thanks everyone for your votes! i think we have narrowed it down to going with blues or the creamy whites. emmarene, i liked the green too but DH nixed the oranges or greens. atkillery, i agree the tans would not be crisp enough. mayflowers and crl, thank you for the suggestion to pick the white from the accent tile! i don't know why that thought never crossed my mind, lol. that is why i need you folks :-) annie, DH and i both like the wedgwood too and think it could give more contrast/impact, just have to see if it will be too dark. tibbrix, i really like the idea of white wainscoting and then blue on top, I am not sure i can do the wainscoting now though as we have 6" tile baseboards installed? here is a pic of our walls, just primed. I guess a creamy white might look similar? I'll try to photoshop in some blues for you guys to see too. with so many color choices, it was so hard for me to narrow it down, so thank you! now we just need to pick the perfect shade!

The best small bathrooms & powder rooms I've seen are the ones in which everything really ties together, no quirky odd elements or tangents, & it seems like you can "get away with" more in a small space than in a big one. You can be more starkly modern, more decadently Deco, more specialized & individual. You can put down a floor that looks like water (don't know how that's done, but it's cool), you can use a bright orange 70's theme, things you'd never do in a bigger space. I saw one below-the-stairs powder room that was done in a Victorian theme, very busy wallpaper in warm gold/brown/burgundy tones, dark hardware, dark cabinetry, etc. It was like a perfect little gem. & it wasn't exhausting to the eye because of course nobody spent much time there.

I know you spent time, money and energy renovating a room that now disappoints. We have all done this at some time in our lives and we learn from these experiences. The truth is that you have a lot of muddy colors in the room - muddy colors never look clean and bright. The vanity top was probably the biggest issue in the room and drove many of your decision. That would not have cost a fortune to replace and would have given you the opportunity to change the whole aesthetic of the room. If I were looking at renovating this room I would have started with the vanity top I then would have picked a lighter, brighter tropical wallpaper to go with the light top Then painted with a clean, light color

I think a nice blue would look very nice with those choices. Have a look at BM Smoke 2122-40 or something along those lines. A nice light green might also be nice - just a hint of colour in your paint would be nicer than plain white IMO. If you look at BM - they have a whites collection with lots of choices for just barely coloured whites - blues, greens, greys, pinks, yellows. Then you'll need to test them in your room to see how they look with lighting in there etc. Then you can repeat that same tone in your choice of accessories and towels.