what colour to use on the wall and ceiling please?

20 days ago

Hello everyone,

I have designed this tiny under the stairs cloakroom and I think it’s looking great so far - the flush plate will be changed to a gold one to match the tap and trims.
I am struggling to find a colour to use on the wall ceiling.

Would you recommend something neutral like Dulux Egyptian cotton or a more daring colour please?

Looking forward to your feedback!

Thank you so much!

Featured Answer

Jonathan

9 days ago

Personally I would take a different approach to everyone else.

1/ definitely paint the walls and ceiling the same colour.

2/ accept that the tiny window contributes little light and acknowledge that you will always need electric light.

3/ Accept that electric light makes colors appear different- white can look sterile or grubby, yellow and peach can become exaggerated, pale colors can look cold.

4/ Accept it’s a small space and so colour continuity will help it feel bigger even if you choose a strong colour.

5/ colour match the tiles with a confident green or slate colour.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (33)

Isla Cherry
19 days ago
I would use a light grey from someone like F&B as its a relatively compact space. You could go dark but it might be oppressive. I would keep it light. Shaded White is a good option. It does look very sophisticated and love the gold trim. I have recently renovated a bathroom and used brushed brass trim so I'm a bit biased.
0
Raffie W
Original Author
19 days ago
Thank you Isla! I love brass — even the sockets are brass in this house 😂
My phone doesn’t take good pictures somehow. The metro tiles are green
I love Shaded white and tried it in our old house

Thank you so much xx
Related Discussions
What should I use to support ceiling if I knock through the wall?
Q
Comments (3)
Definitely not a job to do without either a structural engineer or a very reliable builder - if you're in the UK you'll need one who can "sign it off" with building regs anyway (different from planning permission) as any new owner can ask to see this and solicitors are quite often insistent. This is not a job to sort out yourself, as has huge implications, not just downstairs, but upper floors too - take no chances. But honestly, any good builder worth his weight should be able to do the work, although many will consider it too small to bother with - get another recommended builder!
...See More
Bathroom Wall (and Ceiling) Colour?
Q
Comments (0)
We have used these tiles to cover our wetroom bathroom (all walls and floors in the shower area). But where the vanity unit and sink will be, there are no tiles - just a ceiling to floor mirror, and the walls are to be painted. To keep the hotel/spa look we wanted to keep the bathroom slightly darker and not go for a lighter wall colour. Suggestions for paint colours to complement the tiles on the bathroom wall (and perhaps ceiling!)? https://www.tilemountain.co.uk/p/inverno-black-marble-wall-and-floor-tile.html?utm_campaign=q_and_a_links&utm_medium=email&utm_source=yotpo
...See More
help please! walls, ceiling colour
Q
Comments (4)
Hi, oh its so hard to get started isn't it when you have so many ideas! I always find the best way is to make a little mood board for each room. put your ideas that you have onto paper for each room, and take it from there. decide what is most important for each room, for example have you found a sofa you love for the living room or already have an existing one? if so, take a sample of that fabric and find a paint that works with that, and the sofa becomes your key piece to make your decisions around for that room. you may have a painting you love or some fabric you want your curtains to be made from, and you can use these to make your paint choices. You also need to decide if you want the same colour throughout the property or if you want each room to have its own style. either way, its important to make sure they flow because you can make the property look a bit to haphazard if there isn't some cohesion. Just really think about what you love and what you want to achieve for your look, and look at ideas on pinterest and instagram. Failing that, call in an interior designer to help with some ideas! I would be happy to help if you get to that stage. I provide a low cost online service or full project packages too. Hope that helps a little!
...See More
Please help us liven up our bare bedroom walls
Q
Comments (3)
When it comes to art in the home, I feel that personal significance is more important than 'Wow factor' - but you still want stuff to go with and enhance your décor. (There's a classic joke about a woman going to an artprint shop, seeing Picasso's painting of the straw-seat chair, and asking, 'Could I have that in Blue'?) Luckily there are now loads of services for editing and printing images in large format and on various supports. Something I've started playing with is HALF-TONE prints of photos of people and/or places I know. Half-tone looks stylish, masks less than perfect focus - and you can choose two colours that perfectly match your décor. (These examples are just a tryout with a stock photo and an online picture-editor - I'm sure you can get much higher definition from a dedicated printing company and a good photograph). Have your image printed onto metal or on the back of glass (perspex is cheaper, but less ecological). If your photos aren't of a quality that stand up to large format rendering, go for lots of small images unified by your colour choice. (You could also alternate the background and foreground colours for a postiive/negative effect).
...See More
Isla Cherry
19 days ago
Your terracotta tiles are just beautiful :)) I would make them the star and keep the paint colour light.
0
Sonia
19 days ago
I think a simple, very pale grey would sit nicely with both sets of tiles. Something like Ammonite by Farrow & Ball, but they do tons of lovely neutrals.
0
Raffie W
Original Author
19 days ago
I agree Isla and Sonia :) I had a sleep over it and will definitely keep it light!
2nd dilemma which I forgot about: the light is on the curvature of the ceiling so not possible to put a normal one with a flat rose. Not sure I’m making sense but was thinking to put a wall light on the ceiling like this https://www.marksandspencer.com/monroe-glass-flush-wall-light/p/hbp60494068?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

