help! what should i do with this pink bathroom?
Reader Susan R. has decorating dilemma. Any ideas for her?
What on earth can I do with a fifties pink bathroom if I don’t want to go retro? Replacing the sink, toilet, tub AND the wall and floor tile aren’t an option right now. I can paint walls and moulding, and replace towels and curtains. What can make the pink look modern? Thanks for suggestions. — Susan R.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:37 am
I had one: what I did was paint the walls with gray and then sponge paint them with different grays and a touch of pink. Gray towels and accessories toned down the pink considerably
October 4th, 2007 at 7:42 am
I was thinking you could try to use brown as an accent color and maybe go for a slight asian feel. What about just changing the tiles and/or floor and maybe the sink/tub fixtures? Then with some paint, a new curtain, the right towels and acccessories, you’d see a big change. Perhaps one of those bamboo mats for the floor.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Check this out…..Tile Paint!!! http://www.refinishingonline.com/floortilepaint.htm . You should be able to find a similar product to refinish your sink. I know this service is offered by professionals, but if you can DIY, why not?…..
October 4th, 2007 at 8:04 am
I’d paint the walls chocolate brown, with white trim. Silver accents. Keep it modern.
October 4th, 2007 at 8:50 am
I love the brown ideas. I was going to suggest black, but black and pink sounds kind of retro, like you were trying to avoid.
A friend of mine had a similar (though more neutral colors) bathroom and she painted one of the walls with a fabulous oriental-type bird scene in silhouette. I’ll have to get a photo from her.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Dynamite
October 4th, 2007 at 9:57 am
I have the same problem but in baby blue. I have considered:
Hiring someone to refinish the tub in white.
Replacing the toilet with a new one in white.
New sink in white… and living with the rest of the blue, because by then it probably wouldn’t be such an eye-sore.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I actually like the tile floor. The sink and toilet are pretty bad though. A pink tub could be cute. Depends if you want to go feminine…It’d be tricky but some kind of tangerine or spring green accents might go well with pink, if there was more white in the room. Chocolate brown is promising too. Good luck!
October 4th, 2007 at 10:08 am
why not get them recolored on site by a professional refinisher?
October 4th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
i totally agree with chocolate brown, that was my first thought
October 4th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
I think your bathroom looks quite small so I would actually stay away from dark colors. What about paring down to a minimalist look. Clean cut and neat? Using mirrors and changing the cupboard. Lighting would also change the look fo the bathroom and it would look more modern.
This way, it would probably be a lot cheaper and you can work on it slowly as the budget allows.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I LOVE those fixtures. You might be surprised, you could possibly sell them. Maybe you wouldn’t get that much, but it would offset the cost of replacing them. You could always refinish the tub and get a new toilet and sink.
That said, I hate brown and pink. Brings up awful images of Pepto Bismol and…well, you know. Gray is a much better option. Or cream–it’s hard to see what’s in your bathroom in that picture. Why bother “decorating” at all? Why not just paint the walls a lovely cream color, get in some cream or white towels, as many nice shiny silver accents as you can, and be done with it? Add some plants too, if you like. Or play up the pink and go country or something. Just don’t do an awful “Fifties” thing, that would look dreadful. And please, please don’t ruin those lovely fixtures or just toss them out. Wonderful finds like that aren’t being made anymore and people destroy them because they don’t realize that some of us love them.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I love your bathroom and I’m not into retro either. I think you need silver chrome accessories – that particle board white shelf over the toilet and the plastic trash can with target plastic bag peaking out have to go. New faucet handles for the sink. A pearlescent white (Ralph Lauren) or deep brown paint for the walls. Chrome/glass shelf above toilet. It’s all about the accessories and the pink can stay and be totally modern.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
some gasoline and a match? just kidding. Chocolate brown and white with szig’s suggestions above. good luck. I have a “peachy” pink bathroom myself!
October 5th, 2007 at 5:29 am
You guys are fabulous! Thanks for the input.
Dynamite, gasoline and matches are amusing to consider, but in the long run would probably be expensive.
Refinishing the fixtures — and yes, the tub is pink, too — would be nearly as expensive as replacing them, and I’m skeptical about how good it would look.
There is an unfinished tool room backing directly onto the bathroom, and eventually I’ll redo them both into a larger bathroom with new everything (recycling the pink treasures to anyone who likes them, probably on freecycle).
The wall tile goes up to about 5 feet; drywall above that, which I painted a neutral grey — but grey and pink,– eh, it just lay there.
I like chocolate brown; I remember a pink and brown dress my mother wore in 1967. But I’m afraid, as trendy as it is now, it will date quickly.
So I’m leaning toward charcoal grey. But I like the brown — yikes! Anyway I have a three-day weekend starting tomorrow. Can a teeny-weeny pink bathroom be transformed? We’ll find out.
THANKS again! I really do appreciate the feedback.
