10 Bathroom paint colors I love for 2022

Searching for some insight on the best bathroom paint colors? In this curated list of popular bathroom paint ideas I’ve included some tried and true favorites like Palladian Blue, but also introduced a few newcomers that I’m fairly excited about, like Behr’s Breezyway.

Beyond these 10 beautiful hues, I’ve included my tips on how to choose the right color for you, which you can find at the bottom of this post.

10 popular bathroom paint colors

Drawing inspiration from calming colors in the blue/green, gray, white and greige color family–everyone should find something on this list.

White Dove

I can’t do a list of bathroom paint colors without including one of my favorite colors–White Dove, the color we used on our master bathroom remodel.

White Dove is an off-white paint color with a grey/greige undertone, and it works really nicely with the off-white quartz countertop in our bathroom. I wouldn’t consider White Dove if you want that ultra bright white, as it’s just too creamy. For a brighter white, look at Chantilly Lace.

This is a great color for small bathrooms and you can find more small bathroom paint ideas here.

Quiet Moments

When I think of bathroom colors, I think of those soft blue-greens, and Ben Moore Quiet Moments is really very beautiful. Quiet Moments is a really good blend of blue, green and gray. If you like the idea of a sea foam-like color on your walls, but want something a bit more muted, make sure you test out this color.

You want to pair this pretty blue/green hue with cooler fixed elements, like marble countertops and a white vanity. More on choosing the right color for your space at the end of this post! If you like the idea of Quiet Moments but don’t quite think it fits the bill, here you can check out more blue/green gray paint colors.

November Rain

Benjamin Moore describes this color as an off-white, but as you know by now, paint companies are pretty lose with their definition of color! Much different than a true off-white like White Dove, November rain is a very, very soft gray with green undertones.

It’s on the same paint swatch as other very pale grays, like Gray Owl (a gray with blue/green undertones), but it is very light as far as gray paint colors go. November Rain looks really pretty with natural elements, which is why I’ve paired it with this beautiful wooden vanity.

Need paint color insp for a vanity color? Here’s my curated list of bathroom vanity colors.

Palladian Blue

If you’re looking for that quintessential spa color for your bathroom, you cannot go wrong with Palladian Blue.

A really equal match of green and blue, Palladian Blue goes really nicely with many colors, thanks to its array of undertones. In particular, I love pairing Palladian Blue with dark navy hues like Hale Navy or Naval (which I’m actually highlighting below). The color also works really well with grays with blue undertones, too.

Smoke

Smoke is a really beautiful soft blue paint color with gray undertones, giving it a “smoky” appearance. I really like Smoke for the bathroom, as it’s got that spa-like quality that so many homeowners want, but it’s more reserved because of those gray undertones. You’d want to pair this hue with cooler fixed elements like black or white floors, marble or white tile, etc.

Shoji White

Shoji white is a greige paint color with a really beautiful blend of beige and gray. The hue is made up of considerably more beige than gray, and at times, there’s a bit of a green undertone to it. Don’t let the green undertone worry you–all paint colors have undertones, and neutral colors with green undertones are among the easiest to work with.

All colors need to be tested out before you commit, but in particular, I always recommend really carefully evaluating greige colors before you paint the entire room. Sometimes greige colors can get a little muddy if light isn’t optimal, and you’ll need to evaluate your bathroom’s light when you make your final decision.

Intrigue

Intrigue by Sherwin Williams is a really pretty green, soften by gray undertones. Just like with the smoky blue color I highlighted earlier on the list, this green is really natural looking thanks to those smoky gray undertones.

This color really reminds me of the very popular Farrow and Ball color, Green Smoke, so if you wanted to try Green Smoke but didn’t wan’t to spring for the more expensive paint, give Intrigue a try.

Naval

Navy hues will always be in style! My tried and true navy paint colors have always been Naval by Sherwin Williams and Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore. Naval is a more true navy while Hale Navy is a bit more reserved because of its gray undertones.

Naval coordinates really well with cooler quartz colors, marble and white subway tile. I know gold/brass fixtures are fairly popular now, but I’ve always loved the classic combination of chrome with navy hues, as observed in the sketch above.

Breezeway by Behr

I don’t review too many Behr colors, as I just get more requests for Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore, but when Behr announced Breezeway was their 2022 color of the year, I had to pay attention.

This is a really beautiful sea foam green, that’s paler than Palladian Blue. Sometimes homeowners get Palladian Blue up on the walls and think it’s a bit too dark for the look they were going for, and hues like Quiet Moments and Breezeway will be better fits. Compared to Quiet Moments, Breezeway has slightly more blue than green in it.

Sweater Weather

A relatively new gray hue in the Sherwin Williams Emerald line, Sweater weather is a fairly light gray hue. Sweater Weather has mild blue undertones, and at times, I’ve seen some slight green ones, too. Again, thanks to its undertones, this type of gray works really well with cooler fixed elements.

How to choose a bathroom paint color

Now that you have some color inspo, let’s dive deeper on how to actually pick the right color. Because just because you want that gray color you saw online, doesn’t mean it will work in your bathroom!

Pay attention to your fixed elements

If you know nothing else about paint, making sure the paint color you ultimately choose works with your fixed elements will save your room’s look and feel. In a bathroom, you’ll observe your vanity color, vanity top, and tile color.

Many of the colors on the list I noted had blue undertones, and for those to work harmonious in a bathroom, they need to be paired with cooler fixed elements. So marble tile, white subway tile, blue tile, etc. The easiest way to figure this out is to just compare samples of paint to your countertop and tile.

I like those large peel and stick tiles for this very reason!

Manage your contrast

In general, you always want to try and manage your contrast when decorating a space. Doing this correctly makes rooms much more interesting and looks like you hired a designer. Look at how the walls are blue and the countertop is a white/off-white. The floor tile was blue and fairly busy, so they paired it with a plain white subway tile in the bathroom….perfection!

Test out the color

Alright, this is what separates the DIYers from the pros! You won’t know exactly which gray or which white or which beige, gray, taupe works best for your fixed elements unless you test out multiple colors.

The best way to do this is to order those peel and stick samples (but don’t take the sticker part off!!) Say you want to go with a gray in your bathroom. Well gray paint has blue, green or purple undertones. Some gray paint has a couple of those undertones in it. Don’t stress, just order samples in multiple gray hues. You’ll easily see which one works for your space.

Once you get the samples in, put them in front of a white poster board and move them around your room. Put the sample where it would go in the room.

I’ve showed this picture many times before, but look at how crazy this is! All of these colors are considered gray paint colors! This is why you must test them out and you must compare the colors with multiple colors, because that’s the only way you can really see the undertones!

What kind of paint is best for bathrooms?

Use satin in bathrooms, has a little more sheen, which is more water water-resistant than a flat or matte. In our opinion, semi-gloss just looks cheap on the walls, but you should use it on trim if you choose satin for wall finish.