Do you think it would work?

Thanks a lot x
Raffie W
Original Author
19 days ago
Pic of light attached so you don’t have to copy paste the link x
Isla Cherry
18 days ago
last modified: 18 days ago
Yes that would definitely work but do a little trial measure first as it might be a bit big. Industville does lights in that style too. You are totally on the right track and its going to look fantastic when it is finished. It already does!
0
PRO
The Design Lab Ltd
18 days ago
A strategy, and a warning.... Strategy: whichever colour you opt for has to fulfil two functions - it has to relate to the existing materials (ie the tiles on the right and the terrazzo type tile at the back), and it has to express the mood you want to feel when you use the loo (very nice so far by the way!). If I had a sample of the tiles I could measure their colour dimensions for you and take it from there but I wouldn't attempt it with online colour. It's notoriously misleading. So you'll have to narrow it down from paint manufacturers' fandecks, then get a sample. And the warning - the space might look choppy if the 'ceiling' at the back is a different colour from the walls. At least think about whether you might paint it all one colour to achieve cohesion in a small space.
PRO
Devyra Atelier
15 days ago
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee

or Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige

Sherwin-Williams Alabaster
PRO
STUDIO MOOD ETC
15 days ago
Hello!

I think a pale green or a white with geen base would be nice; elegant and complimentary to your tiles.

I would also suggest you paint the walls and that sloping wall/ceiling the same colour to minimise the effect of sharp edges.

Jarek

www.studiomoodetc.com
Isla Cherry
14 days ago
Please post a pic when you are finished. I can't wait to see it completed with the light fitted and finished. You have some really good paint colour suggestions so far.
Jo Bloggs
14 days ago
It's looking great. I would go dark and rich. I would take a tile to somewhere local to you that has a paint matching service and have some paint matched to the terracotta type colour in the tile. The room is going to be darker anyway if there isn't much natural light so I would work with it.
Raffie W
Original Author
9 days ago
Hello hello

Keeping the colour neutral for now just to be safe because I have to deal with the rest of the house and I don’t have a designer so lots of decisions to make and I’m scared to get it wrong
@Jarek: yes I have no choice because it’s curved because there is no line between the the ceiling and the wall

@Jo: I think it would work but I didn’t have the guts 😂 maybe later because I just want to finish asap so we can use downstairs. I had a terracotta colour sample but it looked like poo 😂 I think I need an earthy tone.

I will post a final pic when I change the flush plate and put the light and mirror

Maybe then I will have a clearer idea about the wall colour

Thank you so much for your all your input xxx
Sonia
9 days ago
Good option, stay light and neutral on the walls. With terracotta, if you go too dark it can look like mud on the walls, so go several shades lighter than your original choice, more peachy than terracotta. Sort of like this?
Jonathan
9 days ago
https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/colour-details/olive-grove

I would be considering something this strong
Raffie W
Original Author
8 days ago
Thank you Jonathan! I think you’re right! I got busy with other things to fix in the house. We painted it in Egyptian cotton but it feels so boring 😂 so I think I need to go dark like you said. I wiped the tiles so you can see the colours better than in the initial pictures! Off to Dulux tomorrow to get some dark colour samples

