Nothing in my home. I use color on fabrics, art, rugs. I consider it the cheapest way to change color/pattern when the mood strikes

I apologize for not answering your question, but the shower looks great with the tile as is. Any specific reason you want yo tear it down?

Yes, the upper kitchen cabinets and the glass backsplash in my last place were Benjamin Moore Ocean Air (a blue-grey-green, depending). The walls in the entire living area were this color and the cabinets were spray lacquered to match, so there was no way I would ever hand paint those cabinets a different color.

The first bathroom I did here is all Daltile 2" porcelain in Waterfall--floor and walls--a definite, sort of Oxford Shirt blue--, and the third bathroom has Ice Grey fixtures, which for a tub, toilet and sink, is a definite "color" these days, even if it is grey.

This bathroom was going to be Innocent Blush, if it were still available (pink), but getting tiles to match that was going to be difficult anyway.

The front bedroom is probably going to have woodwork (including built-ins) that matches the proposed grasscloth, which is a very dark blue.

I am not sure where all the blue is coming from, except that I do like blue in clothing and while it's definitely not neutral, it plays well with a lot of other things. Since the paint is Fine Paints of Europe and probably oil, I consider that fixed. A lot of people who use this don't repaint for decades, because you don't have to.

I am doing a number of permanent or semi permanent things in actual colors this time around, since I am doing wall coverings in a couple of rooms. The grasscloth in my parents' bedroom was 40 years old when the house sold.

I also have a lacquer table, currently in storage, that is this color

I'm with bossyvossy. Don't like strong colors on anything built-in. We never considered this our forever home, always have planned to eventually sell in our old age (which is rapidly arriving, LOL) because it takes way too much upkeep. Small house with stairs, plus large landscaped lot which has a lot of ongoing garden care that 'mow and blow' cheapies cannot do.

We keep an eye on the RE market and the best prices are for turnkey properties. Anything that needs to be redone, unless it's very minor, drops a for-sale property into the second tier.

Strong paint colors, unfortunately, fall into that second-tier category. We add color with books, pillows, rugs, throws, and art.

I'm not normally a fan of orange, but this inexpensive canvas caught our fancy due to subject matter (dragons, woohoo!) and the offsetting white and brown:

These are our Danish teak bookcases, which we have been lugging around for 30+ years. They have the warm medium woodtone that the canvas picks up. The flash distorted the wall color; it's just a flat ivory with semi-texture. But that wall is 16' high (cathedral ceiling) so we needed something to bring the eye "upwards".

Does this have to be taken out because of the remodeling? Is this also related to the color choice for the vanity in the new master bath?

We have different patterned Talavara (Mexican) tile in every bathroom, and on the counter of our built-in hutch in the dining room. The powder room also has a patterned Talavara sink. They've worked perfectly with how I've decorated each room, but if we every sell this place, they could be a detriment. I've been thinking lately about replacing the tiles on the hutch with a slab of plain dark granite. I may eventually replace the rest of it someday, as well. After 23 years in this house, I'm still not tired of it, but when I think about the possibility of selling to downsize, it makes sense. Strong colors and patterns that can't be easily changed can definitely turn potential buyers away.

My kitchen has a very busy granite that has a lot of orange in it. It was installed by the previous owner and I'm too frugal to replace it. I'm sure the next owner will rip it out immediately. I also have highly figured black powder room walls that I love. It looks like wallpaper, but it's painted.

Yes, I have a very vibrant kitchen island and kitchen cabinetry...a little too much I might add, but taking some wall cabs down made me okay with it. There are touches of the orangE-ish color in the granite and the stone on the fireplace in back corner. There was no point in fighting it and I sure wasn't going to rip it all out. So, I even added more items ( not built in) on the other wall in the same vibrant wood tones. Then, I put the extra wall cabinets in the little laundry room. Now I have Vibrant everywhere but the master bedroom.

We redid the hall bath about 6 years ago and I went out on a limb and put in colorful tiles that I saw in a picture. It is in the shower surround, floor and halfway up the wall in the small bath. The 8x8 tile colors are a deep blue(not as dark as navy, a butterscotch yellow/orange, apple green, and white laid in a random pattern throughout. It is bright and cheerful....fun for kids but not "kiddie" so ok for adults too. I do worry a bit about resale in a few years but hopefully it won't turn off buyers since most likely a family with kids will buy the house and it would be the kids' bath.

