Decorating and Design - Need to design color scheme around mint green tile

Our guest bathroom is very tiny. The shower stall has mint green tile. The toilet and sink are white, and the hardware is gold. I am thinking of putting in a pedastal sink (white) and putting in new floor tile.

Any ideas on colors for floor tile and wall color? Our house has a very contemporary feel to it, so I'd like to stay with that general theme. I am just stumped as to how to work the mint green into something attractive and comtemporary.

Thanks!

working around these colored tiles in bathrooms has come up a lot. i always say, work with it, & incorporate it. don't think you can make it go away or draw attention away from it. it's there, & you're not fooling anyone. although you haven't actually expressed a dislike for it. :confused: do you?

also, what other colors are used in close proximity to this bathroom? if possible, it's nice to coordinate adjoining rooms, especially a guest bedroom with the bath, if there is one.

and how contemporary? would Retro/modern work for you?

i think to showcase it by using black & white with it always works & is easy. so maybe white tile floor with black accents. or, you can go monochromatic and use lighter & darker shades of the same green hue - maybe dark green walls. or play on the relaxing green color & do a spa look - lots of white on white but with some natural material elements or maybe the dark espresso finish on a wood framed mirror & lots of chrome & glass. take a look at these rooms: http://ww2.potterybarn.com/view.cfm?pg=body/shoprooms_bth1_0816. see how they're mostly just one color with white? you could do that & just use your mint green.

is there a shower curtain or a glass door?

i'm not sure about the gold hardware. do you mean brass fixtures, like towel bars & light fixture? or door hinges & knobs? faucet? any chance on changing out anything gold to chrome or brushed nickel? it would work with the cool green much better & would seem more contemporary or retro.

hi.
i am new here so i hope i send this correctly. i would change your fixtures to nickel or chrome, choose a square-ish pedestal sink, and do the floor in white. i would choose white stones as flooring. they are really contemporary and natural at the same time. Or go with a white tile that is either smaller or larger than your mint wall tile. i would then tie in the mint color in your towels and add white monograming on them as well. i think you'll find that the silver color of the fixtures will make the mint tile really pop and look like you purposely chose them. And the white balance as well as the more contemporary square shape on the sink will really make your bathroom look fantastic! Good luck!

Working with mint green is easy. There are many options to achieve what you want to do. As indicated, pulling one of your colors from your color scheme into the room helps tie the bathroom into the rest of the home. Are you working with burgundy? navy blue? darker green? yellow? other color? Without knowing your scheme or theme, advice is a shot in the dark.

Often a faux paint job or wall paper which has the mint green color can coordinate it into the color scheme and make it look like it is suppose to be there. Painting walls a complimentary funky green can also make the tiles look at home and less dominate. Green on the walls with green tiles is likely the best option with colors from color scheme brought into the room in accessories.

A shower curtain and towels are an excellent way to pull together bathroom colors. Peach color works well with mint green. Mint green, peach, and white are often seen in 'cottage' decor. If not painting walls green, pick up the green color in accessories, curtains, border, or wall paper. The trick is to make the tile look like you intentionally purchased it for your home.

The right plaid can pull the green together with other colors in the color scheme in your home. Framed prints can offer opportunities to coordinate color scheme as can wreaths, borders, or stencils. Remember that wall paint, accessories, shower curtain, rugs, and towels can easily be changed.

To make tiny rooms look larger, paint ceiling the same color or a shade lighter than wall color. A large mirror will reflect light, provide depth, and the illusion of greater size. Area rug will likely make floor seem smaller, as it will define the small space. Remember that lighter colors tend to make spaces seem larger and darker colors tend to make spaces seem smaller. A pedestal sink takes up less visual space and makes a small bathroom appear larger. Sheer curtains can make room feel larger and airy. Blinds beneath sheers can be opened and closed as needed for privacy.

Bring home some paint chips and study them under both natural light and artificial light. Choosing a paint chip one shade lighter than the one you like usually works best, as paint on walls tends to appear different from chips.

I liked the suggestion to use white & black tiles on floor. You can also have paint mixed to match the green tiles and accessorize with black. A tiny splash of one of the colors from your color scheme can be brought in to pull it all together. See this link that shows a picture of mint green with black on this website: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/mintgreen
Note the simplicity and lack of clutter. This makes a small room seem larger.

Thanks for all the great ideas so far!

In response to the pp, I don't really care for the mint green, but I think if I find a way to incorporate it into a larger scheme that it will look much better.

Regarding the gold fixtures-- the toilet handle, sink faucet, shower faucet, and shower door "trim" are all gold. :( If it weren't for the shower door trim, I'd change the rest but I think to change the shower door might get a bit expensive and I want to keep this on the cheap side.

Thanks again for all the ideas, I'm going to think about all of your comments and see what I can come up with.

I forgot one thing... the adjoining hallway is a dark blue/gray. The other rooms on that floor are a gray/green and a deep red (almost eggplant). We love bold colors! :)

Yellow is on the same side of the color wheel as green. The gold fixtures are not a problem. Of course, you may not always have the dark blue/gray in the hallway, as you may change it in a few years. You could, however, use dark blue tiles instead of black in the floor and accent in accessories, etc. with dark blue instead of black, pulling the blue into the bathroom. A speck of red might be good, too.

I forgot one thing... the adjoining hallway is a dark blue/gray. The other rooms on that floor are a gray/green and a deep red (almost eggplant).

since the hallway right outside this room is blue/gray, you could use a grayish periwinkle color (sort of lavender) with the mint tiles. that's a nice combination.

i would suggest you visit the bathroom accessories dept of several stores (or go online) & look at the selection of towels & shower curtains, etc to get some good ideas for colors & maybe some actual towels.

another option: if the mint tiles are only "INSIDE" the shower stall, and not out in the room on the walls, you might be able to hang a shower curtain over the door (as if you didn't have a shower door) and hide both the tiles & the gold frame. then proceed to decorate however you'd want (within reason - eventually, a guest would see the mint). but you could then use a chrome curtain rod, and change out the other gold hardware/fixtures. depending on how often you actually have guests using the shower, that might be an option. like if most guests are just there for the evening & need to use the bathroom quickly, they would see it looking all chrome & with no mint. --just a thought.