Whether your black and white tile is ages old or newly installed, choosing the right wall color can be challenging.
I will give you some of my favorite color combinations and some to avoid.
What Colors Go Best with Black and White Bathrooms? If going with the cliche white (but still pretty good looking) is not your thing, utilizing bright colors like red, or golden yellow or green pistachio are a great company to your tiles.
These Paints Pop with Black and White Tile
Below is a list of my favorite colors to use in bathrooms with black and white tile.
1. Keep it Simple Silly
With all the colors available to you, it may seem silly to go with basic white. However, white provides a timeless simplicity. It brings out a fresh and clean look that lets the elegance of your black and white tile shine.
You can never go wrong with white for interior paint. It brightens up any room and there is no room where brightness is as important as the bathroom. While white may not be for everyone, it is always one of my favorites.
2. Let your Gray Show
Platinum, in contrast with your black and white tile, strikes a perfect balance. It’s an elegant look that adds class to any room.
In contrast to platinum’s luminescence, Payne’s gray has a more somber feel. While being a darker color, it adds a certain sophistication that just can’t be beaten.
3. It’s Time to Warm Things Up
The warm colors if done right really mesh with black and white tile. They can create striking energy that makes your bathroom feel alive.
One of my favorite colors for this application is Canary Yellow. The vibrant radiance almost seems like you’re walking into a room of sunshine.
This vivid hue will energize you in the morning and get you ready for the day. The brightness will contrast perfectly with your black tile and look amazing.
A close second in the energizing category is Tangerine. Tangerine is a brilliant color that can bring life to any room. This superb orange elicits happiness and looks great against black and white.
If you want your bathroom to have a more feminine flair, you can’t go wrong with Bright Pink. Obviously, this doesn’t work for everyone. But for those who love pink, it will look spectacular next to your black and white tile.
If you like pink, but just want something a bit more subdued, rose, and puce are excellent alternatives.
Not quite orange, not quite red, and not quite pink, coral is a color you either love or hate. So, if you hate it, skip this paragraph, and move on to the next color.
Now that those folks are gone, I can tell you that coral looks outstanding with black and white tile. It gives a warm glow to the room and makes it feel quite welcoming.
4. Cool your Jets
Not everyone wants to be energized when they walk into the bathroom. Some people just want to relax and unwind. The cool colors are perfect for that. They are perfect for a black and white tile bathroom with a big claw-foot tub to soak and relax in.
One of the most relaxing places to be is the beach. Seafoam green almost makes you feel like you are there. This color helps mellow out the sometimes rigid contrasts of black and white tile. You can almost smell the salt air and feel the sea breeze.
If the beach is not your speed, perhaps the peaceful silence of the arctic appeals to you. Arctic Blue creates an almost serene feeling when paired with black and white tile. The subtle color creates a kind of tranquility inviting relaxation and peace.
A fun and lively alternative to the subtle cool colors is Turquoise. Again, this is one of those colors that cause significant division. However, it adds a bit of attitude to otherwise pretentious black and white. While being somewhat loud, turquoise still belongs to the cool color group.
5. What about Earth Tones?
Now, I can’t say I’m a fan of browns and neutral colors in black and white bathrooms. They tend to clash and create a bit of chaos. The dark browns especially don’t seem to fit. They can make the room dreary and dark.
On the other hand, softer, more muted browns can work. Think Sandstone or Light French Beige. These lighter shades can make a nice pairing with your black and white tile. They create a stylish look that works well.
What Colors Should I Avoid?
While everyone wants to attend a black-tie event, black isn’t necessarily the color for your black and white tile bathroom. Black can be sophisticated and elegant, but it is also dark and serious. Painting your bathroom black will absorb the light making it rather gloomy. If you want a darker color in your bathroom stick with Payne’s gray.
Working with red can be tricky. Especially if you choose a darker shade. Too much red can be overpowering. Combining some reds with black and white can leave your bathroom looking like it is from a shady love motel. But hey, that is the look you are going for, more power to you.
What Feel Do You Want?
Different colors can elicit varying emotions. Warm colors are full of energy, excitement, and passion. Cool colors are calm, relaxing, and sometimes a bit gloomy. Blacks and grays can be sophisticated, somber, and serious.