I tried also a few lights and the window had to become smaller because I wanted to put a mirror above the basin. It also had an old rotten wood lintel so we had to cut the rotten wood and the window became smaller

Thank you all for being so helpful!
0
Raffie W
Original Author
8 days ago
Couldn’t wait for the samples 😀 so I used Dulux visualiser - lots of dark colours
0
Raffie W
Original Author
8 days ago
2 more
0
Raffie W
Original Author
8 days ago
Palm night also seems quite nice
0
Isla Cherry
7 days ago
I'm afraid it's too cave like for me. I once painted a cloakroom black and regretted it almost immediately. It's your house, it's your choice but I wouldn't do it again. The great thing is it's only paint so try it and see.
0
T J
7 days ago
This is a personal choice thing but I'm deffo for a darker colour for the added drama .

Whether its a blue/ grey or green/grey will be down to what works best with the colours in both your terrazzo tile & plain tile . Would be a mistake to select a shade from a photo. Buy some testers & paint a decent sized patch, but give it enough coats to cover your base colour . You played safe with the Egyptian Cotton & were left disappointed . Get brave ! its only a small room . Have fun with it & stop worrying about what other people think ;-)
Sonia
7 days ago
Colours never look accurate on a screen. I used the visualiser in my living room once and actually used the current colour to see how accurate it was. The visualiser colour was nothing like the colour on the walls, so I think match pots are a better bet painted on A4 pieces of card and blu tac to the wall.
PRO
STUDIO MOOD ETC
7 days ago
last modified: 6 days ago
Hey, Storm Day looks pretty good to me on this pic and my screen! It's kind of blue-grey and I think it looks interesting and fresh with your greenish tiles while not looking too dark.

Jarek

www.studiomoodetc.com
0
Jonathan
7 days ago
I agree that mouse tail and Storm day seem like a good match for the tiles but as Sonia says you must check them with a tester to be sure.

And I think that for anyone concerned about drama you must remember that the amount of colour see will be much less when the room is finished as there will no doubt be a mirror above the sink, a window covering and something on the wall opposite the window.
0
chloeloves
7 days ago
Mouse tail or forest shade for me as it looks a bit warmer. Embrace the dark side ! You won’t ever be in their for too long will you 😂
Cassandra
6 days ago
I have the perfect color!!!

I had a similar light issue and tried dozens of paints since I have Red Earth and dark green colors and whites/beige/darks etc. Did not work.

Neutrailize and ad depth with: Farrow and Ball Skimming Stone (it says its a warm grey with slight lilac undertones. I find its a beautiful equalizer and contemporary and custom look for exactly your low light bathroom. You will love it. I would get it in the Modern Emulsion to avoid to much glossy bouncing light.
0
Raffie W
Original Author
5 days ago
@Chloe loves: that’s the thing lol I spend a lot of time in the bathroom because of a medical condition
@Cassandra: the colour I have now is very similar to skimming stone. It doesn’t make the terrazzo tiles pop! I feel like it doesn’t do them
justice. Always modern emulsion or scrub able paint
I will get some A4 samples and see
Any recommendations for lighting, mirror above sink, or tips and tricks to paint the flush plate in Matt gold? I considered buying the equivalent in brass but it’s 200 pounds - a bit too much for a toilet flush plate 🤣

I appreciate all your help and ideas because I’m not qualified yet
chloeloves
5 days ago
Can you try the visualiser with warm tones you see how nicely the wood plays off the green tiles, pick out some of the richer warmer colours from the terrazzo, yellows, browns etc
0
lspendl 828
5 days ago
For me, Mouse Tail’s the one. It adds interest without being too dark. I love what you’ve done. We converted our under stairs cupboard into a cloakroom years ago but ours is so neutral that it lacks any interest.
0
Angela Tate
4 days ago
I love Mouse tail. Maybe get a match pot and see how it looks in the different lights?
Am plucking up the courage to go dark in my en-suite!
0
Brandon
3 days ago
Agree the mouse tail looks really good.
0
Brandon
3 days ago
Agree mouse tail looks best imo.
0