Beautiful Paint Colors to Update an Almond Tub, Toilet or Sink
Almond bathrooms can be buuuutt-ugly, and I have no problem saying that without worrying about insulting you and your butt-ugly almond bathroom.
Why?
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Because I have owned a butt-ugly almond bathroom, I’ve felt your exquisite pain. But, I will also clarify that not ALL of them are that bad, but others definitely give you a run for your money.
And because paint is theeasiest and most affordable way to transform any space in your home, you’ll want to look at some color options before making any costly changes involving new bathroom fixtures. So, read on my almond-challenged friend!
LET’S CALL IT LIKE IT IS…
Start treating almond as a color, rather than a ‘thing’. In my work as an Online Color Consultant, I often hear ‘…my almond tub, my bone-colored sink,’ but when you think about it, what exactly is almond? Well, almond is a light tan-beige. And that’s why it’s so darned awkward! If it were a normal beige or tan, it would be dark enough to accommodate a wider range of colors (I mean, what doesn’t go with tan, right?)
However, because it’s a light tan it can look dirty and dated when placed with the wrong colors.
But regardless, once you start treating ‘almond’ like an actual color, you can incorporate it into a color scheme that complements it – rather than fights with it.
THE BEST DARKER PAINT COLORS FOR BONE OR ALMOND FIXTURES
There are many ‘tan’ tubs out there with different undertones. While one person might have a more passive, muted, almost creamy tan, another will have one with a pink, yellow, or yellow-green undertone (yellow-green is the most common). This means that these colors aren’t fool-proof with EVERY tan fixture, as there are many manufacturer finishes out there – but they sure are a great place to start!
We’re starting with darker shades.
Why?
Whereas lighter colors will be more fussy about the exact almond, bone, or creamy tan bathroom fixture they’re partnered with, there are many darker paint colors that suit or accent a wider range of these finicky finishes!
1. BENJAMIN MOORE KINGSPORT GRAY HC 86
Kingsport Gray is a subtle mix of gray and brown, which means it’s a greige, however, it does FAVOUR brown over gray. It’s also one of my FAVE options for kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, especially those from the 80s, ’90s, and 2000s.
The New Era of Laminate Countertops and Why They Rock
While the above photo doesn’t have almond fixtures, you can see how nice it would look as the countertop has some of those warm almond-inspired tones in it.
Please remember that I use ONLY my E-Design client’s photos on my blog. Sometimes I won’t have exactly the photo I need, but I’ll do my best to show you what I’m talking about with a photo or ‘paint blob’.
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH KINGSPORT GRAY
These colors will have different undertones and depths, but the comparison can help you decide which is BEST with your particular almond sink, toilet, or tub.
- Benjamin Moore Iron Gate
- Benjamin Moore Equestrian Gray
- Sherwin Williams Keystone Gray
Can you STRETCH your bathtub into the slightly lighter Ashley Gray? It never hurts to try!
The 6 Best Paint Colors for a Bathroom Vanity
2. SHERWIN WILLIAMS MEGA GREIGE 7031
Mega Greige is a soft medium-toned greige that doesn’t cater much to green undertones (common with greige) or violet (common with taupe). And while it can be touchy with some, it can hit the perfect spot with quite a few of the common almond/bone bathroom finishes.
And not only can you use Mega Greige on your walls, but consider it for your vanity too (you’d paint one or the other, not both).
In this next image, why is Mega Greige a great choice?
The strong color of the tub surround doesn’t agree with the tile floor – they have different needs. HOWEVER, one thing they do agree on is that they both like the color of the GROUT around the tile! That’s right, grout can be a great place to pull a color from!
I’m sure my client was hoping for a lighter, more modern color, but their bathroom just wasn’t ready for it!
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH MEGA GREIGE
These colors will have different undertones and depths, but the comparison can help you decide which is BEST with your particular bathroom fixtures.
- Sherwin Williams Keystone Gray
- Benjamin Moore Kingsport Gray (previously mentioned)
- Sherwin Williams Anew Gray
Bathrooms have a variety of needs, and it’s not always about the color of your fixtures. Find the color that also works with your countertop and any tile work.
