# What color should I paint my bathroom? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2001, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063 "2001-10-28T04:33:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/21 "2001-10-29T01:08:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cornflakes \* > **…stipple or blotch with a color over white…** SPONGE PAINT! That’s what I was thinking of (courtsey of **winterhawk11** )! ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/22 "2001-10-29T02:04:19Z")
Paint it Firebird Red for the angry shits! GRRRRRRR! ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/23 "2001-10-29T02:25:58Z")
How about staying away from purple, mauve, burgundy, wine, grape… any designer name for purple. Why. Cause purple is the ugly child of the spectrum. ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/24 "2001-10-29T02:32:12Z")
Hey, why not take a picture of the bathroom: get as much of it into the picture as you can. Then scan it into your computer, and use a photo-editor to change the color of the walls. (Hey, now there’s an idea for a product: do something like those virtual makeover thingies, but for rooms/houses.) While it isn’t as good as seeing the color in real life, it will at least help give you a better idea of what will and won’t work. If you find a combination that you really like the looks of, print it out and have the paint store match it. * * * \<\< Boldly going forward ‘cuz we can’t find reverse! --Star Trekkin’, The Firm \>\> ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/25 "2001-10-29T02:40:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\* > I’d get color swatches, but I’m just no good with those things. Unless I can see the whole place done in a color, I can’t tell if its a good match or not. (Like most males, I’m totally lost when it comes to these kinds of things. But hey! I can cook! That’s something, right?) \*\* Do you like Home Depot paint? Good. Go to the Despot. Pick up the brochure for Behr Kitchen and Bathroom paint. Open in. Look at the colors. (There aren’t that many.) There should be a linen-ish off-white. There’s your color. Now, wasn’t that easy? Really, since you aren’t trying to match anything, the exact shade is not too crucial, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. p.s. You could always ask a nice looking passing female (or male) for help in selecting a shade… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/26 "2001-10-29T04:41:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Paint it Firebird Red for the angry shits! GRRRRRRR! I have irritable bowel, I get enough of the angry shits as it is, I don’t need anything to inspire more of them. > [@](#): > > p.s. You could always ask a nice looking passing female (or male) for help in selecting a shade… Sigh, believe me, if I knew of any females I could ask this of (with the possibility of more to come later …), I wouldn’t be posting this question to the boards. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![lestrange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/aca169/32.png) [@lestrange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lestrange)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/27 "2001-10-29T13:09:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by winterhawk11 \* > \*\*One thing you might try if you’re even a little bit artsy is sponge painting. Pick a nice light background color (white, off-white, cream, pale pink, etc.) and then sponge-paint a slightly different color over it (cream background with slightly darker cream sponging, white with pale pink or pale pink with white, etc.) \*\* The key here is the “slightly different color.” Some years ago my sister read about this sponge painting technique and thought it sounded cool. So she painted her bathroom walls white and sponged red over it. That’s right, red. Plain old, crayon red. It looked like someone had sacrificed a goat in the bathroom and then swung it around for awhile, thrown it up against the wall a few times. Splat! Holy Mary Mother of God, it was eye hurting. The first time I saw it I was just off a long flight, seriously jet-lagged and hadn’t slept for 24 hours–I thought I was hallucinating. And since then, even though I’ve seen examples of sponge painting that are very nice, I still get a shudder of revulsion whenever I hear it mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/28 "2001-10-29T17:54:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\* > Sigh, believe me, if I knew of any females I could ask this of (with the possibility of more to come later …), I wouldn’t be posting this question to the boards. ☹ \*\* No, no! I mean it would be a good way to MEET females! Ask for their advice. Describe your bathroom. Mention that you are unmarried. Many women will be impressed that you care enough to bother to re-paint. Hey, the Home Depot is getting to be the Barnes&Nobles of the new decade. ---
**Author:** ![seawitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@seawitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seawitch)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/29 "2001-10-29T18:47:43Z")
One more vote for sponge painting. I just did my whole place, and it looks great. You use a lot less paint, so it’s pretty cheap to do - a pint should be plenty for the bathroom. If you don’t like the results, you can paint right over it. There are instructions and samples at Home Depot - also in the Behr section. And as others have already said, **subtle** is the key. Sacrificed-goat walls - blecch! ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/30 "2001-10-30T05:58:54Z")
Cream background, sponge painted foreground. I personally have all-white, and have accented with bright yellow and medium blue. Of course, I have to clean the danged room daily because of it. Damned rental. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/31 "2001-10-30T14:13:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by cornflakes \* > > \*\*What era are the bathroom fixtures from? \*\* > > Oh, circa the late 1990s. 😃 I forgot to mention I live in a trailer. (Hey! Stop looking at me like that! Damn it! Do you have any idea of how much apartment rent is around here? The rent on an apt. half this size is double what I’m paying now!) \*\* There is nothing wrong with living in a trailer–I’ve lived in one for over 16 years! 😃 I say white for your walls. We have one bathroom that is done with beige wallpaper and I just hate it, but when we added a bathroom, we did it in white and you wouldn’t believe how much it seems to expand the room. Light reflects off white really well, so the room is nice and bright, just the way I want! Of course, some people like darker walls because it seems cozier, so this is just MHO!! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/32 "2001-10-31T05:10:39Z")
> [@](#): > > No, no! I mean it would be a good way to MEET females! Ask for their advice. Describe your bathroom. Mention that you are unmarried. Many women will be impressed that you care enough to bother to re-paint. Hey, the Home Depot is getting to be the Barnes&Nobles of the new decade. Yeah, **Greenie** I kind of figured that, but the women I meet these days all seem to be attached more or less permanently, and the ones that work at the Home Depot are around 50 years of age, so my prospects there are a bit thin. **Ginger** any suggestions on what the foreground color should be? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/33 "2001-10-31T05:45:41Z")
In keeping with trailer decor, I suggest paneling it in knotty pine. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/34 "2001-10-31T05:53:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > \*\*In keeping with trailer decor, I suggest paneling it in knotty pine. \*\* You know, the **house** I grew up in (and we were middle class) had knotty pine paneling in the family room! 😛 You think I should put some broken down cars out front on blocks as well? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![buddy1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy1)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/35 "2001-10-31T12:01:32Z")
It seems to me that a bathroom should have a lot of “chi” (energy. So I suggest that you engage an expert to get the right color. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2001, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063/36 "2001-10-31T20:11:09Z")
Whatever color you choose…make sure it’s a semi-gloss or gloss paint! Flat (satin) grades of paint will not wear well in the bathroom due to moisture- especially if there’s a bathtub or shower. Just do it right, and give it proper time (and temp - this time of year, depending on your location) to dry! - Jinx [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-should-i-paint-my-bathroom/90063.md?page=1)