If you’re planning on remodeling your bathroom, you may be considering what color scheme you want to use. It depends on whether you’re planning to sell your home in the near-future or if you’re staying long-term. One popular design trend in bathrooms is to make your overall bathroom color scheme white or neutral.

So what if you’re planning on putting your home on the market in the near future? As Brown Harris Stevens real estate agent Katharine Tuckerman says, bathrooms  “can make or break a deal” when selling a home. They are one of the most important rooms in the home when it comes to not only resale value, but marketability. Especially in master baths, white or neutral colored bathrooms have the “clean and updated look that most buyers want.”

A major part of the appeal white and neutral bathrooms is their clean, sleek appearance. Especially when they are brand-new and properly staged, they certainly are very attractive to look at, which is why design magazines and interior design websites show them so often. One drawback to this is that they can look dirtier more quickly. So if you want a lower maintenance bathroom, using some darker colors may not be a bad idea, especially if resale value isn’t on the top of your priority list right now.

The main advantage of having a white or neutral (such as light blue) color palette in a bathroom is that everything goes with it. You can use accents to add splashes of color and style. Also, when it comes to additional bathrooms, such as powder rooms, home buyers often don’t mind a more unusual color scheme. This is because in smaller bathrooms it’s a lot easier to make them over later. Also, you don’t have to worry about anything clashing with white and it’s easier to color coordinate with neutral colors such as creams, peaches, etc.

Another advantage of white or pale colored bathrooms is that they appear brighter and therefore bigger. From an interior design standpoint, this tends to be favorable. Smaller bathrooms with darker color palettes can feel like caves. Some people like the feeling of a cozy bathroom with character, but not everyone. It’s okay to consider dark colors as long as you have sufficient lighting, especially natural light using something like a skylight or big open window if you’re working with a second floor bathroom. In neutral colored bathrooms, plenty of light is still good, but you can be more conservative with it.

Now, if you’re staying long-term, you may wonder if you should you just go nuts with the design. Even if you decide to go for a more vibrant color scheme, you should still be sure to choose complementary or contrasting colors. Also, try to avoid using too much of a bright color, such as a super sunny yellow, as it can become tiring to look at after a while. One piece of advice is to use three colors or contrast two bright colors in a bathroom color scheme.  

Whatever you choose to do, be sure to read up on color theory and think about what sort of colors fit with your individual home. Having an eye-popping bathroom can be novel and exciting. But no matter what sort of color scheme you choose, be sure that it’s one that you’re going to enjoy for the long-term.