3. SHERWIN WILLIAMS TONY TAUPE 7038
Tony Taupe is a soft, medium-toned beige-brown, but leans nicely into gray, so it doesn’t have a typical golden look to it. Whether you want to paint your bathroom walls or update your vanity, Tony Taupe is better than most beige-inspired colors as it ‘can’ pick up a tiny touch of green that often suits almond-toned bathroom fixtures.
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH TONY TAUPE
These colors will have different undertones and depths, but the comparison can help you decide which is BEST with your particular bathroom fixtures.
- Sherwin Williams Portico
- Benjamin Moore Indian River
- Sherwin Williams Balanced Beige – might be a bit too light, but worth a shot
The 5 Best Sherwin Williams Beige Paint Colors
4. BENJAMIN MOORE SMOKED OYSTER 2109-40
Smoked Oyster is a beautiful blend of purple and a warm gray/greige – a fab color for some personality! It would be particularly beautiful with some of the travertines out there. However, if you have the yellow-green version of almond fixtures, stay far away, as the purple and yellow-green won’t love each other at all! This color prefers the more subtle, lighter color tan fixtures.
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH SMOKED OYSTER
- Benjamin Moore Stone Harbor
- Benjamin Moore Silver Fox
The 9 Best Purple Paint Colors
5. SHERWIN WILLIAMS URBANE BRONZE & PORPOISE
Urbane Bronze and Porpoise are two wicked pretty darker shades of greige. While they would be pretty ambitious as a wall color for a bathroom, they can make a vanity look gorgeous!
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH URBANE BRONZE
- Sherwin Williams Anonymous
- Sherwin Williams Grizzle Gray (gray-green)
- Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray (gray-green with a subtle warmth)
THE BEST LIGHT WALL PAINT COLORS WITH ALMOND/BONE BATHROOM FIXTURES
More so than the darker shades, it’s important to sample and compare similar shades when you’re looking at lighter colors.
Why?
Because light to medium-depth colors are closer in depth to your almond fixtures, it will be more obvious if the undertones are slightly off, or even worse – completely clash.
And as I mentioned earlier (because I love repeating myself)…
Bathrooms have a variety of needs, and it’s not always about the color of your fixtures. Find the color that also works with your countertop and any tile work.
And even more so than the darker shades, it depends on how light or dark your bathroom fixtures are as to which color coordinates the best.
Many of the colors in this next image (which I’ll include links to below) are great options to try…
How they look HERE versus how they’ll look with your almond fixtures can be quite different, so don’t judge them too hard by this.
1. BENJAMIN MOORE WINDS BREATH OC-24
Winds Breath is a super versatile neutral, especially for an outdated bathroom with tricky finishes. With an LRV of almost 70, Winds Breath sits near the top of the light range. It has soft gray undertones nestled in a bed of cream and tan.
Again, I only use photos from my Online Paint Color Consulting clients and readers, so I don’t always have JUST what I need. However, these comparisons show Winds Breath with a few of my faves…
Get the online paint color expert that DESIGNERS hire!
2. BENJAMIN MOORE WHITE DOWN OC 131
White Down is one of my fave off-white colors. Please note, that your tan fixtures may end up being DARKER than your walls; this will happen with any off-white paint color. However, it’s still a pretty and fresh combo, especially if you support it with the right bathroom decor.
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH WHITE DOWN
- Sherwin Williams Creamy
- Benjamin Moore Navajo White
The 5 Best Cream Paint Colors: Benjamin Moore
The 5 Best Off-White Paint Colors
3. BENJAMIN MOORE REVERE PEWTER HC 172
Revere Pewter is another interesting choice for an almond-inspired bathroom. If you’re going for a beachy theme, this soft gray and its subtle green undertone can be enhanced with off-white towels and blue-green accents. However, it’s best in a bathroom with a more MUTED almond finish.
Above, you’ll see a Kingsport Gray vanity with Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter walls. Revere can SOMETIMES be a wink muddy/green for some almond fixtures. You can see how they relate here when you look at the shower surround reflected in the mirror.
