Bathroom Decorating - Need some input

OK, so our bathroom is small and plain, its got chrome fixtures and the bathtub is one of those kind with the semi-circular front and a half shower door (plain glass, not frosted). There's a deep window behind the bathtub. The floor is like wood laminate type flooring (sort of medium brown) and the walls are an off white sort of colour. So, today I got a brightish blue bath mat and my MIL gave me a long semi-transparent window scarf sort of thing in nearly the same colour blue to drape over the window as a lazy swag type curtain. I'm planning to get a towel rail of some sort and some towels and then little accessories liek candles or a little wall sculpture or clock or something to bring the room together and give it some colour, but I can't decide what accent colour to use with the blue. I'm torn between pale yellow or maybe an orange colour or maybe just doing different shades of blue or maybe even green. Haha... I know that is a lot of choice. The towel rack I'm getting is like a double rail one, so I was thinking maybe alternating some blue and orange or blue and pale yellow towels. I'm not really great at this sort of thing and tend to be pretty monochromatic and simplistic in the things I like. I think maybe the bright orange would be a bit overkill or just too bright for such a small space. Maybe pale yellow is the way to go? I've got some seashells I usually keep on the windowsill, so I could keep those (or get rid of them.... dunno). Ugh. Any suggestions for how to brighten up the room without it being too much? I'm thinking something else should really go with the blue, otherwise with the curtain and the rug it might be too much blue.  There really aren't any shops around for me to have a look around, only a Homebase and they don't have much at all there, so I'm doing my shopping online. Thanks for any help!

Howz about different shades of blue?  Like pale blue towels with darker blue rug and curtain.. 

Or blue and purple?  I guess it depends on the shade of blue you are working with.

I would say orange is most certainly overkill.  A bathroom can be or maybe should be a place to relax. (Think of a nice hot bath on a cold and dreary day)  Orange is not a relaxing color.  I'd stick with the blue with maybe some ecru or whatever color in that sort of neutral range you think goes well with blue.  Even white might look nice.  I would go for soft, soothing colors.

As for decorative accessories, I always consider how much stuff to I want to dust and how much maintenance is required for objects.

Hope this helps.

Yellow would be nice - it's soft and peaceful!

OK, here is the bath mat, though it is brighter than it looks in this photo:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20067080

What about aqua or turquoise? I like that with a darker blue. Personally, I would get rid of the seashells, especially if you're not attached to them. How about a plant in the window, maybe in a metal flower pot or a colorful ceramic pot?

What about aqua or turquoise? I like that with a darker blue. Personally, I would get rid of the seashells, especially if you're not attached to them. How about a plant in the window, maybe in a metal flower pot or a colorful ceramic pot?

Yeah, I just had them there because FIL gave them to me and I didn't have anything else to put in the bathroom. I took them out a while back because I was sick of them. It is pretty cliché, I guess. Since all of our bath goods are just hanging out in the open for everyone and their granny to look at (no room for any storage in there... we hung a medicine cabinet but our shampoos and things won't fit in there, we just keep medicines in it). I was thinking of maybe getting a small basket or two of some sort to put our soaps and things in on the windowsill behind the bathtub, but I guess a woven basket might get mildewed. Maybe some sort of other container that I could store our stuff in? And then a few scented candles on the windowsill, too, since we like to take baths and they would make the room smell nice. And then maybe a little wall clock or decoration of some kind to go above the towel warmer. There wouldn't be room for anything else in there, so that's about all I could do. I'm leaning toward a pale yellow accent colour, as it might go best with the floor (the wooden look... though not actually wood). We're just renting, so I don't want to start painting the room or doing anything permanent. I'd say I would use two other colours (as I read somewhere that you should have 3 colours) but the room is so small, I really don't know how I would do that.
Thanks for all the ideas so far!

I like the blue bathmat.  A plant might be nice because of all the humidity in the bathroom.  Also as for a woven basket and mildew - you can get baskets that look like they are made from a grass or reed, but are actually plastic.  I don't think plastic would mildew, but if it did, you could wash it.

Even if you don't have shells, what about shell pink as a colour.  I think it goes nicely with blue...and I also think I have that same bathmat

Even if you don't have shells, what about shell pink as a colour.  I think it goes nicely with blue...and I also think I have that same bathmat

Yeah, I was actually in there just now and started thinking a nice peach colour (not too bright) would be really nice and add some warmth. I may look into that.

I like the idea of pale yellow, but I grew up in the 80s and had peach overkill back then. I'm also not a big fan of all blue in a bathroom, especially in a place that has, ahem, a shortage of sunshine sometimes! There's lots of lovely pottery that has blue and yellow in it. There are also flowers that have that, like the Japanese Iris (ok, it's that's purpley blue, but still). So a picture with those would be nice, and also still calming.

Have fun decorating!

I like the idea of pale yellow, but I grew up in the 80s and had peach overkill back then. I'm also not a big fan of all blue in a bathroom, especially in a place that has, ahem, a shortage of sunshine sometimes! There's lots of lovely pottery that has blue and yellow in it. There are also flowers that have that, like the Japanese Iris (ok, it's that's purpley blue, but still). So a picture with those would be nice, and also still calming.

Have fun decorating!

We actually get a good amount of sunshine in our bathroom. We have a really large window with frosted glass in there so it gives a nice light. I started thinking a sage green would actually be nice and calming with a little bamboo in a blue pot on the windowsill. Hmmm.

I love the idea of a plant.

We have a white bathroom with pale green / seagreenish accents. We also have a picture of starfish my sister gave me, which is some print of some local BC artist. I quite like having a picture on the wall. Adding a full length mirror somewhere my add illusion of space and help with getting ready in the mornings.

I'm another person who doesn't like too many colours in a bathroom. I like it to feel serene. Ours has sort of duck egg blue painted walls, a white painted wooden plank floor and all white towels, bath mats, etc. Then I have some old blue glass apothecary bottles on a white shelf. We have a window too, so it's really light and nice. Oh, I also have a chandelier in there - DH was opposed to the idea at first, but I insisted and it looks SPECTACULAR!

You know me and I LOVE IKEA and I LOVE to decorate and organize.
I wish I had been up there and I could give more ideas...
BUT with that
what is the rest of the feel of your house - what are your colors so they flow

I love the blue and with white walls can you find a picture you like that has colors to it and pick and match from there maybe...
The blue rug and matching towels will always make it seem brighter and put together.
Maybe hang a cabinet to hide the things you dont want - a cheap one nothing crazy.

Are you looking for country colors? retro? modern?

Find a picture you like and take from that..

You know the picture I have and that is how I did all my towels (red, brown, leather color).

I cant wait to see!