Bathrooms, powder rooms, the water closet, or whatever you call it- this little room is often an afterthought in the home design process. But why must it be?
You start and unwind every day here; it is your personal concert-for-one location. Make it a lovely place to refresh by choosing the right bathroom color ideas with the help of a bathroom planner tool.
Today, we are talking all about making bathrooms beautiful. Specifically, paint ideas for small bathrooms. Whether you are a professional interior designer, a newbie, or want to improve your master bathroom or guest bathroom situation, you will find bathroom paint color ideas you will love.
Let’s start with some basics.
Importance of Choosing the Right Bathroom Paint Color
If you are reading this, we are sure you understand why giving bathrooms some love matters. Intentionally designed bathrooms can impact the mood of those using the space. It can also punctuate your brilliance and attention to detail as a home designer.
✅ Bathroom paint colors are the basis of most bathroom design decisions. Color psychology explains how colors evoke different feelings in humans. White for purity, black for dramatical, purple for luxury, and so on.
✅Choosing the perfect bathroom color schemes can also help tie the room in with the living room and the rest of the house.
✅ Moreover, the choice of color can make a small bathroom appear larger and more inviting.
How to Choose the Best Paint Color for Your Bathrooms?
Picking a bathroom paint color may not always be the most intuitive decision to make. As with every other design decision, this is another determination that must be made with multiple factors in consideration.
Here are some factors you should consider when choosing color schemes for bathrooms:
- The floor plan/layout of the bathroom (plumbing, windows, door, etc.)
- Existing fixtures and other essentials to be added (a shower, storage, a mirror, etc.)
- Design style and aesthetic of the rest of the home.
- Redesign limitations (can’t paint walls, no retiling, can’t change the plumbing, etc.)
- How you want someone who walks into the bathroom to feel.
- The budget for the makeover.
Considering these factors will help you choose the best color schemes for your bathroom every time. The best color scheme for you is one that works, a practical one that feels cohesive with the rest of the space, and a scheme that leverages the existing features of the bathroom.
7 Ways to Make Your Small Bathroom Look Bigger with the Right Bathroom Paint Color
A small bathroom can be designed in two ways. You can either bask in the coziness of a small space and choose to enhance its “small-ness” or implement some neat design ideas and tricks to make it look spacious and luxe.
More often than not, you will want to make a small bathroom appear bigger. This will make it less claustrophobic and offer a relaxing bathroom experience.
These are some of our top tips to make a small bathroom look bigger.
1. Go White
The tried and tested answer to making any space feel bigger is to go white. While that may sound a little redundant at this point, it does work! A white bathroom is a classic choice that opens up the space and makes it appear bigger than it is.
2. Choose Limited Colors
The answer to making a small space look bigger does not always have to be white wall paint. You can choose any color you like, even dark colors. Just keep the palette clean and limited, and you will still make the small bathroom look larger and add some character.
3. Reflect Light
The reason white wall color works in small spaces is it reflects the maximum amount of light. You can replicate the same effect by strategically placing reflective surfaces like mirrors, metals, and even glazed white tiles in line with the natural light.
4. Reduce Visual Clutter
One thing that never makes a small space feel bigger is filling it up with objects that don’t belong. Plan efficient storage to house all bathroom essentials away from plain sight. Leave out only what needs to be visible. We also suggest keeping home decor that takes up surface space on countertops to a minimum.
5. Utilize Vertical Space
Adding visual height to a small bathroom can immensely help make it look larger. A few ways to do this are to have shower curtains close to the ceiling, add high storage, suspend plants from the ceiling, and even hang art higher than you usually would.
6. Light Right
Supplement the right small bathroom color ideas with smart artificial lighting decisions. Don’t restrict to just ceiling lights. Use floor lights, lamps, and other ambient light fixtures to make the space look well-lit and bigger.
7. Avoid Visual Obstructions
Minimize opaque obstacles in the small bathroom. Choose transparent or translucent materials for shower curtains, bath area separators, window panes, et cetera. This way, you will keep the line of sight clear, allow light to pass through, and make the bathroom look spacious.
27 Best Bathroom Paint Color Ideas
Ready to pick the best color scheme for your bathroom? Browse through our top 20 picks for some inspiration.
It’s always good to remember that bathroom paint colors are not the only way to utilize your best bathroom colors. Consider wallpapers, shelves, decor, furnishings, marble, plants, metals, glass, floor tiles, and even art as tools to bring out a color palette.
1. Tropical White, Orange and Green
Bring a breath of freshness to a small bathroom with a bright white paired with a fun orange and calming green. Add accents of warm natural woods or even mix metals to go along with this palette.
You can also use wallpaper in this theme to create an accent wall, like in the image below. This color combination will make the bathroom look bigger and make every trip to it pleasant.