The color you choose will set the mood of the room. You need to decide what you want the room to be. Perhaps you want it to be a happy place with lots of energy. A yellow or orange may work.
If you are going for a more refined look, perhaps it is grays or neutral colors. There is no right or wrong answer. It is all dependent on what you want the mood to be.
Select the Perfect Emotion by Selecting the Perfect Color
Colors can be grouped into different categories based on their properties and the emotions they evoke. The two basic color groups include warm colors and cool colors.
Warm colors include reds, oranges, and yellows. These colors contain a lot of energy and liven up a room. They can be used to convey happiness and joy.
These colors can be overused and sometimes become overpowering. These colors can sometimes signal distress, emergency, or chaos. It all depends on the shades and how the colors are used as to what emotion you get.
Red is a bold, passionate color. Red holds a tremendous amount of energy and can be easily overwhelming. Used in the right context, reds liven up a room quite nicely.
Oranges are another energetic color. While not quite as bold as red, orange can elicit enthusiasm. Orange is also seen as a welcoming and pleasant color.
Yellow is always associated with warmth and sunshine. It has a happy kind of emotion that portrays hope and laughter.
Cool colors include blues, greens, and purples. These colors tend to be more calming and relaxed. They can convey a sense of peacefulness and tranquility.
However, some darker cool colors can be more somber and reserved. Occasionally, the darker blues can border on depressing, particularly when paired with black.
Blues tend to be calming and portray a spiritual tone. The shade of blue is important to represent the correct emotion. While darker blues can be somber and sometimes sad, lighter blues can be more friendly and calming.
Greens give a sense of optimism and can also be refreshing. As with blues, the emotion of green can vary with the shade. Lighter greens tend to be livelier and more welcoming.
Purple can be a tricky color giving off a mysterious vibe. It can also inspire creativity and has often symbolized royalty and wealth.
You may notice we have not discussed neutral colors or whites and blacks. Generally, these colors have a more sophisticated feel. Often, they get lumped into being sad colors. However, used in the correct context, these colors add a classic elegant look to your room.
Ultimately, you must decide what mood you want to set. You will want to make sure and keep a consistent theme in your home. Obviously, you do not want to paint the bathroom chartreuse when the rest of the house is muted neutral colors.
Try Before you Buy
I mentioned earlier that there are tools you can use to avoid painting with a color you later hate. Many large paint suppliers now offer apps allowing you to see their paints on your walls.
These apps work through simple AI programs and show you what different colors may look like. Simply take pictures of your room and the app can let you sample color pallets to your heart’s content.
Project Color from The Home Depot lets you try all their paints on your walls before buying them. The app also has a feature that will recommend colors to match your space. The app can be used to provide inspiration as it provides recommendations based on your criteria.
With Color Portfolio you can take pictures and look at their paints on your walls. They also have a video visualizer that allows you to apply their paints to surfaces in real-time. A color match function lets you match any color to one of their paints.
ColorSnap Visualizer from Sherwin-Williams, just like the others, lets you see their colors on your walls. The app also has a search function allowing you to find the closest store. Once you find your favorite colors, the app will save those colors until you get to the store.
These apps provide a fun way to explore color options for your project. They can also save you some heartache and painting when you realize avocado green does not match your style.
Download a couple of them and see which works best for you. You do not even have to buy paint from them, simply use the app to see what colors you like. If you end up loving one of their colors so much the better.
If All Else Fails, there is Always Plan B
Choosing a new color style for your bathroom should be a fun process. There is no reason to be stressed out or panic, you’ve got this. You are developing a plan, and that plan will work.
But, just in case it does not, you can always pick a new color and start over. Paint can always be painted over. I will share some fun tools later to help you avoid that.
So Many Colors, so Little Time
Black and white tiles are so dramatic, classic, and stylish that they can be intimidating. You may think the only option for wall colors is white.
Picking out colors to go with your black and white tile should be fun. There are so many options that can be catered to every style. Obviously, there is no way to go through all the color pairings for black and white tile. There are just too many variables.
Hopefully, this gives you some idea of the possibilities for your bathroom.
In the end, it comes down to your style and what you think looks good. You may read my recommendations and think I’m a nut job. That’s the way it works. As the old saying goes, opinions are like elbows. Everyone has one.
