Get expert advice on pairing your antique (or antique-style) vanity with colors that bring out its unique beauty.

The most popular vanities today are antique cabinets and dressers retrofitted for sinks — or new pieces designed to recreate that "furniture" look in the bathroom. These furniture-style vanities have great presence, and if you've chosen one for your bathroom, it will be a big factor in choosing a wall color.

"If you have a period piece," says Sara Ann Busby, Certified Kitchen Designer, 2007 president-elect of the National Kitchen & Bath Association, "do some research into the period: what colors were used, what sorts of finishes. If you have a Victorian piece, for example, stay away from colors that scream 21st century, like a trendy blue or a sherbet color. Instead," says Sara, "choose a color that was popular in the Victorian era, such as raspberry or sage green."