Thank you all SO MUCH for your input! I've decided to go with the blue bathroom... let's just hope mine turns out as lovely as the one in my inspiration photo. I've decided to use Fireclay Tile's Mayan Blue: https://www.fireclaytile.com/tile/colors/detail/mayan-blue/ It is just gorgeous! I'm also going to take lukkiirish's advice to add a few white pencil lines to ease the transition from the tile to the painted wall. Also, like positively_patty mentioned I will be on the lookout for a coordinating rug and/or curtains to pull it all together. It will be a few months until we're finished but I'll be sure to come back to post pictures. I can't thank you all enough for your encouragement!

Also look at this thread: What was Your Best Bathroom Remodeling Decision? And a more recent thread: What was Your Best/Worst Remodeling Decision? some things I thought of over the last few days: The bathroom is more complected to build than a kitchen in my option, because of the techniques involved with installing the elements. Of course layout and flow are considerations just like a kitchen. But in a bathroom there is the toilet and shower that can get difficult. If these two features have problems, you have problems. You are constantly managing water in a variety of forms, liquid and vapor, but hopefully not ice, lol. As you probably are well aware form follows function. Decide what you need to have the bathroom accomplish. I see that you have a walk in closet. Some people do put them in the bathrooms. I don't know how that works. There are several articles in the Houzz side of this site that are written on closets. They are informative and inspirational. I would try to have a W/D somewhere close to this area of the house. There is no reason you can't have 2 sets, one near your bedroom and one in the basement, or were ever. Over on the Laundry forum there is a lovely example Linus from Sweden posted on their laundry "rooms". Here is a link for fun: Showing My Laundry Room in Sweden 1) where are you putting exhaust fan/s? Besure to have enough gap under the door for "makeup air" so the fan can work effectively. You'll need to calculate how much ducting you'll have because that will impact what CFM fan you'll use. I call Fantech and they helped me figure mine out. They are reportedly good. There are other companies too. 2) Electrical outlets. I have one by my toilet at about 12" off the ground for an advanced toilet seat which, if you have a choice, is a must. Also electrical outlets within the vanity to accommodate hairdryers, etc. I have an outlet in my medicine cabinet too. I also have one in my small laundry surround so I can use an iron with the small pullout ironing board I have. 3) Floor warming wires, for the winter. You will love it. It only goes in open areas. Be sure to run it under the toe kick so you don't get cold toes. It does not go under the tub, unless they've changed specs. It is to be safely margined away from the wax ring of the toilet rough-in. Get the 240v, and lay an extra thermostatic probe under the tile, in case one goes bad, you'll have a spare. It just gets wrapped up and tucked in the box, ready and waiting for the first to fail. 4) If you are tiling your shower I would recommend porcelain over marble or other stone. The new porcelains are gorgeous and do not absorb moisture. Natural stone will take more upkeep. I used epoxy grout in my bathroom. It is not porous. Others have used cementous grout without problems. I would not use HD standard Custom Blend line for anything. People have had quality control issues, with color, etc. Laticrete is a great brand. There is Bostik that is very good. Mapei is good to I believe. If you have any detailed tiling questions, they can be answered by some on this forum, but it seems those members are not frequently posting any longer. They stop in from time to time. Go to the John Bridge Forum, for tile help professional scope. Be sure to know how a shower is put together from the studs out. You will need to know this! This is the biggest issue I have noticed on GW. People are always posting about dysfunctional showers and the poor tilers that do them. You need to do this homework before you hire it done or your GC hires it. Do not let work continue that is not to code or not to what you know to be standard work in the tile industry. There are standards and they need to be followed. You don't want to have to tear out a shower because of piss poor workmanship. 5) Benjaman Moore Aura Bath and Spa is a very nice paint. I've really liked the matte, velvety finish. 6) Plan your vanity to do what you want it to do. I keep my underware in mine. with my W/D being in the same room it made sense. DH gets his put in there too. Here is a link to my recent reveal that is long in coming, as the bathroom has been done for 1.5 years. My West Bathroom Reveal from Project in 2013-2014

I love the casual comfort of your space, recognizing all the planning it took to achieve that feel! The wainscotting, soapstone, and hex tile floor make that happen for me, as do all the personal touches like the picture shelves and your lovely barnyard art. I love the thoughtful touches like the med cab placement, the shower' s window, and the foot-rest shelf in the shower - which I may be stealing! And saving the chute, even though that meant re-routing it, is just another example of the care and you took to get it right. I have a possible solution to the hand towel dilemma. Remember how farm kitchens often have those three-fingered towel holders under the sink to hold kitchen towels as they dry? The ones where the three rods come out from a center hinge and can be rotated into any position from all lined up together when not in use to spread far apart so that towels on them can dry? Ginger makes them now in two-rod style in nice finishes for the bath. 16" long. It would really match your farmhouse feel. Where to place it is your problem, you are thinking. I say, put it on the wall just in front of the vanity. You often step away from a sink when done, so the towel will be handy. Rings bunch up the towel and it takes longer to dry. Either this Ginger 0322-16 or any straight towel bar in a 12" or 16" size works, height-wise. Because I am on my Kindle and lost an entire post yesterday by touching somewhere on the screen on accident, I am going to post now, then try to link to the Ginger bar in another post. PS: I love the the violet wall color!

This is the inspiration pic for the vanity:[https://www.houzz.com/photos/barn-and-entertainment-music-performance-space-farmhouse-bathroom-new-york-phvw-vp~7861659[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/barn-and-entertainment-music-performance-space-farmhouse-bathroom-new-york-phvw-vp~7861659) If I went with a lighter, warm white quartz, could I get away with plain warm white walls, do you think? Or do we need a little contrast? A whiter countertop with warmer white paint? Then, do I match paint and tile in tone? Or can I mix shades of cream there too? I'm starting to lean toward a slate-like floor (still porcelain tile, but something that looks organic, like stone). Wondering about this inspiration too: [Woody Creek bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/woody-creek-guest-house-rustic-bathroom-denver-phvw-vp~37362005) [Vintage-Meets-High-End-Bathroom-rustic-bathroom-new-york[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/vintage-meets-high-end-bathroom-rustic-bathroom-new-york-phvw-vp~19973364) And one more I'm still hunting for. :-) I love the mid-ton stone floors, but not sure if they will suck light out of a room with no windows?