My rental bathroom has an olive green bathtub, a white sink and toilet and three different patterns of peel and stick tile on the floor, two with more blue tones than anything else. And off-white walls. After a very long time trying to merge the olive and blue, I ended up finding a shower curtain with a bit of the olive tone, several other shades of greens and some tan and brown. I bought towels to match the tan in the shower curtain and a bath rug that covers as much of the floor as possible while still allowing the door to open. I have chosen to ignore the floor as much as possible. I've brought more greens in with a picture or two on the walls and a few small accessories, so now the room reads as "room with several shades of green and tan," as opposed to "room with really ugly olive green bathtub that goes with nothing else." The problem with the olive and blue bathroom things that I found was that I just didn't *like* them, although they would have solved my decorating dilemma. In the end, I chose to go with something I liked, that didn't completely coordinate what was existing in the room, but that I could live with long-term. I've read of people using double-stick tape to put a row or border of tiles up on a wall--don't know if that would work in your second bathroom. Or maybe gluing a wide grosgrain ribbon over the border? (Using glue that you can remove when you leave.)

Wow, lots to take in and consider. I guess I've never seen honed black slate, but, I've never looked for it. Since DH works out of carpet and design stores, that's where I look for things of this nature. I did a google search for honed black slate. I like it but it really doesn't look much different than the Dal-tile piece I've chosen. I'm sure the texture is different tho but we like the leathered texture. There isn't as much color variation in this Downtown Black as I initially thought. I think we'll stick with this decision, but thanks for the suggestions. Don't know if it matters, probably not since there seems to be no love for the travertine deco, but what I was wanting isn't tumbled. It's hone and I chose honed because of the field tile choice. Enduring, when I had everything here, I did lay it all out and I've also done the "mood" board on the computer. I thought it looked good but apparently I'm clueless :o I'll go back to the store where I found the deco pieces I liked and put them together with the two full size tiles. One change DH made was to go with 2" inserts (vs 1") in the hone travertine and widening it to 6". I will also ask him if he'd like to consider something else. I realize there isn't a lot of contrast or "pop" with the liners, that was intentional, but it does offer some dimension, a little contrast leading to the cream colored honed travertine with the Venetian bronze tiles mixed in. I really don't care for the idea of using smaller pieces of the Downtown Black as a deco but I do appreciate the suggestions. mongoct, the faucet hardware is brushed nickel. I have mixed (brushed nickel and Venetian bronze) in my (very light) bathroom as well. I've seen that a lot in bathrooms and lots of conversations about it , most agreeing it's fine. The cabinet hardware and door hardware is Venetian bronze. All the doors in the house have Venetian bronze hardware. The kitchen (this bathroom is within view of the kitchen) has Venetian brone fixtures, a beautiful rounded Black Galaxy bar base and the same color (but tumbled) travertine backsplash. I would have preferred to use Venetian bronze fixtures in the bathroom. The decision to go with brushed nickel was one made out of necessity. David has had a dark bronze (can't remember what it was called 33 years ago) fixtures and I know the mess he can (and will) make. Going with brushed nickel AND a Tapmaster has virtually eliminated the soapy, toothpaste-y mess :) Thankfully, there is a lot of black and silver in the granite. oh, mayflowers, the flooring will the the same black tile as the surround. Like I said, I'll see if DH would like to consider something else. I know he doesn't want glass tiles.

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!

Thank you for responding Sophie, I really admire your advice and always look for your comments! I thought that might be the pro consensus on Bellmont. That was the rec from ProSource, but I’m trying to meet with a husband/wife team that specializes in cabinetry and countertops next. Their lines seem a little more niche and generally have good but limited reviews - Crestwood, Wellborn, Designer’s Choice. Any thoughts on those brands? I will also look into who carries Omega in town, as I’ve seen them recommended more than once. What you describe as the backyard custom guys is what I was concerned about. Everyone says custom is great, but those are excellent things to look for in custom versus “custom” cabinets. Given that we’re trying to move as quickly as possible, a semi-custom solution is likely a safer bet. And thanks for the gut check on price. $2k seemed low. I think $4-6k is reasonable, hopefully on the lower end though :) Anything over that is probably out of our budget, but I’d be willing to skip any upgrades or extras to try to keep it affordable.