I went to my friend Sarah’s house last weekend. She told me to use the downstairs toilet, and when I walked in…I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Imagine shrinking into a giant toilet lined with diamonds – that’s how it felt.
Sarah had painted it this rich, deep blue shade (totally chic right now, apparently, according to Pinterest). Thing was, the colour was so dark that I couldn’t even see myself in the bathroom mirror without straining! “I thought it would look cosy in here,” Sarah replied, rolling her eyes at herself as I emerged from the bathroom. “But now I tend to leave the light on even during the day.” Dark paint colours in small rooms is my BIGGEST pet peeve. Dark colours don’t just make a room feel smaller, they literally make it less bright.
Bathrooms are typically small rooms with very little natural light. Mine feels roughly the same size as an oversized cupboard.
Over the years (and many MANY mistints), I’ve discovered that the right paint colour can totally fool your brain into thinking your bathroom is more spacious than it really is.
When Phil and I bought our house, the downstairs bathroom was magnolia. You know how builder’s bells have that shade of magnolia that looks filthy after about ten seconds? Yep, that was our bathroom.
WHITE was going to feel much brighter, I knew that much. But we couldn’t afford to knock down walls or instal skylights to lighten up the space. I decided to start with the walls.
My first attempt was a colour called “Soft Mint.” Yep. Sounds lovely when you say it out loud. Looked horrific on the walls.
Like someone had spewed condensed milk all over them. The problem wasn’t that it was mint-green – though that shade was far too strong. It was that this “mint” colour was neutral enough to pass as white, but still had enough undertone to make the little natural light we had vanish down the drain.
Lesson learned: if you’re going to go green in the bathroom – GO GREEN. White again, two weeks later. But I learned my lesson with Soft Mint and chose a crisp, clean white.
Looking back I should have checked the ceiling too. These days I stick to whites. And by whites, I mean actual whites.
No hints of purple or green allowed. I’ve used Benjamin Moore’s “Simply White” in three different small bathrooms now, and it never disappoints. My uncle even commented that it was the “brightest bathroom” he’d ever seen when he visited once.
Colour me impressed. Warm whites fare way better than cool whites in bathrooms without natural light. Didn’t realise this until I painted my sister’s en-suite bathroom a cool white that ended up having blue undertones.
Under artificial light, it looked cold. A sad, hospital-esque cold. It honestly put me off wanting to relax in the bath.
Don’t forget the ceilings. Okay, so white walls are a given if you want your small bathroom to look and feel bigger. But have you considered painting your ceilings something else?
Most people leave bathroom ceilings white. A clever trick is to paint your bathroom ceiling almost-white. I painted mine about a million lighter than the walls using the faintest shade of grey-blue I could find.
I LOVE grey in bathrooms, but be careful you don’t accidentally pick a grey with purple undertones. Picked one like this for my hallway (they can look SO neutral in the shop!) and it ended up possessing THE purplest bathroom I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t bad, don’t get me wrong.
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Purple can work beautifully in bathrooms. It just wasn’t the calming, serene vibe I was going for. Speaking of serenity…soft blues can be used to great effect.
This isn’t blue blue. Think blurred skies on a winter’s day kind of blue. You don’t want it to be too strong or your bathroom will feel ice cold when you step inside.
Painted my friend’s tiny guest bathroom this colour last summer (rent a Paint Wranglers van and paint it yourself I say!) and was honestly shocked at how much bigger it made the space feel. And how calming. Pro-tip I learned from helping our landlord Dave refurbish his Victorian terrace: paint your bathroom walls and ceilings the same colour but in different sheens.
Paint your walls eggshell and your ceilings matt. It creates an illusion of subtle texture that blurs the lines between wall and ceiling. Bam!
Instant magic. Cream-coloured walls can work wonders in small bathrooms, but they’re tricky to pull off. Lean too far to the yellow side and your bathroom starts to look a bit grimy.
Add too much pink and it ends up feeling…well, a bit 80s. I eventually found a cream I loved: Farrow & Ball’s String. Also: Dulux’s Natural Calico is basically the same colour but about a million times cheaper.
Remember how I said to test your paint colours in artificial lighting? Here’s a secret nobody tells you – bathrooms are typically the darkest rooms in your house. Even if you do have a skylight.
Truth is, you’re more likely to be using your bathroom in the middle of the night with just your overhead light on. Take your paint sample home and stick it on your bathroom wall. Look at it in the morning.
Look at it at night. That dreamy shade you picked from the glossy brochure? Chances are it’ll look duller under artificial light.
I have a whole Filofax full of paint swatches that didn’t work. Pretty colours that looked great on the makeshift board in the DIY store but completely wrong for bathrooms. Sage Green?
Too muddy. Pale pink? Weirdly claustrophobic (don’t ask me why).
Grey-based whites? Almost always disappoint. Eggshell or satin paint finishes are your friends when it comes to bathroom paint.
Matt paints look horrible in bathrooms because they absorb light.
And any light your bathroom HAS will disappear when it’s absorbed by matt paint. Trust me.
If you rent or aren’t ready to paint your whole bathroom, at least swap your lightbulbs. Any white paint will look 100x better if you install warm white LED lightbulbs (about 3,000K is ideal). Changed ours last year and honestly couldn’t believe the difference it made.
Our supposedly-white bathroom walls had previously have this chilly, sterile vibe about them. Warm white light washed over them and suddenly they seemed inviting. It really isn’t difficult to figure out the best colours for small bathrooms.
But you do need a little bravery. Resist the urge to make a design statement and go bright instead. Sure it’s not the most daring advice I’ve ever given, but you’ll be thankful you chose practicality over style when you’re stumbling around half-awake trying to get ready for work.
