I have a friend who has a tiny powder room painted a deep chocolate brown. It's different, but it is actually very cozy. She brightened it up with warm lighting (perhaps you could put one sconce on the side wall) and a few gilt-framed prints of flowers and greenery. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture. Chocolate brown would go nicely with your countertop and floor, but you would have to change out your dark brown towels or no one would find them - ha ha ha!!

"But that would be more country, wouldn't it? Or is that too shabby chic?" What are you looking for? There is nothing wrong with either Country or Shabby Chic. You say your kitchen is done in French Country. Your DH wants a red powder room and likes plans and trains. You want toile. Hmmm. A hybrid of the two looks in NOT going to work. My suggestion would be to skip the toile and go with a simple wide stripes. This will still give you a bit of the French Country feel and you do not have to worry about decorating around Marie Antoinette and her violin playing cohorts. You can do toile in another room. Let your DH have his RED powder room. From what you say he had a very strong opinion about this. Don't panic! Red is a nice color for French Country. Give him his train poster. Choose one that is very early 19th century and shown traveling through a country side setting. A black and white one would be nice too. Choose something that transitions well with your French Country themed kitchen so that you do not feel you stepped into a time warp when you enter the bathroom. Most train posters are of the Art Deco genre. If he is willing to give up the train and plane theme if he gets his red powder room skip the poster wall art and put up a shelf. Take your time decorating the shelf and do not just run out and buy "stuff" for it. Buy what speaks to you. Buy what you love. Also consider an American Country theme rather than French Country. It can look sophisticated with Victorian elements without looking "shabby".

Thanks coll, I love it too and trying to make it work! Beverly, your drawings very very helpful. The mosaic is expensive (although not as bad as I had feared), so I don't want to use too much of it. And I'm trying to keep the other materials to a minimum so the room doesn't look chopped up with too many things going on. Somehow putting it on the bottom just seems wrong - thinking the room will appear bottom heavy with nothing interesting going on in the top section. I was thinking the second drawing which is as I described. Definitely don't want the mirror to go all the way across the top section because I think it will make the room seem "cold" and stark. I just worry that the mosaic might seem overwhelming in such a small space. Do you think if I go with the mosaic on the top over the toilet, and paint the room in a soft color that blends closely with the tile and vanity that it will be OK?

More info on the tile....in the questions for that photo, they say the tile is Puka Iridescent. I had a feeling that Puka was Sonoma Tilemakers but I couldn't check last night. So I have found it in their Vihara line of glass tiles. I actually like their Silk colors better than their Iridescent colors as an iridescent has other colors that probably won't work with your cream and brown granite. I had samples of Oceanside glass tiles in the polished, matte, and iridescent tiles, and just a touch of the iridescent wouldn't be bad in a custom mix. They have many colors, shapes, and sizes like Vihara. Your problem will be that you only need one or two sheets of tile for your backsplash and many places have minimum orders. https://sonomatilemakers.com/vihara/