Joanie, I have blue and warm cream tile in my guest bathroom. I have never been a "blue" person as far as decorating goes but I wasn't going to rip it all out. I painted the vanity SW Navel and everyone loves that bathroom and tile. Glad I have it now .

Yeah, I have. And I will have more, since this current home - we changed it very little, except for changing flooring(not all of it bur some), and some rooms' color. I also weaved the color into our bookshelves.

The new one, we had to gut, thus we had to make all the choices (except for one bathroom-was safe to keep that tile, and I wanted to save another 20K, so had to work around it). Since I love color, I used it. But I tried hard to go with the house-I think when you keep true to the character of the house, it will work for many years.

I'd probably introduce more pattern and color than I did-but I was of firm opinion that if I do that I have to be in love..no, in Love..:) and bolder things I was in Love with(still am) were prohibitively expensive. Outrageously.

Now when I read palimpsest's post, and mentioning of good paint and how it will hold up-I'm getting sad again because our GC-or maybe his painting sub-definitely cheapened on the paint, and took the cheapest line in the brand..

We had no idea-we figured it out when one color read differently, so we went to the store to see how that could have happened.

We're not in the house yet, and it already shows. Well I understand they are working there, and dings and nicks are inevitable, and they will touch up everything again in the end (not so easy because I used a lot of paints in the house, and partially customized them too; but other people wouldn't guess how many I used-some of these are very close, in certain lighting..)). But I already foresee how we'll have to repaint much earlier than I'd like to.

But on the other hand..thinking about color..everything has color anyway. white is a color, beige is a color, grey is a color, tan is a color...I love neutrals a lot too, I used them a lot, and actually I find them very beautiful and sophisticated. There are hundreds of them too. They have a very strong say actually. They just say it differently.

My previous home was midcentury modest, a plain square post WW2 tract home. I was comfortable using color on "permenant" items, because the house was small, so it would be inexpensive to replace when if I tired of it, and the color wouldn't overwhelm.

Blue kitchen floor.

I wanted Marmoleum, but it was out of the budget. VCT gave me the look, it was cheap, and easy to install or remove if needed.

Aqua Bathtub

The tub was damaged, and a nonstandard size, but replacing was not in the budget. I had the tub reglazed aqua, to match the accent tiles. Reglazing is so inexpensive, I could easily reglaze it white if I grew bored with it.

In my current home, a 1920's Craftsman, the PO installed green granite counter tops. I love them, and plan to add a green tile backsplash.

No, I keep everything neutral so I can change color of accessories when I get bored or the seasons change.

Thanks for the responses! Justerrilynn-I really like your home! Beautiful!

Palimpsest - the blue is beautiful!!! I absolutely love it! I also am a fan of that green. I can't wait to see it all come together.

joanie-it does sound like a great bathroom for kids.

aprilneverends-paint is cheap anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it! I am looking forward to seeing pics!!!

@aimee-I love the colors in your previous mcm home - especially the yellow! I think green tiles will look awesome in you new home. The green mixer looks great!

Lynnenm-Your tile sound wonderful! I would love to see pics.

@jakton- beautiful bookcases! I am a big fan of Danish design. I love the orange painting. I am a fan or orange accents.

Palimsest and nuts - I may not move the bathroom - I am still trying to decide if it is worth it.

The office/bird room is dark. Right now, you stare at the toilet when you eat in the dining room. If I close all the doors, it seems claustrophobic. The bathroom has never been used at all as I t is not private. I have two choices - 1) move it, replace the damaged wall with a bar, and open the space up to the views. Or 2) leave it and wall the doorway in from the dining area. The shower is only 29" wide anyway. I got the orange tiles at facings so I can buy more and use them in another bath. I was thinking of not putting a shower in the new bathroom. The house will have 4.5 baths total, with 4 bedrooms, one office. I don't know if it is wiser to make it 5 baths?

Here is how it looks now, and how I modified the architects plan to replace the shower with a closet. I will have to move an underground AC return. (To do it the way he wants means moving the shower in the master bath. If I just put a closet in and don't do a shower, I don't have to move it). I was actually thinking of making the bar orange cabinets with walnut trim - it might look nice with the red/orange rock wall in the background.

