I finally chose the bathroom paint color! And the winner is…
Hale Navy!! (the first sample, above)
After seeing the paint on the wall at different times of day, in different light, Hale Navy was the one true navy. The other two seemed to have a bit more red or purple in them. I loved each color, but for this project, I wanted a dark, true navy. Hale Navy is it!
I have two dilemmas left to figure out before I start slapping paint on the walls. First, where to put the wainscoting:
So, in the above photo, #1 represents where I want to add the top trim of the wainscoting on the wall. #2 represents the top of the tub surround.
What I realized is that, if the top of the wainscoting isn’t even with the tub surround, there won’t be a clear, even line or area of navy on the wall. In other words, the navy would end at the tub surround on one part of the wall and then dip down lower on the other part of the wall. And I feel like that would look wonky.
I could raise the top trim piece of the wainscoting to be even with the top of the tub surround, but then I’m afraid it’ll look odd that high.
The other option is to do more of a window-pane-type trim, where I put the top trim high up, even with the tub surround, but then have several panes of trim within the space below (rather than one framed area with trim). Does that make sense?
The second question is whether to leave up the large mirror glued to the wall in that bathroom. I would love to take it down and put up something more decorative and stylish, but I’m sort of afraid what might be lurking underneath it (a giant hole in the wall, perhaps, like what I found when I removed the kitchen cabinets?).
Let me know what you think. This project will be on hold this week while my mom is visiting, so hopefully that will give me some time to think about it and sort it out!
A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.
My Kitchen and Front door and stairs are Van Deusen Blue!
I noticed that the last time we came over – and how much I loved that color! It’s not what I’m looking for in that bathroom, but it might be for another room. Hmmmm. Hope M is feeling better! Let me know if you need anything!
Your ceiling looks pretty high. What if you just extended the wainscoting border all the way around the top of the tub surround? You would still have a significant impact with the paint.
PS I like the Hale navy best although originally, I think I liked one of the others, I’ve since seen Hale navy in some other spaces, & it is totally classic & timeless (which, admittedly, is probably the same thing.). : )
And happy birthday to your daughter. It doesn’t seem like a year could possibly have gone by since the last time I said that!
Thank you, Mickey! I agree with you re the birthday! I can’t believe she’s already a year older – and we’ve come such a long way in that year!
The ceiling is really high, but the wainscoting would still be very high up at that level. There would still be plenty of area that’s painted, but I’m afraid that the wainscoting would just look wonky, like I hung it too high or something.
OK, just a wild idea here. Forget the problems with the wainscoating – and tear out the mirror – PLANK the whole wall. Solves all the problems, lol. Get whatever mirror you want then, or upcycle one! Otherwise, I’d fix everything to where the actual top of the tub enclosure was the top of the wainscoting trim. If you don’t tear out the mirror how is it going to look with an untrimmed mirror next to the wainscoating – I can’t tell from the pictures? Will it make visual sense?
Or, tear the mirror out and do the wainscoting all across there – designing it to fit where you will put the mirror. Or get a new mirror to accommodate whatever space you make with the wainscoating.
Whatever you choose – have FUN! It’s going to be so cool with that Navy!
I”d plank that sucker
OK, so great minds think alike! I thought about doing a plank wall in here, but I was worried about the wood with so much moisture in the room. I know that there are plenty of examples of designers using plank walls in bathrooms, but I dunno. I totally thought about that, though! Hmmm…maybe I’ll reconsider. It would solve both the mirror and the wainscoting problem.
Just frame out the mirror with some wide chunky trim and paint it white . I’d also leave the wainscoting at the height you’ve decided on . It won’t look odd when the blue paint dips down lower. It’s obvious that the tub surround is just that and doesn’t need to be camouflaged as part of the wall….if that makes sense??? Love the true navy color and looking forward to the reveal.
I can’t frame the mirror because it goes right up against the wall at the corner – there’s no room for framing. Sigh. Also, it’s huge. Thank you!! I’m glad you like the navy, too!
we actually glued the trim frame to the surface of our mirror (not the wall ) it made the mirror surface smaller by about 3 inches all the way around….just a thought .
Take down the mirror! Take it from someone who did not take her’s down the first round and ended up doing a lot more work later when I broke down and removed it (after it bugged me for about a year).
Fair enough! That’s what I needed to know – that it would be a huge pain to do it later, after I’ve already trimmed out and painted the room and I still hate it. Thanks!
Best of luck. Your choices are always beautiful, so I’m sure what ever you do will be great.
Hi—I think your first choice, #1, will be fine for the wainscoting. Framing the mirror is a good option, but if it is not the “look”you are going for, you might as well change it now as part of the project before all is finished. Isn’t it funny how the seemingly small projects (paint the walls navy blue) domino into more involved projects! Maybe you could cover up a portion of the bottom of the mirror with the wainscoting using construction adhesive and frame the mirror with the bottom, horizontal piece of the frame being a shelf. I’m looking forward to the reveal! Hope all goes smoothly for you!
Thanks, Karen! It’s so true – I like to compare it to the book “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” – where one thing leads to another, bigger thing, until the moose has destroyed your house. Story of my DIY projects/life! 😉
Loved that you chose Hale Navy – it was one of my faves, but in for a penny in for a pound -I agree w/ Karen if you dislike the mirror 86′ it NOW. But if its just a mild feeling of ambivalence and beefing the framing around it will do it for you- then okay. I like the wainscoting at #1 , your not framing the shower surround, ..so why go there.
At the end of the day, none of these decisions are written in stone, as we revisit many of our design choices over the years as our tastes change. Our houses & spaces within them are like ourselves -constantly evolving with time.
In my 20’s I thought the epitome of chic was black leather, chrome everything and butterfly chairs from urban outfitters…i outgrew that as well as slouchy socks, acid wash jeans and scrunchies!
Yeah, you’re right about the mirror. I think it needs some good ol’ 86’ing! 😉 Thanks! Wait – you don’t still wear leg warmers?!? Whaaat?? (kidding!)
Hi Karen,
not sure you will get this message, as I see this blog is dated a few years back. I just came across your post about selecting Hale Navy vs Newburyport, and van deusen blue for your bathroom. I am curious about the colours. I am wanting to pick one of the three for a kitchen island, and a mudroom. I am wondering if the hale navy looks black ? It was my original choice based on pictures on the internet, but once I looked at the colour blots, I am uncertain as it almost looks like a slate black.
I am unable to actually paint a part of the wall to test it because this is a new build, and I am currently renting. I am trying to find that perfect blue that doesn’t look like 1980’s but soft, cool, classy and modern. 🙂
It does not look black. It’s definitely a rich navy.