I also chose to do white paint (with white tile) in a new bathroom remodel. The bathroom is average sized, but has no windows. I think it's a personal preference as to what color (or lack of color) looks best. And it all depends on what "feeling" you want from the room. I think Sweeby is right that a deep paint color would be dramatic (and possibly cozy and warm, depending on the color) and have a very pleasant feeling. I wanted an open, crisp, clean feel and had no desire for cozy or warm. Though I'm not done with the remodel, so far I'm very pleased with the color. I'm not certain that I can give you specific colors to try, but I can tell you how I selected mine. I took every single white paint chip home from the store and sat down with the paint chips and my tile. I then sorted through the "definitely nots" (whites that had too much yellow, pink, blue, green, etc) and narrowed down to a few that I really liked. I then really held them up to the tile I'm using to see how the colors played off of each other. My concern was that I did not want the tile or the paint to look "dirty" due to an unflattering contrast. I ended up selecting Ralph Lauren "Grand" because I felt it best complimented the color of the tile. Unfortunately I don't think the color I selected fits your "clear but creamy". But I do highly recommend grabbing as many paint chips as you can and holding them against the materials you have selected until you find one that compliments the room.

Don't do a recessed light above the sink, you will get shadows. Don't do ONLY a recessed light above the sink. I also used pretty glass tile in the showers and it looks really nice when illuminated with 2 lights and dimmed just a bit. Ambiance lighting for when guests use the full bath downstairs! That sounds so nice! Two additional thoughts, not related to the above note: As you plan your lighting, consider your color scheme. If you're going with today's trendy lots-of-white, maybe-some-gray color scheme, light's going to bounce off those stark whites and could feel harsh. On the other hand, if you're using a softer, darker color scheme, those darker colors will "absorb" some of the light; so you'd need to ask whether you'd need more light fixtures. I like to read in the tub, so I definitely plan to have a light of some sort "behind me" for that purpose.

Thanks. If I do 4 lights over the vanity in the master, what size recessed lights should be used? I'm doing 4" lights throughout the house but would the lights over the vanity be smaller than that? The article doesn't mention what size to use. I can't center lights over the sinks because of ceiling joists but maybe I could place 4 small recessed lights similar to the digthisdesign article. For kids bath, it seems a bit overkill to do 4 recessed lights over the vanity. Will it really be that bad if I just center two recessed lights in the room for general illumination? I have 3 boys so no one should be putting make up on in there (most likely).

The recessed lights are fine. They are for general lighting. The sconces are the more specific task lighting and will eliminate any shadowing. That’s quite a lot of light, actually. You may want to tweak the wattage of the bulbs later, depending on how it feels after you get it all together. I would also put a dimmer on one or both light switches for late night visits. Tip: address appliance outlets in the vanity while you can - if you haven’t already. If you’re right handed, having the cord strung across the sink is a pain. I had an outlet installed down the right side of the vanity and have my hair dryer on a hook there. You may have a better solution for storage inside, but either way it’s a good time to take care of it.