Hummm, if I understand what you're asking, yes, I "think" I have something. I have a standard sized kitchen (no pantry) for an original 1200sq home. After our daughter moved out to go to college and later married, I had the idea of DH using the closet (5' long bi-fold doors) as a pantry. I wanted to have fun with it since no one would see it and I had NO purple in my house. So after the shelving was built, DH painted it purple...not that he liked it mind you <lol> Not the muted dusky purple I'm soon painting the master bedroom walls <g> Note to self: Pantry could use a little straightening :o

I love your orange shower!!!! And I would have said no, we don't have intrinsic color, but after reading the other posts -- we do -- I just don't "see" it that way, funny huh! and love the purple pantry. We have a two-room bath upstairs, smaller room has tub and toilet (and its purple -- like above!); the larger part of the bathroom is white, and I also painted the bathroom closet inside purple too.

I love those orange tiles, and Pal's green lacquer table.

We have a dark purple front door (which used to be dark green -- I wanted a change). The living room is a dark mossy green, the hallway is a pale green, and the rest of the house is a sunny, not at all pale, yellow. Oh, and when my husband retiled the shower, he made a palm tree mosaic on one wall; my problem with it is more the theme-y nature than the color.

The new house will probably also have a purple front door, and it will definitely have a cobalt blue Bluestar. And, if I can find them in this part of Canada, random mismatched blue and white Talavera tiles for the backsplash and maybe for the bathrooms, depending on cost. Am also thinking of bright or lime green walls for the laundry room and walk-in pantry.

I don't think I'm wired for neutral...

PS You should do a search here for beaglesdoitbetter's house. Beautiful blue (and yellow) as far as the eye can see : ) .

Pal, I love the blues and green table.

Lynn, I would think twice about the Talavera. From what I remember of your home photos, the probably suit the house. In a house where they fit, I would love them. I considered one for my half bath, but decided it just didn't fit the style of my house. In the garden? Sure, but not indoors.

Monicakm, I love the purple pantry. We once had an aquarium stand that we painted a similar but darker purple. It was fun. I can't remember if we painted it when we moved to this house -- we didn't keep the fish that long here.

I don't have a lot, but I have one wall of floor to ceiling cabinets in my kitchen surrounding a stainless fridge (guess that makes it half or 2/3 wall) of blue cabinets and my DR is painted a similar blue. I have an accent color on the walls below a chair rail in my FR and and accent panel in the LR. We had planned to paint the backs of the bookcases and probably will when we repaint that room. And my BR ceiling and the porch overhangs are painted blue -- that southern thing.

I also meant to say I like OPs shower and think it would be fun to plan decor around it

i have a rooster tile mosiac above my cooktop it 's mostly primary colors, black yellow green red and blue varying shades almost any color could be used with it that's the extent of my permanent colors

Just the accent tile in the bathroom shower. And paint in several rooms. And I have two window coverings with blue - no regrets there and easy to change.

The bathroom accent tile is at eye level and looks like water. I focus on it every time I take a shower. It's a happy break from the white basketweave-ish tile surrounding it, which I also love, but would be boring floor to ceiling (looks a lot like white subway tile).

Having punted your question the first time, I will add something more relevant with pics of my kitchen countertop, backsplash and newly added island, all in a very busy granite that I find mesmerizing and didn't care if it was too much of a good thing. I still stand by my original response that I like your shower as is and find the tiles totally charming!

Monica-I love that purple! Very bold and looks great in that space.

Nuts! Those counter look great. I like how they pull in some of the color from that beautiful brick. That is a great kitchen!!!

I have pale green kitchen cabinets. And blue-green tile on my hall bathroom floor. The backsplash wall in our master bath is green. I don't hesitate to use color on fixed items because I know what colors I like and don't tire of them. On walls, though, I'm finding I prefer off white in most of our rooms.

This is the kitchen we recently renovated in our lake house(recently moved full time to). We repurposed the original kitchen cabinets but changed the layout.

The backsplash tiles in the picture look greyish, but in real life they are a vibrant blue green and make quite a statement!

We had an avocado green shower surround/tub/toilet. Now we have white subway tile with glass accents in brown tones. I really lobbied for just white but DH just had to have the glass tiles. We also put in a back splash and same tile under the counter eating that features 2x2 green tile in a bed of tan. My Italian curly maple cupboard door fronts read yellow. We sure wanted to be brave and put in a dark green marble fireplace surround at the place we used to live...it is a commitment and not one to do lightly, adding "permanent" color to a space.

