Don't go too dark without increasing the lighting. I've experience bathrooms in two homes where the dark color soaked up all the light and you could hardly see your reflection in the mirrors because of that.

You may have boxed yourself into a corner with different undertones. I can only go by the colors I am seeing on my monitor and what you are saying.

I am not familiar with Premier Paints Tundra and cannot find any information when I google search the color - can find Premier Paints on "My Perfect Color", but not the color Tundra, so I am stuck with just a visual from internet photos.

What I am seeing is a green undertone and it looks good with your flooring, but you said it clashed with your shower.

When I look at the photos of your shower and Balboa Mist it seems that Balboa mist worked well with the shower but looks pink next to the flooring. The shower floor tile is definitely taupe with strong purple undertones. Your reference to peach and looking at the shower tells me this is also white/taupe that is also leaning more pink. The main flooring is cooler than the shower, leaning yellow/green.

On top of the conflicting purple and green undertones you picked a stark black / white counter.

If I am right this is a huge challenge because the undertones are going to fight.

If you have extra tiles I would recommend taking all of the materials outside in natural daylight and placing them next to each other on a white sheet or white background and getting a ton of neutral paint color chips from a paint store, some of everything and testing one after another. Natural daylight helps us see the undertones. Most neutrals are going to either pull too pink next to the floor or too green next to the shower. Your trim color may be the only answer, a white with just a wink of gray. You may be able to pull off a really purple gray taupe like Poised Taupe since the flooring is light and Poised Taupe may be strong enough to hold it's own next to it.

Please let me know and the others who may be looking at this post if I am correct -

When you look at the tundra paint color in the shower does it look green or make the shower more peach/pink/purple?

When you look at Balboa Mist in the shower does it look beautifully neutral?

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for your comments! Yes I believe the conflicting undertones are what is causing the biggest headache in this room. We had all of the elements together when we selected them but obviously weren't looking at undertones - if only I could go back in time! At some point we'd like to redo the shower as we're not really happy with it, but I'm just trying to find a livable solution for the time being.

You are correct that the Tundra (I'd say it's fairly similar to SW Pavestone) makes the shower feel pinky/peachy. The Balboa Mist definitely calms that down, only because it also has a pinky hue to it.

I had thought of using the same color as the trim paint for the walls - hubby thinks this will be too stark but I think if we added something on the walls like hooks and towels to add some color it might not be too bad. My only other thought was to perhaps keep the one wall where the shower is painted with Balboa Mist (or white) and paint the other 3 walls a different color, but I think that might look odd.

Again I appreciate your help and direction - I need all the help I can get with this one!

Okay, so we do know the problem. The trim was probably painted with a glossier finish than the walls, so the walls won't feel as stark when you use a less glossy finish. You may be able to push it just a bit darker and still stay in the white range and not anger the flooring or the shower.

We could also try to work our way away from the pink of Balboa Mist toward the more neutral gray/beige mixes without going green.

Do you have extra pieces of the flooring tile and the shower tile?

It would be great if you do.

I would ask you to go to Benjamin Moore and just pick up the paper swatches for the moment.

I want you to get 2 of each of the colors listed below.

Take your two tiles and all your swatches outside in mid afternoon sunlight. Then take a pair of the paper swatches and place the swatch on each of the two tiles. Start with Balboa Mist so you can get a feel for the level of pink it shows in your bathroom compared to outside.

Now take one more set and place it on the tiles. Some will look better with the flooring and some will look better with the shower, but I am thinking one will be somewhere between the two and work with both.

The numbers on the chart show that all of these colors are similar in lightness. (L)

The C stands for Chroma, how colorful or gray the color is. Here we are going from classic gray which is pretty darn gray up to grayish beiges. Nothing that would actually fall into the beige range.

The H stands for Hue - The lower the number in this lightness and chroma in this hue range the more likely we are to see pink/purple undertones while the higher numbers can go more green undertones.

If you don't have any leftover tiles you will need to do it in the bathroom, but it is amazing how natural daylight lets us see the undertones and how the colors work together.

Here is an example where I had to work with three different undertones and find a color that worked with all three. The two tiles really looked very much the same inside the home, but outside you could really see the pink undertones of the kitchen and living room tiles in comparison to the family room tiles.

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You are trying so hard to find a good coordinate, but there are so many undertones in the room, consider painting the wall the white of the counter and find art with the hints of the undertones.

IMO an ensuite needs to connect to the bedroom it is next to so post some pics of the bedroom maybe that is where a wall color will come from. BTW all the lighting should be LED 4000K then the colors will stay true .If you ever do this gain keep the tiles to 2 choices . I likke 12 x24 porcelain on bathroom floor and shaower walls the same color only smaller for shower floor thenyou can choose a staunning counter Now what you have are all conflicting so show us the bedroom.

Jennifer Hogan - thank you so much for your detailed advice and instructions. I have some homework to do! I know I have a sample floor tile but will have to do a little digging to see if I can find a sample of the wall tile. I will go to BM this week and grab the chips for the colors you have listed and post the pictures for everyone to view. Stay tuned!

JudyG Designs - thank you for the suggestion! This may be the route I take to try and pull everything together.

Patricia Colwell Consulting - I can post pics of the bedroom however it is the next project on our to do list so I'm not sure it will be much help. The bathroom lighting is 4000K - we just have the 2 x 2-light fixtures but I'd like to change them to 2 x 3-light fixtures once the color is sorted out. There is also a light in the shower which I suspect is not 4000K - I'll have to climb up there and see if a) I can find out the color and b) if I can change it for a different color.

btydrvn - thank you for your input! I definitely think light if not white is the way to go here!

Hi all!

Sorry for the delay. I was finally able to dig out samples of both my floor and shower wall tile, and I just need to grab a few of the paint chips in Jennifer Hogan's list that I don't already have on hand. I am hoping to take the photos tomorrow but was just wondering about tile orientation and chip placement (or if that even matters).

1) Should the tiles be laying down or propped up vertically for the photos?

2) Should the paint chips be placed directly on the tiles, or should I put them on a small piece of white paper to provide a border between them and the tiles?

Thanks for your help - I look forward to reviewing the results with everyone very soon!

Ok here are the photos based on Jennifer Hogan’s suggestions.

Photo 1: Balboa Mist (top), Edgecomb Gray (middle), Olympic Mountains (bottom)

Photo 2: Classic Gray (top), Light Pewter (middle), Gray Mist (bottom)

Photo 3: Pale Oak (top), Wind’s Breath (middle), Hushed Hue (bottom)

What does everyone think?

Do you guys think I should retake the pictures? I may have been too far away trying to get all 3 surfaces in the shot to accurately reflect the nuances and undertones of the paint chips. Let me know if you think getting closer shots of each would help. Thanks!

I am a believer of seeing the sample colors in the room where they will be used..installed lighting can have a much different effect on colors …than natural light outdoors…

Here’s some photos of the tiles and chips in the room. So weird how the floor tile that is standing up looks like a different color!

Photo 1: Balboa Mist (top), Edgecomb Gray (middle), Olympic Mountains (bottom)

Photo 2: Classic Gray (top), Light Pewter (middle), Gray Mist (bottom)

Photo 3: Pale Oak (top), Wind’s Breath (middle), Hushed Hue (bottom)

My brain is so frazzled from looking at colors that I can't even tell what looks good anymore! Do any of these look like they could work?