I would go with one shade darker than your sink and bowl. I think that your paint needs to help let the counter be the star.

I would think about a pale blue.

I have been impressed lately with how well greens go with blues.

I would go with a color in the same family as, but a shade lighter than the shower wall tiles. Something in the light creamy beige realm. Typically I do not light beige much, but I think it would look lovely in your space. Like dianalo, I would want the beautiful rainforest green tiles to take center stage.

And to add in some unsolicited advice (feel free to disregard), I would recommend swapping the top and bottom right pictures (of the grouping of four) to distribute that lovely green color of the bottom photos that seems to go so well with your rainforest green tiles.

By the way, your bathroom is really beautiful. The tile work on the countertop is really well done. And I love the accenting green knobs and towels.

Wow, so many ideas already. dianalo, I didn't really understand your suggestion about a shade darker than the sink, which is just white. Aspen White is on the walls now, and I guess that would be a shade darker, or if you look at this again would you tell me what you mean? I agree the rainforest should be the star. I wanted it in my kitchen but DH couldn't live with it, so this is my consolation prize.

barb, I took a light blue towel down there. It's interesting, but I think (at least the shade I had) doesn't live up to the rainforest green. I'll get some paint strips though to look at other shades.

pricklypear, you are right about the rain forest photos; I changed them around already. I'm going to take a pic of a very light apricot strip I have and post it this evening. I hope you guys will come back and tell me what you think. It just picks up the lightest orangey color in the rainforest. But I'm capable of making huge color mistakes and if you all think it's going to detract from the marble I don't want to do it. I love the little rainforest knobs also. My sister complains that she couldn't put a mismatched towel up if she wanted to when she visits, all I have down there are shades of green, copper/brown, and white!

I too think the tile guy did a great job; unfortunately we paid him in advance, he said his wife needed an operation, and he never came back and finished the job in the rest of the house. Left us $2000+ in the lurch, and we never could find him again; gave up after a year. We had references, but I guess he'd run into trouble since the references knew him. Live and learn, I hope.

Thanks for your help, everyone.

I'm picturing something warm and kind of golden. From the pics, it seems like the green countertop has some golden undertones and I think pulling those out will really warm up the space while still taking your eye to the gorgeous stone. As long as it wouldn't clash with the tile (I can't tell from the pics if they're golden or beigey - tile color is hard to capture & interpret digitally!)

I had a master suit painted in a retired SW color, Raffia Basket, that you can still get mixed. My color scheme was a deep mossy green with white accents, reddish/oak wood, and some beiges via natural fibers (linen, burlap, etc.) The Raffia Basket did amazing things to enhance the green, I adored the combination. It's also not so golden that beiges compete/clash, so even if your tile is more beigey it might still work.

{{!gwi}}

Apricot could work. Definitely not blue.

I'd go a little farther. I'd paint the cabinet first...a deeper more neutral green in the same family as the darkest green in your countertop, or a rich loamy dark brown...I think the very nice but not very special wood of the cabinet is holding your style level down.
Then I would choose a rich copper color for the walls and the ceiling. Let the shower area be paler, and minimize its presence with a shower curtain in some combination of those colors. Make your own rainforest right there.

More apricotey:

And if you're feeling the coppery accents (I'm kinda digging this):

(pulled from the ruddier veins in your countertop)

I find in interesting that even just a little darker than your original white walls makes a big difference. I like all three colors/shades...

Verrry interesting! Avesmor, thanks much for the sample photos. The "felicity" that I have the strip of is lighter and not as pink as the Raffia Basket looks on my computer, but I think my monitor isn't very accurate. I think I like the lighter look, but the darkest apricot would sure be more dramatic. True Value is just down the street in this rural burg; I'm going to go get a sample and put a splotch of it on the wall. The tile seems grayish to me, with a little bit of a warmer color in it that might go well with the apricot.

bronswynsmom, I see the picture you're painting. I know oak isn't the thing to do these days, but DH would have a coronary if he found me covering the oak with paint and, truth to tell, I like the oak and wouldn't want to cover it. We got the clear shower curtain so the marble in the shower could be seen, and thought that would make the bathroom look bigger, but I totally get your idea of making the bathroom vibrant and dramatic with the colors you're suggesting, including a new shower curtain. I don't know if I'm brave enough. I'm going to go get that sample of "felicity" and start there; will see if DH can visualize the drama you guys are suggesting when he gets home this evening.

