I was in Montreal a few weeks ago and snapped a picture of this classic Carrara marble bathroom in the hotel we stayed in.
You’ll notice that this bathroom is painted a green beige. Since Carrara marble has a blue undertone, I wouldn’t call this the best choice even though it doesn’t clash.
So I did a poll and I thought it would be fun to photoshop them so you could see the difference since this is an easy bathroom to work with.
It was fun to read all your replies on which colour was right and here are some of them:
Existing colour
I like the way the black was repeated in the shower.
White was a big preference (below). No surprise there, it’s the hottest colour trending right now.
Looks a little stark I think.
Here’s another bathroom with Carrara Marble that is painted in white. Less stark here because there is more white in the tile.
Here’s one that is in the realm of SW Zircon. When you have this much tile in a bathroom, it often looks the best when the wall colour simply relates to the existing colours or neutrals in the tile.
Here we have a Carrara mosaic surround with a taupe tile floor. I like that the taupe floor was repeated in the framed mirror above the sink and in the roman shade. It was the best way to take an earthy floor tile and make it work with blue grey marble.
The right styling makes everything beautiful.
Here’s one in a colour, SW Watery. Obviously this bathroom needs to have this blue repeated in the artwork and towels for this to work here.
Via pinterest
Here’s a similar blue with white tile. Looks a little less like a clean/dirty combination is happening.
I like this blue wainscotting too, it breaks up the white walls and adds some pizazz!
Which one would you choose?
PS. Also, remember that yellow cafe I posted about a couple weeks ago? I talked about how black trim would have been so wrong on that cafe? Well I had the casings photoshopped so you could see for yourself, here’s the post again if you want to check it out.
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Related posts:
The hotel one looks best with the SW Zircon colour.
I like the colour of the blue wainscotting in the last photo. And I like the white bathrroom with the brown wood frames around the mirrors. Maybe it’s the season but I have been liking brown and white combinations – clean and natural looking with a touch of warmth.
The Bathroom with the blue trim and wainscoting has left me with a question. In a post from last month about trim and wall colors I got the definite impression that it is more “current” to paint the lower wainscoting the same color as the trim, most typically in some shade of white or cream. I was just on the verge of painting my wainscoting in my small dining room in Anitque White BM (semi gloss) to match the wall color. The trim is presently a true white (not sure exactly shade). But now I see you saying how great the blue trim and wainscoting are in the above bathroom. So how does one decide when to use a contrasting wainscoting and trim color and when to keep it all in the same color?
I like the white HGTV bath
I also think the reason the white looks good in the second white example is that white looks best in rooms with a lot of natural light. The first picture with white doesn’t seem to have any windows and the room has all the charm of a hospital ward…haha!
Sometimes I question the white trend b/c white really works best when you have a lot of light and artwork or other interesting wall displays. I do like black and white together (maybe white walls and black window trim, etc. with black somewhere in the floor or furniture), but generally, I think white is harder to make work in a home than people think. I think interior designers can pull it off b/c you all have the know-how and the resources to decorate the way you should with white. It looks good on Pinterest, yes, but when you get it on four walls, and those walls aren’t particularly well-lit or well-decorated, it just doesn’t have the lightening/freshening up effect it is intended to have.
For me, I think the best rooms are the well lit white room, the Randi Garrett picture and second to last room from Pinterest. (The last one is okay, but I am just not a big fan of the white walls and blue trim here. Maybe the reverse?)
None:) The last photo with the blue wainscotting is beautiful though. The white bathroom with SW Watery is pretty as well, but I’m not a fan of Carrara marble.
I prefer the last two pictures. The Pinterest one & the House Beautiful bathroom. They both look fresh to me. Love that!
I’m glad you’re not out east right now. Those poor folks are dealing with Mathew & his aftermath.
I agree with Mary-Illinois. The House Beautiful picture looks clean and crisp. I also like the way that the blue is repeated in all of the casings. The white looks like a true white and does not make the toilet look dirty. However I am wondering if the blue could have been more of a blue gray to go with the Carrara marble. The Pintrest picture is lovely and the way it is styled is the key.