Read also – What Is an Open-Concept Bathroom and How You Can Design It in 2024?
2. Contemporary Moroccan Blue and White
This classic combination of Moroccan blue and white makes an impact. Traditional patterns enhance this combination so do glazed bathroom tiles. Natural wood, glass, and chrome fixtures complement this combination well.
3. Classic Black and White
This combination ensures elegance. Pair black and white for contrast. Mix them up with walnut wood, matte black or gold faucets, and a unique mirror. Count on plants to bring some freshness.
Read also – 20 Amazing Bathroom Backsplash Ideas
4. Neutral Taupe, White and Black
Pair these colors for a spa-like feel with the coziness and warmth of a home. Taupe, white, and black make a no-fuss color palette that goes well with different marble finishes, wood types, rugs, and soft furnishings.
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “This combination works in almost any room. By this, I mean that it does not get overly grey or brown because there is still a certain warmth to it which can be used with both modern and traditional furnishings.” |
5. 60’s Pastel Rainbow
Not for the faint of heart, this color palette is truly a punch of personality and fun. A break from the usual white bathroom, a colorful bathroom paint color will leave all your guests talking about it for days.
Read also – 20 Best Bathroom Decor Ideas
6. Sunshine Yellow and White
What’s a more energizing and uplifting color than a bright sunshine yellow? Pair it with a calming white for balance. Add dashes of light green with plants and complement the yellow with gold hardware and faucets.
7. Serene Brown and White
It doesn’t get more neutral than this. For minimalism lovers, light brown and white is the best color scheme for a small bathroom. The earthy brown keeps the space grounded, while the white elevates the sense of space. Pair this with accents of white and even natural concrete floor tiles.
8. Blushing Powder Pink, Green, and White
Want color but love neutral colors only? Look beyond brown. This pink and green bathroom wall color can make any small bathroom a pleasant space. Add pops of white, black, brown, and even blue. A lot goes with this palette of colors.
9. Wabi Sabi Browns
Monotone, but with depth. Wabi-sabi-esque browns are a great way to use one color but play with different shades and undertones. This technique works elegantly in tiny bathrooms. Create a sense of openness while adding depth and texture.
Read also – 18 Ways To Integrate Japandi Interior Design Style Into Your Home
10. Dark Alcove Brown
Embrace the smallness of your bathroom with a 360-degree dark brown. Accent with thoughtful lighting choices. Use mixed metals and blacks for added depth. This bold choice makes for a cozy, luxe, and modern bathroom space.
11. Calming Olive Green and White
Greens have been reclaiming their space in interiors. Take this calming natural color into your small bathroom as well. Pair it with a pristine white and add accents of pink and matte black for extra contrast. This combination also allows you to mix metals for faucets and fixtures.
| Jarret Yoshida, Principal Designer at Jarret Yoshida Interior Design says, “Green works gorgeously with white, walnut and oak flooring which 95% of new construction is built with, so it’s a real winner in my book. It has a gorgeous translucent effect that opens up a room while complementing nearly any kind of upholstery in the neutral ranges.” |
12. Youthful Pinks and White
This color scheme makes a statement, and how! Combine tone-on-tone pinks, and balance them out with some white through wall color, countertops, and faucets. You can also include gold, chrome, or brass hardware and fittings for a bit of added glam.
13. Soothing Sapphire Blue and White
The serene combination of blue and white is best suited for small bathrooms. Both colors evoke feelings of calm and purity, leaving those who visit refreshed. Combine with accents of black and gold or chrome for a luxe feel.
14. Neat Nickel, White, and Black
An often overlooked color, nickel makes for a lustrous, jewel-tone color without being too loud. It’s a neutral color, yet it is special. Combine this color with white and black accents for a large, clean, calm-feeling small bathroom.
15. A Gray Affair
Another color that can make a small bathroom shine is light gray. Experiment with combining shades and undertones of grays with silver metal elements for an even tone-on-tone effect. Warm woods and white accents, along with plants, can ground the space further.
| Jarret Yoshida, Principal Designer at Jarret Yoshida Interior Design says, “I have been using this gray for the past two decades. Not too dark that it makes a bathroom oppressive, not too light that you barely notice it, it also isn’t too warm or cold, so it works well with nearly any kind of natural wooden tones.” |
16. Luxe Feldgrau and Brown
A small bathroom can still be remodeled to appear luxurious, indulgent, and modern. The greenish-grey jewel-like feldgrau or teal combined with brown can give the smallest spaces an edge of extravagance. Add gold accents and hardware with creative lighting for more elegance.
Read also – Average Bathroom Size Guide
17. Delicate Powder Blue and White
If calming were a color scheme, this would be it. The combination of powder blue and white makes for one of the best color schemes for small bathrooms. Both colors reflect light very well, making the bathroom look large. Accents of black and wood complement this color palette.