I don't, even though I'm not afraid of color. Other than the vinyl flooring in the kitchen and bath (B&W and beige, respectively), the hardwood (old-school orangish oak) and kitchen counter (rosa gray), there's not much that isn't painted. The hardwood is original to the house, and the others were picked out when this was going to be a rental--so neutral ruled the day.

All my color is from paint, furniture, and art.

All our tile and built-ins are all colorful. Here's the blue and yellow tile rug in our hall, you can also see the blue library ladder and yellow built-ins in our conservatory in the background:

Blue built-ins

Blue throughout the kitchen, including on the granite. And a colorful tile mural.

Dark blue in here:

Light blue tiles (and doggy tiles) in the mud room:

And a green sink in an upstairs bath, as well as a custom stained glass hand-painted tile mural.

My kitchen has interior antique brick walls anywhere there isn't cabinetry, a door, or window. They match the brick on the exterior of the house and on the fireplace in the den. Also have built-in bookcases on either side of the fireplace in the den, dark mahogany stain on them which matches the kitchen cabinetry. It's not a true open concept at all, but the rooms do flow around a corner into each other, so it's cool that there are recurring textures throughout the downstairs.

I have dark green kitchen cabinets :)

I do ... my new-to me house as of May was obviously pink at one time, and the niece who was the executor had the house painted gray and brown beige. I dislike gray and brown beige almost as much as pink ...

I immediately painted my bedroom turquoise:

I will live with the pink bathroom for a while, since I am redoing the Master Bath that has tiles that leak into the basement.

I bought this Turkish tile to use as a feature strip in my new shower, with white subway tile and a turquoise concrete countertop.

I removed the off-white wall to wall carpet that was everywhere and refinished the hard wood floors that were in good shape. And put down blue Luxury Vinyl Tile where there was plywood/sub-floor or problem hardwoods. (And yes I raised the painting higher after I bought the console for the electronics.)

In a few years when I get around to redoing the kitchen, I will add more color. Color makes me happy.

I love, love Izniks..your tile is Iznik, right? so beautiful

my problem is that I love too many things. So many gorgeous patterns, colors and designs out there..

Well, at least I have my Pinterest - this way, I can enjoy them all:)

april, yes, it's Iznik daisy and carnation 10 x 16 Turkish tile. The colors in it are just amazing!

No, not much. lol

I love the orange shower! It reminds me of a field of California poppies. What a great way to start the day ^_^ I had an orange kitchen sink in my very first apartment as a grown up. It was otherwise a very traditional space, so the orange sink was an unexpected surprise that got lots of comments from visitors.

My husband isn't nearly as adventurous as I am, so other than lots of traditional stained wood trim and built-ins on our first floor, we don't have a lot of fixed color in our house. He let me "go crazy" with black & white tile in our laundry room and kid/guest bathroom because he doesn't spend time in those rooms, but otherwise we went fairly neutral. Once we moved into our house and he loved the 2 rooms with the black & white tile, he said he wished he'd let me have freer reign in the other areas.

The most colorful built-in item we have is our kitchen counter granite. I hadn't done any research before we made the decision to build a house together, so we had to make quick decisions on fixtures and that REALLY stressed me out, especially with the kitchen. I wasn't sold on even using granite, but our builder acted like that was the only reasonable choice there was. My biggest fear was that I'd end up hating the granite I picked, but 11 years later I love it even more than I did at first. It looks like green-blue sea foam mixed with sea shells to me. I was worried it would limit color choices (for walls and such) in our open floor plan... And maybe it does, but in a good way. We don't live near the coast anymore, but I'm still attracted to things that remind me of it.

Here's a picture of it from a distance:

And a close up:

pamghatten, I'm coming in after this discussion ended, but please tell me about your blue LVT floors. What brand and style are they? I need to re-floor a room that currently has horrible carpet over a mix of bad wood floor and plywood subfloor. Did you lay this right over your wood floors?

I adore your Izkik tile, btw. When I finally get to redo my kitchen, it's going to have a LOT of color, centered around tiles – probably Portuguese, but I'm collecting options. Color makes me happy, too.

Maddybeagle, it's Earthwerks LVT, Cocktail series. Here's the link:

Earthwerks

It was laid over sub-flooring. There wasn't wood floors in the sunroom, hall or bathroom.

Thanks!

pamghatten, how do you like your LVT? We are considering that very series, also in Malibu, for our kitchen. How has it worn?