Don’t let ‘gift’ color your perspective
Dear Designer: I am the recipient of brand-new and expensive blue toilet. It was given to me by a friend who custom ordered it but didn’t like the color once she saw it. I am redecorating my master bathroom and I feel somewhat obligated to use it. My room is small and I have travertine tiles on my floors and walls. My bathtub is white and my sink is white. Is there a way to make it work? Maybe I can paint my beige walls blue? — Shirley
Dear Shirley: Gifts are fun even when they are as unique and unconventional as a designer toilet. I am afraid I might not give you the answer you hope to hear in this case.
If you told me, “I’ve always wanted this” or “I love it and really must use it” I could assume you would do whatever it takes to make it work, even if that meant remodeling the entire bathroom. Because you said, “I feel somewhat obligated to use it,” I assume that you are a thrifty person and don’t want to toss such a costly item. Unfortunately many design problems start with such a gift or purchase. When we try to “make something work” in design, without changing other aspects of the room, it usually looks like an afterthought. Good design starts with a well-thought out plan that is carried out in all the fixtures, surfaces and accessories of a room.
There is a time and a place for everything, including a blue toilet. Blues are calming and work great in a bathroom. They remind us of the ocean and other bodies of water. The color works well in both large and small bathrooms. Take a look at how Kohler successfully utilizes blue fixtures in a bathroom. Notice that the theme and color is consistent throughout this dreamy room.
If you want to utilize this blue toilet in your small bathroom, I recommend that you give your room a complete overhaul. Otherwise, you will be putting a colorful fixture into a monochromatic room where everything is beige and white. Your eye will be drawn to the object that has color and that will be your focal point. Generally, a toilet is not a good focal point. If you painted your walls to help incorporate the toilet color, the color would distract from your rich travertine and make your small bathroom look choppy.
When dealing with a small space, the more consistent you are with the colors used, the larger your room will appear. The real cost of keeping this free gift is the cost of your bathroom remodel.
I can understand why you wouldn’t want to let this “gift” go to waste, but given your bathroom description my advice would be to pass the new blue, designer toilet along to another friend in need or donate it to a worthy organization like Habitat for Humanity.
Cindy Payne is a certified interior designer with more than 25 years of experience, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, as well as a licensed contractor. E-mail questions to her at deardesigner
@projectdesigninteriors.com or send them to her at Project Design Interiors, 2620 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 189, Las Vegas, NV 89109. She can be reached online at www.projectdesigninteriors.com.
