Painting bathroom walls pewter grey... Should I leave my ceiling white?

Redecorating my bathroom and my Dad - who's helping A LOT so I've got to listen to him :-) thinks ceilings should be white.





He usually paints everything builder's beige or really light colours though. I've chosen a mildew resistant Zinsser bathroom paint and I've had it tinted pewter grey... (not too dark, not too light... kind of medium, but BOLD for the kid of a builder's beige guy!!) Trim, baseboards etc. will be white.





I've heard when painting walls a darker colour you should paint the ceiling a lighter shade of the same colour. (1 part colour to 2 parts white.)





And although I'm using mildew resistant paint (and I don't know if this will even be a problem anymore) I'm thinking that by painting the ceiling a colour (rather than leaving it white) those little brown water drop marks from condensation might not show up (if they return at all.)





What's your experience? White ceilings or not? (And if not, is 1:2 the correct ratio for the ceiling?)





Thanks for any advice!!Painting bathroom walls pewter grey... Should I leave my ceiling white?
Personally, I can't stand white ceilings. They make a room look unfinished. I suppose if you have white floors, it would look a little less retarded, but in the end, you should go with what you like...





Your 1;2 ratio would be fine, 1:3 is also acceptable, but the paint stores have already done the work for you. There's also an added bonus to buying the color already mixed. When you buy paint, they add color for free and take the guesswork out of mixing it in the right hue.





If you look at a paint card, most companies have already figured out what you're looking for. If you look at a paint card with 7 hues, you can use the 4th or 5th one down to put on your walls. Then you use the 1st or 2nd for your ceilings. Any of the remaining 5 colors can be used as trim colors. That gives you a monochromatic color palette in any color.





If you take your color sample to a hardware store and match it up to the right color in the #4 or 5 slot, you will have the proper card to find a ceiling color.





The same principle applies to cards with 5 hues but you will want to stick to #4 for the walls, and #1 for the ceiling. Same principle, less options.





However, that is only for monochromes. On those paint cards, all of the sections represent a certain hue. All the #1s are the same hue, all the #2s, etc. If you want to go with something a little more colorful, you can accent with another color of the same hue you would have used in monochrome. (ie: #1 or 2)





For instance, let's say you wanted to accent your bathroom with dark blue accessories. By finding the proper color card that best represents your accessories (in the #4 or 5 slot depending on how many colors your card has), you can then find a complimentary hue from a different color card to paint the ceiling. As long as the color matches the rooms accessories or theme, it should compliment both the walls and the accessories in the bathroom. This gives you a more ';finished'; look.





For instance, using the examples of pewter walls and blue accessories again... Match the color of the accessories to a 7 hue paint card. Ideally, you want the accessories to match the color in the #5 slot. Then simply choose the color in the #2 slot for the ceiling . This works best if you install trim molding along the ceiling and paint it the same color as the accessories, or other complimentary colors in your scheme. It doesn't need to be elaborate, a simple 1/4 round trim will give you the desired effect.





Often, when using a multi-color scheme, the colors will look a little ';off'; until you have moved everything into the room. Ideally, you want the wall and ceiling color to disappear visually, which means that they need to compliment something, rather than become the sole visual aspect of the room.





Anyway, have fun.


-SD-Painting bathroom walls pewter grey... Should I leave my ceiling white?
I would leave the ceilings white. It will make the ceilings look higher and give the bathroom the illusion of being bigger.
You can leave them white and it will look fine, but they are showing ceilings painted as well and I really think that looks great, I would paint it a shade of grey that is so light maybe 3:1 ratio, that will give it the added edge.
id tint the celings a lighter color but for a dramatic change use the same color... lighter celings give the room a bigger apperance... my mother in law painted her bedroom the color of chocolate and the celings too.. we had to make her adjoining bath into a handicapp accessable using the same color family in there
What it boils down to is just a matter of preference. I would go with the pewter on the ceiling too! White is nice and it would match the trim...but, like you said the color would hide a lot! Also, by painting the ceiling the same color as the walls, you don't have as much trimming out to do. You won't have to worry about getting your wall color on the ceiling. Go for it! Besides, it's just paint! If you don't like it, you can paint over it!