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH REVERE PEWTER
These colors will have different undertones and depths, but the comparison can help you decide which is BEST with your particular bathroom fixtures.
- Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray
- Sherwin Williams Jogging Path
- Benjamin Moore Fieldstone
- Sherwin Williams Intellectual Gray
The Best Gray and Greige Paint Colors
4. SHERWIN WILLIAMS WHITE DUCK
White Duck is a super flexible shade of off-white. It’s also a hybrid that can’t decide which neutral it loves the most – cream, tan, or a muted ‘almost greige’. This makes it a great option to sample, as it could have the flex your space needs.
This next photo doesn’t show an almond bathtub or toilet, but it does show a pretty bone-cream-colored trim and door…
Revere Pewter was also mentioned earlier!
Again, it all comes down to exactly HOW light or dark your bathroom fixtures are, and what their exact undertones are.
SAMPLE & COMPARE THESE COLORS WITH WHITE DUCK
- Sherwin Williams Shoji White is SUPER similar, just make sure it doesn’t look pink in comparison.
- Benjamin Moore Winds Breath
- Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White
5. BENJAMIN MOORE BALLET WHITE
Ballet White is a classic color from BM’s off-white collection. Ballet White is quite similar to White Duck, but if White Duck fell a touch flat/gray for your room, Ballet White could save the day with its enhanced (but still muted) cream backdrop, along with a bit more depth (LRV of almost 72).
The finishes in this next bathroom are travertine and there isn’t any almond or bone in sight. However, the travertine tile gives you a great idea of how good Ballet White can look with earth-toned finishes and fixtures…
COLORS TO SAMPLE & COMPARE WITH BALLET WHITE
- Definitely the previously mentioned Sherwin Williams White Duck and Shoji White
- Benjamin Moore White Sand
6. SHERWIN WILLIAMS ACCESSIBLE BEIGE
I wanted to hit you with Aesthetic White and Accessible Beige, but feel like Accessible might hit a few more bathrooms (you’re welcome to check out both). These are beiges with a feather-dusting of gray in them.
Unlike most traditional beiges that have a more golden look, these are suuuper subdued. Aesthetic White is kind of like the off-white version of Accessible Beige.
FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige
FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White
SIMILAR COLORS TO COMPARE WITH ACCESSIBLE BEIGE
- Sherwin Williams Natural Tan (definitely)
- Benjamin Moore Clay Beige
A FEW POINTS TO PONDER
- If you are looking for drama, warmth, interest, and personality, then you could paint your walls a darker color. However, if you don’t have a great ventilation system (common in homes with almond fixtures), those dark walls might show drips after a hot shower. Learn more about paint finishes here.
- A lighter neutral will give you a lighter and brighter look and let you accent with browns, blacks, and earth tones. However, with varying shades of almond/bone out there, it can be tricky to find the one that works just right (not all bones were created equal…wink wink). See some beautiful cream paint colors here
More Ways to Update an Almond Bathroom
PAINT COLORS THAT DON’T LOOK GOOD WITH ALMOND OR BONE BATHROOM FIXTURES
WHITE
White or off-white walls will only accent the almond-nessity of your tub and white will make the almond look dirty.
PINK, ROSE OR PEACH
Any version, whether it’s light, medium or dark will look terrible with almond.
ALMOST ANY COLOR THAT’S LIGHTER THAN YOUR BATHROOM FIXTURE
Most light colors in will make almond look dirtier than it is.
BLUE & GREEN
These colors can be touch and go in a bathroom. While you can humour some blue/grays or green/grays, be careful that you aren’t contrasting too much with the warm tones of your fixtures.
And remember, there are other things to consider in your bathroom, such as your countertop, flooring, exposure and of course, your PERSONAL taste! Be sure that your chosen color satisfies as many of those as possible.
READ MORE
E-design: An Almond Bathroom Update
Ideas to Update an Almond or Bone Bathroom
The 11 Best Warm Neutral Paint Colors That AREN’T BEIGE!
How to Create a Timeless Home – 4-PART SERIES
Get the online paint color expert that DESIGNERS HIRE!
Check out my E-Design and Online Color Consulting Packages!
Originally written in 2016, updated in 2023