18. Burnished Brown and Off-White
Ditch the bright white for a beige combined with rusty burnished brown. This unique combination will surely make your bathroom stand out from others. Bring interest with texture through marble, terrazzo, tile, rugs, etc.
19. Classy Oxford Blue and White
This blue and white color scheme is a pairing you can trust not to fail. It has contrast, it has personality, and it is still neat. Oxford blue and white make for a trusted combination that has not been leveraged enough in bathroom design.
20. Classic White-on-White
The all-white bathroom is a formula for success. Add interest with pops of color if you like. You can also choose a synchronous wood tone across elements for personality. Mix metals, and add soft furnishings, flowers, and plants as desired because the white palette makes for a great base to work upon.
21. Elegant Charcoal and Gold
This color combination is a wondrous mix of sophistication and luxury. The charcoal is rich, deep in color, and makes for a fine, bold backdrop. It works beautifully when applied to larger surfaces such as walls, cabinets, etc to set that tone.
The gold on the other hand hints at grandeur, and adds a touch of elegance to the overall aesthetic. You can use gold sparingly – in electrical fixtures (gold-colored wall scones, etc), hardware, mirrors, etc to add glamour.
22. Soft Mint and Grey
Makes for a refreshing and calming atmosphere in a bathroom. The grey acts as a stabilizing influence in the bathroom, while the mint looks refreshing. Use mint as a wall color, so that the entire space looks airy, light, and grounded. Use grey on cabinets, floor, and bathroom countertops, to balance the aesthetic.
23. Warm Coral and Cream
Coral is a lively cheerful color, best suited for refreshing spaces like a bathroom. Cream is great to show a light and airy space. Blend both colors right and you have yourself a vibrant bathroom. Use coral in focal points – accent walls or decorative elements like towels and rugs.
Great for spaces that need a boost of light and energy. Cream can be used on larger surfaces like walls, tiles, and fixtures. It’s a fantastic color to serve as a neutral backdrop. It tones down the intensity of other bold colors you use and works well in all design styles.
24. Rich Burgundy and White
This is a fine mix of bold and elegance, showing depth and sophistication. White is the color of brightness and cleanliness. It also exudes luxury and refinement. Burgundy emits warmth and makes the space rather inviting to spend time in. Use it on accent walls, as a striking contrast to white. Use white predominantly – tiles, fixtures, linens, etc to bring an aura of freshness.
25. Cool Teal and Grey
A brilliant mix of two cool and calming tones. The cool teal is a refreshing touch to the bathroom when used in walls and as shower tiles. It evokes the feeling of being at sea, close to calming water bodies, and melts your stress away.
It works amazingly well with contemporary-style bathrooms, and when paired with neutral colors like grey. The grey is a stable and understated color when paired with teal. Use it on flooring, cabinetry, and accessories to ground the space and make it seem harmonious.
26. Earthy Terracotta and Beige
Balance a rusty, organic vibe with soft neutrals with this color combination. Terracotta can be applied to the floor, and feature walls to create a warm feeling. It also instills a sense of nature and looks welcoming. Beige, on the other hand, can be applied to walls, cabinetry, and fixtures, as it gives a neutral background.
Deep, rich tones of navy blue matched with the warm, regal, metallic accents of brass make for a majestic bathroom, in all its glory. Use the chic navy on walls and cabinetry, to create a luxurious atmosphere, and make a bold statement. Use the brass accents on fixtures, mirrors, and accessories, and brighten the room as a whole.
Visualize, Plan, and Design Your Bathroom with Foyr Neo
A small bathroom is not always a challenge. The next time you get the opportunity to remodel one, we hope you get excited about using one of these bathroom paint colors. Many elements come together when deciding the best paint color. However, they are a fascinating way to practice maximization.
Sign up for Foyr Neo’s 14-day free trial today, and see which paint colors work for you.
FAQs
Opt for cohesive colors that harmonize with the flooring, tiles, and fixtures; consider soft blues, greens, or subtle earth tones to create a serene atmosphere while tying the elements together.
Yes, for small bathrooms, stick to light, cool tones like soft blues or greens to create a sense of airiness, while larger bathrooms can handle richer, warmer colors like deep grays or navy blues for added drama.
Introduce vibrant hues through accessories like towels, rugs, or artwork, or consider adding a statement piece of furniture in a bold color to inject personality and visual interest without overwhelming the space.
Semi-gloss or satin finishes are ideal for bathroom walls as they provide durability and moisture resistance while reflecting light to enhance brightness and create a sense of spaciousness.
Light, airy shades like pale yellows, soft grays, or creamy whites can help brighten up a dimly lit bathroom, while avoiding dark colors that may make the space feel smaller and more closed-in.
