Overthinking a cabinetry decision... Opinions please!

[Dee*Jay]

So as many of you might recall I am in the midst of remodeling a (very!) small boat house on the water in Michigan. I am at crunch time -- final decisions have to be made and executed or we will be well into summer before this thing is DONE, and frankly I would rather be able to spend time enjoying the place rather than keep obsessing over stuff...

OK, on to the immediate question: I am putting in a white kitchen and on the opposite wall (about 20 feet away) there will be matching white cabinetry that is a built in closet wall. The bathroom has a white toilet and white tile in the shower... but for the life of me I can't find a WHITE vanity to put in there. I don't want to go with wood (i.e., brown), but I'm running out of options. I did find one last night that I really liked... until I saw it in person and it's much more ivory (well toward the yellow) than white, and I'm afraid that would be odd because it would be the only cabinetry in the whole place that isn't pure white, and also because I think it would look "off" due to the pure white of the toilet and shower.

What do you think -- am I over analyzing? There are a couple of white vanities I could order but they all have a one month + lead time and I am really hoping to get a working bathroom much sooner than that. Also, I'm a little uneasy about ordering things that I haven't seen in person now because I did order one and last weekend once we unboxed it I had to return it (which was a HUGE hassle) because the quality just was not acceptable.

Ugh. The trauma/drama of being a perfectionist...

Help me see the light!

 

[Puppmom]

Me...personally - the all white bathroom with an off white vanity would bug me. If I couldn't get bright white to match I would go with something different altogether.

Can you get an unfinished wood vanity that can be painted white?

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Can you distress the white so it looks a bit grey or...? Or a as puppmon suggested paint a darker wood. Contrast (but not almond or off white..) would be good.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Matata]

Last resort: buy whatever you like in whatever color it comes in and paint it to match.

 

[Bonfire]

For a boathouse bath I think a weathered/distressed gray would look great with all the white. (Think driftwood)

 

[Queenie60]

How about a Nautical blue? That could have a nice contrast.

 

[Platinum-blonde]

I agree that grey would look great. I would also suggest navy, if you want to go with a preppy/nautical look. White is such and easy base, that you could go with nearly any color that isn't in the white family. The vanity is probably small enough that you could be a bit bolder in your color choice without feeling overwhelmed.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I think also blue would be amazing. You have great taste and anything you pick will look great.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Thank you for all these ideas -- PSers always have such good input!

I have to be honest... I'm afraid if I tried to paint something i would muck it up... And if it wasn't perfect then I'd have no one to blame but myself. Plus, we're back to the time factor -- even if I bought something literally tomorrow I don't know when I would have time to paint it (or WHERE I would paint it frankly because I don't have an enclosed garage or anything and I'm afraid to do it inside inside on good floors). Argh. What a PITA!

I should have said also that the bathroom is painted a bluish grey color so that might be a little limiting. For instance, PintoBean sent me an option in a cool aqua color, but short of repainting the bathroom -- which I'm NOT prepared to do at this point, ha ha! -- I can't make that work.

There is ONE PLACE that has ONE OPTION *in stock* in white and I'm going there tomorrow after I finish with my client. If this thing is At All acceptable I'll have it in the back of my car so fast there will be sparks flying off of my American Express card.

Then I'm stuck with the issue of a top and sink, which feeds into the faucet options.

Oy.

Whose idea was it to buy this damn boathouse anyway?!

 

[monarch64]

I'm all for gray or blue, distressed or not. Because screw a bunch of trying to match whites at this point!

ETA: who do you know in that town you can pay to DIY paint something for you--let's say paint cost plus 8 hours (overestimating)=$30 + $80 = $110? Groundskeeper/cleaning person/neighbor/teenager???

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

no, wouldn't settle for a non-matching colour either.... this will always bug you.
I'm renovating as well and I saw many options in white Corian. They were all white-white.

I love the clean lines of antonio lupi.
If this is your style, it's a solution to the sink/faucet/mirror question as well...

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

PS: I think if you find something that works and is good quality and inexpensive, the painting route might still be a good option (a pro or non-pro can help on a small item pretty fast). I'd try to match the wall paint, though. Usually all big companies offer an exact match to their wall colours in brilliant and matte varnishes... By matching I mean the same colour or the same colour a few shades darker...
Good luck!
These projects are super fun, but also exhausting...

 

[missy]

Dee! Another vote for blue and white with the nautical theme going. I hate different whites together unless it is a marble countertop with white wood cabinets and then it doesn't have to be the same tone of whites. But with what you are describing off white vanity/cabinetry would bug the heck out of me with the countertops being a bright white.

I think blue and white would be beautiful. I was going to say gray might work well too but IDK I think blue would be the prettier choice. As much as I love grey in general it can come off a bit dingy depending on the undertones especially against white so while that could still be pretty I feel surer blue would be prettier especially with the water all around.

Be careful of painting cabinetry yourself. They will peel especially in higher humidity environments. I mean they just will and most likely sooner than later if it is a non professional job though I am sure you could research the way to do it best with the least amount of peeling but eventually they won't look so great.

 

[missy]

Tried finding some photos to show you but my google search skills are sorely lacking...
but here is one that shows a fresh take on that color scheme. The walls look gray but I think it would work with all white walls too.

 

[asscher_girl]

What about going with something like this - no wood, all carrara marble and metal?
http://www.potterybarn.com/products...om-vanities|single-sink-consoles&isx=0.0.4949

Restoration Hardware also has a few similar options

 

[Queenie60]

For the counter top and sink - you could do a stainless steel sink with brushed nickel fixtures (similar to Missy's photo which is how I pictured my blue suggestion) - and a greyish marble/stone counter top. I'm sure it will look lovely with whatever you decide. A good painter with a sprayer can paint that cabinet pronto for you!! Good luck and come back with finished photos.