Avesmor and bronwynsmom, I know we won't be painting the oak; do you think the more vibrant look can work if we leave the oak as is? Thank you so much. This is fun! You are so imaginative.

Of course. You can leave your oak as she is and still have a big impact.
(I don't know what it is about boys and painting wood, but there it is!) It looks to be very nice quality, and will look just fine.

The idea of the clear curtain is a good try, but in reality, you don't see through it clearly as if it were a window, and after a while, a clear curtain picks up crinkles and soap and looks a bit like saran wrap! It's really hard to maintain any elegance with it, and I'm a big proponent of elegance at all levels of formality. I think it's good for the soul.

And, darling, quit equating a can of paint and a couple of yards of fabric with courage!
If you have children; if you are willing to drive on the freeway; if you have been married more than twenty minutes; if your husband has a mother; if you've ever tried to make a soufflé, you have plenty enough courage to paint a little ol' bathroom and hang up a piece of curtain material! Give it a go. Maybe you have to do it over later. Horrors!!!!
(Winking smiley face here...)

Behr has a color called Applesauce Cake, or something very close to that. I used it a few years ago. It's a warm terra cotta without going orange. It might be a good starting point if you like something along the lines of the apricoty range.

Oak goes very well with most red-based colors. I would not paint the wood myself. I'm not a fan of oak, but I'll take it over covered grain.

Raffia Basket isn't pink at all, it's a very warm tan/gold neutral. My paint program is attuned to monitors with off colors, so it's probably me having over-compensated trying to get the color to look true.

Go to this page. Pictures 8 - 14 are Raffia Basket.

Oak against a rich, spicey color always makes it look much better, IMO. :)

bronswynsmom,you really made me chuckle. Well, I'll refine it to I don't have courage when it comes to color. I've dealt with all the items you mention and more. Come to think of it, I once had all the windows in our living room taken out and made larger when DH was on a 3-day business trip. He survived that, but painting oak would put him on the floor.

Maybe I don't have imagination with color. Whatever it is, you guys have it, and I appreciate it. The clear shower curtain doesn't work, huh? Dang!

avesmor, thanks for the photos of Raffia Basket. It looks lovely on your walls. I tried to calibrate my monitor but it doesn't seem to be working. Maybe I'll get a can of something more dramatic too and surprise DH when he gets home tomorrow.

Thanks so much, both of you.

I really lOvE your countertop, especially the foamy looking vein in it. I'm one of the few that isn't usually a fan, so I had to tell you how exceptional yours is! Not that I'm an expert. I also like the silver and gold fixtures. What I'm trying to say is, your guest bath has so much personality, I likey. :^)

My vote is for a pale wall color, so that the countertop remains the star. A pale watery blue might look very pretty with the orangey oak tones.

Oh, prairiegirlz, thank you so much! I fell in love with rainforest and had to have it somewhere. This little bath is near my downstairs office too so I get to see the marble every day.

Two of you have mentioned blue now for the walls. I just can't picture it, but maybe I'll try a splotch of blue also just to see what you have in mind before I decide on the final color.

Thanks again for your kind words!

I like that apricot and then complement it with a couple of apricot towels. Your bathroom is cute!!!

vampiress, you mean the middle one that avesmor illustrated? I'm going for the paint today, thought I'd try the pale and the darkest shades, but maybe I'll try several.

Just found this today. What did you eventually go with for your colors? I would have suggested charcoal for the walls, it would have tied in with the shower tile color and the veins in the countertop.

Dare to be different. Yes a small room but the embellishments stand out against dark colors. To me peach/apricot colors with the green are so predictable.

In my Dad's house we did white wainscotting on the bottom and chocolate brown on the top. Multicolored slate tile on the floor. Best looking room in the whole house.

Betty

I too just saw this today and I echo going dark on the walls. We have SW Quiver Tan in our dining room under the chair rail (a dark brown, not tan at all) with SW Wool Skein (a light grey/beige) above the chair rail. I love the Quiver Tan color and want to repaint our powder room that color.

I like the creamy white/beige more than the salmon color. It does highlight the green counter.

I just saw this today, too. Now I'm aching to use that coppery color somewhere in my house. I'm thinking master bath, but the connecting bedroom color scheme would clash. Hmm....

YOu have a small bath with a lot of light colored tile everywhere, and not a lot of wall space. I would paint the walls the deep burgundy color that is in the countertop.

Change out the artwork to larger frames with a little room for matting, the matting in the cream color of the toilet, and the frames in a silver to add a little sparkle against the burgundy walls.