by Laura Lee Winger

Created on: August 17, 2010

White tub, white sink, white walls, beige towels.  How uninteresting and unimaginative!  Just because it's a bathroom doesn't mean it has to be boring!  If your bathroom says "blah", or you're afraid it will, here are some tips and ideas to get you painting those white walls and accessorizing to make your bathroom say "wowza!"

Find Your Inspiration

Inspiration can come from anywhere and take any shape.  Especially with a relatively small space like a bathroom, you can easily design the whole space around one object or idea.  Do you have a favorite shower curtain, painting or bath accessory?  Maybe you want your bathroom to have the feel of a spa or a tropical getaway.  Are you a world traveler or an outdoors-type?  What's your favorite color?  If you haven't already decided on a theme or inspiration, going through this type of thought process can help get those gears turning and inspire you.  If your bathroom is somewhat detached or hidden from view of the main living spaces, all the more reason to go a little wild with it; be daring and bold!

Once you identify your main inspiration or theme, come up with one central color.  Then, use color palettes or pictures of your inspiration to choose two more colors.  With a primary color and two secondary colors, you can design your whole room. 

Use Neutral Colors Appropriately
Neutral colors, such as white, black, brown, gray and beige, can be used as in your color scheme or in addition to your color scheme.  But try to choose at least one color that is not neutral.  Mainly, you want to use neutral colors to give balance to your primary and secondary colors.  For example, if you choose dark shades of color, you will want to use white, gray and/or beige to balance out the dark shade.  Conversely, if you choose light and airy colors for your bathroom, it will tend to be very pale and ordinary unless you balance it out with darker neutrals like black, brown or dark gray.  Another note on neutrals: whoever said it was a fashion faux pas to mix black with brown or beige with gray was completely mistaken.  For example, some beige tiles have hints of gray in them, and using gray as a secondary color can really pick up the hidden beauty of gray in the beige tiles and bring it out. 

Choosing the Right Shade
Okay, you've heard it said a thousand times, don't put a dark color in a small room with little light.  Fair enough, but

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