So you have decided you want to paint your bathroom in a fresh new colour and the best part is all its going to cost you is your time, a gallon of paint and a few painting tools. But first you have to come up with a colour scheme before you grab your brush or roller. I should mention here the importance of buying a top quality paint and quality brush. Behr, Sherwin-Williams and Porter are good paint brands. Because your bathroom is a high moisture area, always use a glossy or semi glossy paint for easy cleaning and moisture resistance. The first thing you need to do is create a sample board of various colour combinations that you like and feel comfortable with as stated in Part 1 of How to Choose a Colour Scheme 4 Your Bath. Paint little 1×1 swatches of the colours you’re considering for your bathroom on 6×1 inch flat pieces of wood. Then hold the swatches against different pieces of furniture in your lavatory and with different lighting conditions such as natural light and artificial light (you can even do this at different times of the day). What you are trying to do is get a feeling of how the colour works with your bathroom environment and also how the colour of the paint is affected by different lighting situations.

"Summary: Choosing a colour scheme for your bathroom includes interior paint swatches, color swatches and a good color selection tools like a colour wheel to help you visualize the color scheme of the paint colors for your bathroom walls. Semi-gloss or glossy paint made by Porter, Behr, Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore house paints are a good choice."

 As you may have already noticed, light plays a very important role in our perception of how the paint colour changes. If your artificial light is incandescent, your colours will appear warmer, whereas if you use fluorescents in your bath, your colours will normally appear cooler. There are also bulbs that mimic daylight, so display the paint swatches in the type of lighting that will be used in your bathroom for accuracy and consistency. A special note here, don’t forget about your ceiling, the lightness or darkness of your ceiling can also affect your bathrooms appearance. The general rule of thumb followed by most professional painters is to paint your ceiling a lighter colour than your bathroom walls; this in turn will make your powder room appear larger. The actual physical size of your bathroom is also a prominent aspect in your washrooms colour choice. Lighter colours can make a small bathroom feel larger and at the opposite end of the spectrum, darker colours in your bath can make a large bathroom feel cosier.

When choosing the sheen of your bathroom paint, gloss is the easiest to clean, the only drawback is that it shows the imperfections on your walls therefore your prep-work has to be smooth, the other con is that it is sometimes tricky to touch up. Semi-gloss on the other hand has somewhat less gleam than gloss paint yet it cleans and resists stains just as good. Paint like satin and eggshell are better left for bedroom and dining rooms because they are difficult to clean and don’t stand up as well in a bathroom environment. To determine how much paint you will need, multiply the length x width of your bathroom area.

When choosing your bathroom colour scheme remember that your bathroom is your sanctuary, especially if you want to create a spa like retreat. Use the objects around you for inspiration. For a calming effect, build your colour palette around a cool color scheme blue, greens and purples. Or you can use colours such as burgundy and warm subdued purples to make your bath feel cozy and inviting. Using three colors is a good choice, one to dominate (60%), one colour to support (30%) and the other colour to accent (10%) to help motivate you through your morning haziness. The simplicity of monochromatic colours adds a sense of quiet sophistication to your bath. Use lighter colours to your advantage if you have a small bathroom and darker colours to shrink that extra large master bath. And don’t forget to take into account the lighting in your bath. Which ever colour scheme you choose, it should accentuate your cabinetry and fixtures. Avoid loud and obtrusive colours and choose pleasant inviting and clean colours because you’re going to be spending a lot of time in there. As a final note you may want to try to pick colours that you can accessorize with towels and shower curtains to bring your bath design together.

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