I agree with Lucy the blue could have been a little more blue grey and a bit darker IMO.
As its a hotel bathroom, I’d want it to flow smoothly with the remaining hotel room decor. Painting the walls white would change the feel too much to stark/cold. The blue paint has the same result. So, to stay with the intent of the decor’s feeling, with minimal cost to effect the change, I would simply paint it BM Ballet White, which in my opinion would maintain the warmth of the bathroom while maintaining its place within the larger design of the entire hotel room, but softening the clash between the walls and the carrara marble. 🙂
I love the SW zircon with the Carrera marble, also the House Beautiful bathroom with the blue wainscotting! If one wanted a similar bathroom with marble , but had a North-facing room which may need a warm neutral wall colour like BM Revere Pewter, what could be a nice marble to compliment the greeny undertone? Would Calacatta marble be more suitable?
Yeah, I thought a gray color would be best in that particular bath, given the hard fixtures already in place.
I like the white hgtv as well.
It looks crisp and clean and I love pink flowers!
Would blue gray look good?
The house beautiful! Less gray more color
I like the one with the SW zircon color best! The color is a nice blend with the tile.
“Hearing” Maria’s “voice” inside me, makes me realize, the designers did not consider how bossy the marble is, and try to treat it as a neutral (ala Maria’s comments on how some items are like blue jeans, can go with anything). Clearly, this turns out to not be the case — this marble is not ‘blue jeans’.
So, if the marble is bossy, is a predominant color, what if we take a step back and ask if this marble is the right choice to start with.
Many of these photos (and countless others I have seen) leave me with the impression that after the marble was installed, folks said “EEK!!!” and tried to undo/ignore in desperation. Someone said “I want this marble (cause it is trendy, without thinking it through)” and end up with an unexpected problem,
Choose your tile/expensive/enduring surfaces wisely, to paraphrase Maria in previous posts (she has never said those exact words that I know of: i am summarizing).
If ya follow Maria’s advice, then won’t struggle working out colors with a bossy surface that forces a quizzical palette.
(my favorite mantra: Maria is right)
I like the hotel bathroom with the SW Zircon the best….my favorites are the last two…pinterest and house beautiful.
I just stayed in this hotel! (Sofitel in Montreal). I loved the bathroom… it was very classic and the way the designer used marble tiles with black accents on the floor and in the shower to tie into the vanity really worked IMO. But the funny thing is… the bathroom in my room was painted a grayish-white, kind of in-between your first two images. Wonder if they changed the paint colour during the paint job or if they updated at a later date during other renos.
My favourite is actually the ‘Garrett’ design but perhaps I am little prejudice as one of my upgraded bathrooms is very similar in design, however I chose BM Classic Gray on the walls (which I love BTW) and my flooring tile can be best described as a light silver (with an ever so light blue undertone). -Brenda-
*Footnote — The bathroom itself is small however thanks to a very large skylight it has plenty of natural light.
I find the zircon looks best. The watery blue looks terrific in the other bathroom photos but it is seems too bright for the hotel bath.
There is a different issue going here that is not being addressed. The marble in the hotel is grade D Carrara commonly used in commercial grade applications, and is low end Carrara with a solid dark grey base. High grade CD is the marble that most people think of and is the most desirable due to its white base with subtle blue-ish grey veining.
Blue is not an appropriate color choice for the low end Hotel marble as there is literally no white OR blue in the tile to draw out of. Really the best choice would be a shades of grey. Or a nice modern wallpaper in shades of grey and silver.
Now if they had high end Carrara, the blues would totally work. But blue is not a universal color for all Carrara because of the significant difference in quality which dramatically affects the coloring.
I love the one with the taupe tiled floor. So pretty! Light, airy and so soothing. White vanity… pretty roman shade….what’s not to love lol
What is the best light grey/off white paint (wall) goes well with Carrara floor in the bathroom?