October 5th, 2007 at 6:07 am
I have a pink 50s bathroom too that had a similar toilet and sink. We replaced the toilet and sink with white with nice silver fixtures and painted the walls white and I actually like it now.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:10 am
try warm grey susan (think pantone warm grey 8 or 7531). my friends had the same dilemna for about 2 years before they could get to their reno. they tried a cool grey first, but the blue in the grey was too shocking against the pink (made it pop even more), and made the bathroom a very quick stop indeed. the warmer grey did the trick though, that slight hint of red in the mix fit well with the pink and made it a very comforting space until it could get overhauled!
October 5th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Lighting. The bathroom is very dim, and that makes it feel older and less modern. It also makes things feel very dirty. Also, ditch the white. It shows dirt, and gives the room an elementary school girl’s bathroom feel.
An intense green might be nice for painted surfaces, as long as it’s on the warmer side. Warm grey also sounds good. I have unfortunate memories of similar vintage girl’s public restrooms with erm… cockroaches… so brown is not at all appealing. Very much a personal problem for me tho.
October 5th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I do not recommend getting the fixtures “re-finished” I’m an artist who cleans houses for my “day job” and I cannot tell you how many shabby looking re-finished bathroom fixtures I have seen, they look good at first but then gradually the coating peels away or chips off when something bangs into it.
October 5th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I’d be careful about “chocolate brown” for the bathroom. I love brown in general but brown near the toilet… I don’t know.
That said, I like the idea of a warm gray, and also possibly black or charcoal gray silhouettes on the wall perhaps? I was picturing some kind of thin, baroque pattern.
October 6th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I had a pink tub and toilet in my last apartment. My “solution” was to bring in a variety of colors in pastel to mid colors and white. I don’t go full into “Color Schemes and Themes” usually. I would just go for more of a garden-like atmosphere of a few other colors like yellow, peach, green, and white, in pictures or multi-colors of towels, containers, etc., and not try to gravitate toward a discernible theme or “style.” It can look pretty, and clean, and fresh and not too retro if you don’t try too hard to mitigate the mental image you have by throwing harsh color combinations at it. You just have pink fixtures, you don’t live in the 40s and 50s. I would stay away from making a bathroom dark at all unless you have good direct lighting. Think about your routines in there. Vintage pink bathroom fixtures are in high demand, so when you reach that point, try to contact a local salvage yard to remove them carefully (and hopefully pay you somewhat generously) or a contractor who isn’t going to wield tools at it in a hurry to install your new stuff.
Good luck!
October 6th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Betsey! Bwahahaha!!
October 7th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
I got my tub refinished (bright teal, yeah baby) and now it looks like a whole different bathroom. I agree it is not worth it to refinish a sink or a toilet when they can be replaced for a comparable price but if you have a good tub the refinishing is totally worth it! And it makes a huge difference just in the feel of the room (as in, I bet it would make the pink floor tile totally tolerable).
October 8th, 2007 at 8:04 am
We had our old claw bath tub refinished for $300 four years ago and it still looks great. I ripped out the old tiles around the sink and toilet area and replaced it with pine (tongue & groove) white washed it. I paid $60., real easy to install. Painted the walls winter white. The pink took on a salmon hue. I just keep the shower curtain closed so you don’t see the remaining tiles
October 9th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Peacock blue walls!
October 10th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I thought I was the only one with a pink tub & toilet. We went retro and tiled the floor in black & white. Cabinets a slick black with chrome & white hardware. Bright white waffle shower curtain with chrome hangers. We moved before finishing it all, but walls were to be a white with barely noticeable pink/peach tone to make our skin look lovely in our crappy bathroom. Also thought of retro pinstripes close to the ceiling to draw the eye up, and not at our pink bathroom.
Like I said: we moved. So there’s always that option too.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:11 am
I have a pink and grey tiled bathroom myself. I would have opted to use a jackhammer myself, but then again that would be less cost effective in the end. Fortunately my fixtures are white, but they are quite dingy looking. I painted the walls green and found a striped shower curtain that had red, pink, green and grey. Believe it or not it is now somewhat bearable to look at.
To my dismay, located directly next door to this bathroom I have a half bath that is just a lovely, its green and yellow.
My suggestion: find a good shower curtain with pink and go with it.
October 17th, 2007 at 3:57 am
I would paint the walls in a hot pink, get a hot pink patterned curtain, and crispy white towels and mats.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Keep all the pink! It is in great shape and you will be very sad if you replace it with something so bland and current. How about a stunning chandelier installed in the ceiling (art deco would be perfect – try ebay), chrome and glass towel bars and train rack from restoration hardware and a clear glass seamless shower door?
p.s. I would embrace the pink and paint the walls an au currant ballet pink. I have bathroom envy!!!!
October 19th, 2007 at 10:08 am
I was actually thinking along the same lines as whistlerpotpie. A small crystal chandelier or light fixture that incorporates some of the pink, but also brings in some possible whites and grays. I would go for brushed nickel accessories rather than the too shiny chrome, which could make it look even more 50’s. Brushed is more modern and cleaner looking. If you go with gray wall, which sounds like a great suggestion to me, don’t be afraid of it, pick out a nice deep shade. Then, so that the bathroom doesn’t look too dark, bring in bright white curtains & fluffy white towels. Decorate your wall with square shaped mirrors or wall art to tie in the squares of the tile. Details such as trash cans & accessories make a huge difference. Good luck
October 20th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
My sister had the same problem. She used a crisp white and black (small strip) wallpaper. White towels and accesories. It was classic and the pink was not overwhelming.
