ultra sultry dark and use a colour such as a very dark bluey green or dark magenta. Or, and my preference, is pale pink. F&B have several ideas using pink and grey so I’d suggest calamine or setting plaster. The latter is a great pink for warmth and light. You can accessorize with greens or white. Plain dark grey is a blank canvas for accessories! Also use a big mirror! Reflect some light and upgrade lighting if you can.

Mine is also north facing with grey and white tiles. One wall is painted a lovely rich teal/turquoise blue, the rest is painted white. I love it.

Try F&B Light Blue - it comes up as a really warm greeny blue shade in my east facing bathroom, a bit like French Grey and it tones beautifully with my dark grey tiles.

Our bathroom is slate grey with a tiny window. We have accessorised with mustard and it's fab, really adds warmth

I have pale grey tiles and walls are painted in Setting Plaster (F&B dupe)

There’s a Little Greene colour called Jewel Beetle which could be fabulous. It’s sort of olive but rich and intense rather than washed out (ripe marinated olives rather than olive leaves!).

www.littlegreene.com/jewel-beetle

@minipie I did actually buy a Valspar dupe of that paint for my living room two or three years ago! (And then never actually painted because I am inept, so it's still sitting in the basement - how long before paint goes off?!) I think it's probably the wrong kind of paint for a bathroom, but I could at least pop the lid on the paint and try it as a tester...

My north facing bathroom is painted in Dulux Jungle Ginger 2 and 3, which are an orange-red and a dark terracotta pink. I have some legacy grey tiles and a grey shower tray. It feels much warmer than the previous mustard.

How brave are you?

You can go really bold if you are. I think half the problem with grey is that people who pick it are afraid of using colour, so go for muted similar colours rather than think about contrasting colours.

If you just go for it, I think you probably get a better look than trying to play it safe.

Google 'grey contrasting colours'. You can definitely go bright and warm with grey but you need to pick the right shade.

Don't be afraid of colour. Too many people pick colour because of the resale value, and then have no intention of moving anyway. It's you who has to live with it. Pick something you love.

We bought our house with grey floors throughout. I like colour, and brights work well with grey. Don't live in a cold house because you think you have to match similar colours. Contrasting colours are equally harmonious and satisfying.

I have just painted a north facing downstairs toilet (previously coal house), with a very small window, and grey wood effect vinyl strip flooring.The colour I’ve used is Dulux Gentle Fawn, it’s a beautiful dusky ish pale pink, very warming, lovely 🤗

I think you could make sage or olive green work

I don’t think it would work as it looks grey in north facing room, unfortunately. Pale powder would be better. Borrowed light could look cold in that room, even though it doesn’t normally. I’ve used those types of shades a fair bit.