I stood in front of the beige walls in my small bathroom last spring and stared at them. I am sure you are familiar with that type of builder’s beige. You know the kind that looks dirty even when it is clean? Those walls were my reality at 6:30 A.M. every morning and, to be honest, my mood has begun to suffer as a result.
As for my bathroom, it is a small space – approximately seven feet wide by five feet deep. I have standard white fixtures and a simple mirror. It’s not fancy. However, I spend actual time in that space. Not simply a rush to get ready in the mornings. I spend time in the evenings. Face masks on weekends. Bathes at night when my back is sore. Late night conversations with my sister while I am washing off my makeup. That small space had to earn its keep.
For months I had been debating whether I wanted to paint the bathroom. Maybe even longer. Bathrooms always seem difficult to paint. The water creates a lot of humidity. There are fixtures to consider. Honestly, paint swatches overwhelmed me. When I would take paint swatches home and compare them to the lighting in my bathroom, they always looked dramatically different. I thought sage green looked muddy. That trendy dusty pink was not working. Navy was too dramatic for a windowless area.
While wandering around my local hardware store on a random Tuesday night (don’t ask why I was there at 7 P.M. — adulting is odd) I came across a color called “Stone Blue” by Benjamin Moore. It wasn’t navy. It wasn’t gray. It was somewhere perfectly in the middle. The sample swatch of the paint appeared to be almost chameleon-like in the store’s fluorescent lighting. Depending upon the angle, the color shifted from blue-gray to green-gray.
I purchased a sample swatch. The sample swatch cost me four dollars. Best four dollars I’ve ever spent.
When I returned home I applied a fairly large swatch of the paint on the wall behind my toilet. The next morning, I went into my bathroom and literally stopped. The color of the wall looked absolutely different in my bathroom light. Warmer. More elegant. Almost spa-like. But not too elegant. Just like one of those high-end hotels. And the paint didn’t try too hard to look like one.
What truly sold me on the color was how it made my white fixtures appear to be intentional and not simply… there. My white pedestal sink, which is a basic design, looked crisp and clean against the background. The white molding surrounding my mirror became visible in a way it hadn’t previously. Even my chrome towel racks appeared to be polished.
I spent the weekend painting. One gallon of paint was sufficient for the entire room, with paint left over (and the advantage of small bathrooms).
I selected a satin finish for the paint. Let’s be honest. Bathrooms are wet. Steam exists. You will eventually drop a tube of toothpaste on the floor. You don’t want to be repainting next year because you decided to save twenty dollars on paint quality.
The results were instant. Not only did the bathroom appear differently. The emotional response was significant. The space no longer felt like I was tolerating it. It felt designed. Intentional.
Additionally, my daily routine has also evolved. I was surprised. Prior to painting the bathroom, I would quickly perform my morning routine while avoiding eye contact with those awful beige walls. Now, I linger a little longer. I notice how the color of the walls changes during the day based on the light coming from the hallway. In the morning, the light in the bathroom appears cooler and bluer. In the evening, under my warmer bathroom lighting, the walls appear cozier and more gray-green.
Friends began to comment when they visited. “You changed something in your bathroom. It feels so much nicer.” Most of them could not identify exactly what I had done to the space. They just knew it felt better. That is the power of selecting the correct color for your space rather than simply accepting what came with it.
In terms of the cost of the project. It was absurdly inexpensive relative to the benefits. One gallon of Benjamin Moore Advance paint (good paint that is specifically designed for kitchen and bathroom areas): $65. Sample pot: $4. Paint roller and brush kit: $12. Total: $81 for a total bathroom renovation.
I have made many expensive mistakes before. That $300 light fixture that looked incredible online, but created weird shadows in my hallway. The $150 decorative pillows that were too flashy to use. This was the opposite. Maximum impact for minimum financial investment.
It was ironic. I had been so fixated on finding ways to update my bathroom with expensive items. New vanity. Different mirror. Tile work. What it ultimately needed was color. The right color. A color that would make everything else appear intentional and cohesive, rather than just random leftover materials from contractors.
If you are thinking of painting your bathroom, but are intimidated by the number of options available, I learned two things. Test your sample paint swatches at various times of the day. The warm afternoon light is very different from the harsh morning fluorescent lighting. Additionally, don’t be hesitant to incorporate color into small spaces. I was concerned that Stone Blue would cause the bathroom to feel smaller. To the contrary, it made it feel cozier than small. There is a difference.
Finally, please invest in good-quality bathroom paint. While it may cost a little more money, I promise you will appreciate the fact that the paint will withstand the moisture.
