Paint the walls white and the vanity black. The grout (?) of the backsplash will disappear.

I like Judy's idea to paint the walls white and the vanity black. I'm truly not trying to be mean, but the bathroom doesn't have a lot of light and the gray in there is a bit depressing.

@JudyG Designs, I think that's white Schluter edging on the backsplash.

I don't mind the rattan drawers, they add a bit of an organic feel to the space.

Thanks for the responses. I had thought of black, but I knew that the wall color didn't work. I hadn't considered white walls. What about the wallpaper? I am open to replacing it. Any suggestions or would it work to keep it?

It's possible that we can find some soapstone for a backsplash. I find that nothing in the bathroom works together...It has felt like such a disconnect to me. If the walls are white, what wallpaper would look good? The wall has no texture, so it would be nice to keep it as wallpaper, rather than paint.

Would you paint the walls the same white as the doors and trim, or a slightly different shade of white??

I would paint the same white as the doors and trim. Paint those in semi-gloss and the walls in eggshell. You could change out the paper for something that works with the new wall color. Or you could leave it off, add shelves over the toilet and artwork to the long wall.

If you remove the backsplash, which I agree doesn't work super well, I would run the new one across the back only and leave the side open.

Another option would be to paint, change the backsplash, leave the wood vanity as is to keep something organic feeling in the room, and add black hardware. I would keep the rattan cabinet where it is-I like the storage.

Black, white and wood is very on trend now. And I know it's a simple thing, but I would change out the handles on the linen cabinet to black as well.

In our master bathroom, we have the same soapstone countertop and same tile floor. However, there is lots of natural light. Maybe the same painted wood backsplash? The master bathroom has the black windowsill and and black floor trim but has the light grey walls.

I like the white wall idea for the guest bathroom to brighten up a small darker room. If I repaint the handles on the door black, and add black hardware, would I also leave the floor trim black? Or have it the same white as the doors and windowsill/trim?

Also, I'm trying decide a plan of attack! It seems like this course might be logical....

Remove the backsplash (but how do I repair the drywall so it looks good?)

Paint the walls white

Remove the wallpaper and then make a decision

Finally, decide on what to do with the vanity

I would keep all the trim white.

Removing the backsplash may be the most difficult part and may necessitate you doing booth sides. after you take off the backsplash and assess the damage, you will either have to patch it or cut it out completely and add new drywall. Then I would remove the wallpaper, paint and decide if you want to add new wallpaper back in or just leave the paint. I may not be seeing it correctly, but the wallpaper feels a little warm compared to the other cool colors in the bathroom.

The wallpaper was put up nearly 30 years ago when the bathroom was a soft peach color, so yes, it is a warm tone. Seeing the mixture of cool/warm in the bathroom is what has had me so perplexed....which to change first! I haven't liked the backsplash since we put it in almost 10 years ago. Sometimes less is more.

The advantage of replacing wallpaper is that we left that wall untextured specifically for wallpaper 30 years ago.

I am hoping that once the walls are painted white it will help decide whether to paint the vanity black or leave it.

Thank you so much for your thoughts!!! I do appreciate them, as my husband is okay with always leaving things as they are....so I need to choose upgrades that involve him minimally ;)

If the wall texture is different, then replacing the wallpaper makes sense. i hope you'll show pictures of your progress! Good luck with your project!

Since wallpaper will be necessary on the one wall, I think the whole bathroom will be more impactful and also take away from the backsplash. If you decide to remove the backsplash, if the plaster job isn’t perfect the paper will also mask imperfections. Just choose a fairly simple paper, add new lighting, window treatment and a mirror and it will be transformed. Depending on the paper chosen you can decide on color to paint vanity. For instance for below, grey could work.

I would’t put the hand towel ring back; it’s in an awkward spot

i like that style of wallpaper. Hopefully I can do a very simple backsplash and that it won't be a trainwreck to remove the existing backsplash