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Ace Your Bathroom Renovation with These Tips from a Main Line Color Professional

Posted by Nolan Painting on January 13, 2016

Choosing the right shades for a bathroom renovation can be a struggle. If you already have a lovely slate blue tile floor or a neutral-tone marble countertop in your bathroom, those elements might feel like they’re crippling your efforts to move forward with a renovation. Instead of struggling to incorporate the existing decorative elements in your bathroom with an entirely new wall color, why not try working with them by going for a monochromatic space? When you’re working with existing materials in your bathroom space, try drawing out the colors in the material to create a new look while retaining a harmonious feeling in the room.

 

Love the One You’re With: Cooperating with Your Countertop

If you don’t want to rip out the pre-existing surfaces in your bathroom, re-painting your cabinets and hardware can be a very attainable alternative that updates your look. In a bathroom space, the cabinets often take up such a large percentage of the total space of the bathroom that updating them can have as great an impact (if not greater) than redoing the walls. For a modern look, try going monochromatic and drawing on the tones in your countertop. With marbles, you often see a lot of gorgeous slates and warm neutral shades that will make for a very elegant finish on your cabinets. Still need a little extra zing? Replace the old hardware on your cabinets with a soothing, elegant new look. Brushed nickel sets off a cool tone like blue or gray, while a warmer brass tone can coordinate beautifully with a warm sand shade.

Another clever architectural touch for a bathroom? Try wainscoting—if you’ve chosen a bold color for your walls, or you have a punchy, statement color with your tile, a bright wainscoting can balance out the color and give a crisp, finished feel to the room. If you’re working with a powder room, you can really have fun with the space. It’s not a room you spend a lot of time in, so you have a bit more creative freedom when it comes to color and details like wainscoting. Nolan’s carpentry team can easily install wainscoting in your bathroom or powder room for a truly finished, professional look.

 

Monochromatic Schemes Lend a Spa-Like Harmony to a Larger Bathroom

A powder blue or slate gray bathroom is undeniably pleasant. Those cool tones generate a truly calming, tranquil feeling—almost like a spa. For a larger bathroom where you’re likely to relax, unwind, and take a bath, we highly recommend a monochromatic blue or blue-gray.

With any renovation, especially a monochromatic scheme, be sure to take into consideration the amount of natural lighting the space is going to get at different times of day. If you have abundant light from a bay window or skylight, monochromatic blue will mellow out the sunlight beautifully. If you have a darker space, you may want to try something warmer, like an aqua tone or a brown-toned grey, to brighten the room.

Likewise, how is that sunlight going to work with your wall color when it comes to applying makeup? Many women want a bathroom color that flatters the complexion and makes it easy to apply makeup accurately in the morning. If that’s a concern for you, avoid green tones. They don’t flatter the skin at all, whereas a warm tone will portray you in your best light, which is just what you need to start your day off right.

 

The Final Touches: Choosing a Paint and Accessorizing the Space 

With a bathroom, there are a lot of ways to add color to a monochromatic scheme. Since you’re likely already switching out your bathroom linens, such as hand-towels and shower curtains, throughout the year, that can be an opportunity to see which colors work well with the space. Additionally, you may find that your cabinetry hardware offers enough sparkle and punch against a monochromatic ground that it’s really all the accessorization you need.

The small space and many architectural details of a bathroom make it one of the most exciting and fun spaces in your home to renovate, and the color professionals at Nolan Painting can offer you renovation tips and help guide you toward a result that you’re sure to love. Additionally, our painters can help you select the right paint for your needs—we even offer mildew-resistant bathroom paints to ensure that your new finish stays looking good throughout the years. If you’re considering a bathroom renovation for your Main Line home, get in touch with Nolan’s experienced team of carpenters, painters, and color consultants. We’ve been partnering with families along the Main Line since 1979, and we’d be happy to help you see the bathroom of your dreams become a reality.