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:26 am
I have a pink 50’s bathroom too – we replaced the toilet and sink with new white ones (the sink was particularly cheap and our city pays to replace toilets with water-saving models) and painted the walls and cabinets bright bright white. We installed a new light fixture and a much bigger medicine cabinet/mirror than the original. That left the pink wall tile (we were lucky and had white floor tiles). Clean white towels and shower curtain and the room looks totally different – and bigger!
Also, we painted the ceiling a lime green. I figure it draws peoples eyes up to the clean white walls and away from all of the pink
I think the total budget was less than $300.
October 29th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
I like the black and white idea.
I grew up with a similar pink bathroom (different sink, somewhat newer fixtures, but identical pink shade and identical tile floor). The walls had silver foil paper with a leafy-frond print in various shades of very pale pink, and the lamps were heavy goldtone hanging baroque things. The sink was built into the counter, a streaky pink/oyster/white material, which had a shell-shaped sink formed into it.
The master bath in the house was very similar, but in shades of blue.
Both toilets were replaced with white ones when the time came.
The other funny thing about it was that the previous owners had repaired tears in the wallpaper in both rooms with aluminum foil. It took me a long time to even notice it.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:57 am
I have a pink bathroom, too. Sink, tile, toilet, and tub. I couldn’t afford to replace anything either, so I decided to ignore the fact that it was pink and decorate how I would if it were a neutral white. So, I have white and navy shower curtain and towels. We did update the lighting, and there are chrome handles on the cabinets. We repainted the cabinets white. I also got some grout eraser to make the grout look new again.
November 2nd, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I run a blog – RetroRenovation.com – that helps people find products and inspiration to bring their postwar interiors to glorious new/old life. This is huge trend — so I say thank your lucky stars you have such gorgeous pink fixtures and go with it!
December 27th, 2007 at 3:49 am
pink is the worst colour ever right now. Dig it up and replace it. Im trying to convince my boyfriends mother to not put pink in a brand new house for a master bathroom. She has pink in her house and green and thats exactly what shes done with these units and shes not building them. She doing it to her own personal style considering people will have to buy it and they wont now cause of the pink. She think its her department. Modern houses and units need to be base colours not bloody pink got to be kidding me right.
December 29th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
I have a pink bathroom and have been contemplating and studying this for years…..my final decision is to redo in the same contemporary theme that it was created in. Look at some websites that have 50’s ads. They had it going on back then…..so cool. The future was then. I am not finished with the project so i can’t reveal the final look yet. Good luck…. and by the way those fixtures are worth big bucks if you decide to sell them.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:07 am
[...] Help! What should I do with this pink bathroom? No shortage of opinions here! Pink, 1950s bathrooms are something lots of us have encountered [...]
January 12th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I exhort you to embrace the pink; if you get rid of it, you may later regret destroying the beautiful 50s design. It may help you to think of it this way…have you seen how many wonderfully designed houses of the 30s and 40s were covered up (inside) by cheap wooden paneling that was popular at the time?
I’d advise not to put in anything trendy…it will just get tiresome. Embrace your cool 50s decor.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:58 am
[...] Thoughts on the color? Pink bathrooms are a hot topic. Click here to see a previous makeover post. [...]
July 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I’ll have to echo Deb’s comment above–please reconsider the pink! We have an original 1955 bathroom in our home that has pink and brown tile. The brown is more terra cotta than chocolate. We have kept it 100% original. Most of our friends are architects and interior designers and they all seem to dig it. That said, I realize not everyone likes the 1950s retro look. Please don’t refinish the fixtures, instead consider selling them on Craigslist, or donating to your local green building supply, like reStore. Good luck.
August 31st, 2008 at 11:20 am
This post and others recently encouraged me to start a new blog — http://SaveThePinkBathrooms.com — all about, yes — vintage pink bathrooms. They are treasures.
September 9th, 2008 at 5:01 am
[...] design for a good cause — and with pink a lot of us can really appreciate! Check out Design Within Reach for [...]
September 30th, 2008 at 5:37 am
I would love it,,, I am changing my bathroom to the 60’s pink right now,,, leave it alone…
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I really would like to have some pick tile. I’m making my small bath retro and someone took out the tile around the sink. If anyone has some old pink tile (also maybe floor tile, to sell, please let me know. Thanks so much.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Do you think the white and pink tile I removed from my bathroom would sell? If so, what would it be worth? See photos at http://lynchburg.craigslist.org/for/1025429562.html (general for sale)
March 24th, 2009 at 6:41 am
I would go with some warm coco colors use a dusty rose as acsent color find some inexpensive lighting and decor at target
January 18th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
do it up in shabby chic…target has some of the cutest things….like toile towels in pink and white…and lovely maxing shower curtians….