What about natural maple cabinets. They are neutral and quite light but the warmth of wood.

I've done this before but I can't get it to work. Here is a link to my album

Here is a link that might be useful: Granite tile and cabinet pictures

I don't see a lot of white in the "whitest" combination you picked so I don't think its too much. The granite and flooring are other colors. (This comes from someone with an all white white bathroom except wall color)

If you don't do white on the walls, you will be just fine. I'd stick with the white cabs too. As you said, it does not get much natural light, so it is not like it will blind you. In our last house, our family bath had a window that faced south and had a pure white vanity top, light wood vanity, white floors, white tub, toilet & tile and pale gray walls. With the light streaming in the a.m. it was awful on our eyes. I painted the walls a medium purple and that did a lot to tone it down.
I'd put the fixtures in and then experiment with wall color. Since you may need the light tones to not feel dark, you may want to keep the walls pale. Each house has different lighting, both natural and artificial, so YMMV.

I LOVE white including white bathrooms :) I think as long as you use a good color (pale blue, gray, ?) on the walls it may be fine.

OTOH, white is a bit stark and you say you want to evoke a "serene" feeling. If so, I would go with neutral colors in your bath. How about a dark wood vanity/cabinetry with light tile, walls etc?

HulaGal - I've tried to stay away from truly dark cabinets because I think they may get a little dated. I am concerned about lack of contrast.

Would an ivory and gold granite be better than the gray-white of River White? It should be warmer.

You may be right about the dark cabs "dating" it (I'm always worried about that myself), but not sure what you mean about lack of contrast? I think there would be plenty of contrast.

I think a creamier color granite would warm things up. I can't tell by your link. Which color floor tile are you thinking of?

HulaGal - I'm concerned that the relatively monochromatic scheme that I'm thinking about may need contrast (as in darker cabinets) - I probably didn't make that clear earlier.

The floor tile will really depend on the granite. I originally wanted travertine or travertine look, but now I'm leaning toward the limestone look of the City View - cream and gold granite with the French limestone City View (the more gold color) or the grayish River White with the beige or gray color. I like the limestone look because it is less busy, and I can't find a granite that I like that doesn't have a fair amount of movement.
The cream and gold would match the rest of my house, the gray would look better with the bedroom which is BM 451 Pine forest - I really don't want to repaint the bedroom.

I saw a kitchen somewhere on GW with lovely traditional cabinets - cherry paired with this awesome dark reddish kind of modern looking tile floor - my description doesn't do it justice, the floor was exactly the color of the cherry and it made everything pop. That made me want to do a dark floor, but I keep telling myself NO NATURAL LIGHT - stay with light colors.

Today, I'm leaning toward the creamy granite and cream cabinets, but wewill see what we can get at the distributor, no River Wite recently, I'd have to get it shipped in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Forest

I don't see city view in the link...?

Go with light colors. Your gut is right on that score.

I like the creamy look, but I'm no design expert. I feel bad that someone with a better aesthetic isn't helping you.

IMVHO, pine forest or similar color would be soothing and serene. Mix with creamy colors (thinking of limestone or creamy marble for my MB) and white cabinets and achieve zendom :) Truly, I love white (my kitchen will be offwhite shaker inset cabs) and I think in baths the color can be relatively timeless. I wonder if darker cabs paired with more neutral surrounds might add visual interest, a focal point if you will.

What about this restoration hardware espresso vanity? Too trendy you think? Too contemporary?

Anyway, off to bed. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vanity

Personally, I love all white bathrooms. In fact, last year I remodeled our main/guest bathroom with Daltile Navelli Carrera Star (white with gray veining) tile, white fixtures, carrera marble countertops, white vanity, and white walls. (Though I do have color in the towels.) I love it. I find it serene and clean, which is exactly what I want out of a bathroom. If I ever feel like the bathroom is too stark (which I haven't yet), I can always paint the walls with some color.

I never, never think you can have too much white! (provided there are thoughtful shades and loads of texture). We have an all white bath with creamy shaker cabs too - I worked the texture in through accessories - vintage painted white baskets (loads of patina) hold towels, wool rug from Garnet Hill, and ruffled curtain from Urban Outfitters. I find the lack of contrast so soothing and it esp works in our space since it has lots of weird angles with the roof line. Instead of seeing a awkward chopped up space - just looks kind or open and airy. :-)

I tend to agree. I think contrast is overrated as a design device and particularly in a smaller space a more closely related palette can make the room feel bigger.