Embracing the Pink Tile: How to Love your Vintage Bath

In the heart of our 1960s not-so-sprawling-ranch lies mid-century character!  The house came complete with a vintage pink and mint green-tiled bathroom.  We were anything but excited when we toured the house and came across this gem.  The bright side:  the tub, toilet, and sink were NOT pink.  After 12 long years of attempting to “improve” the pink tile until we could gut it, we decided to try something new:  EMBRACE it! The vintage pink tile, albeit dated, is in fantastic shape!  The glaze is shiny and looks brand new.  This retro tile work has certainly been well-cared for the last 50+ years.  Learning to love this bathroom could be much easier, and cheaper, than ripping it out.  For some odd reason, I felt sad every time I thought about renovating.  

Some Things Had To Change

Problem:  The entire room was painted pink, including the ceiling.

Solution:  Prime and paint the ceiling and walls.  We used “Sands of Time” for the most recent wall color (Admittedly, this has more yellow hues than I really wanted but is not as yellow as it appears in the photos).  Bright White Semi-Gloss covers the ceiling.

Problem:  The shower curtain (above) was pink.

Solution:  Replaced the shower curtain with a fun and colorful alternative (below).  Removed outdated window covering.

Problem:  The wall-mount sink was so low to the ground, brushing our teeth was a backbreaking experience!

Solution:  Purchased vanity to increase storage and raise the height to a more comfortable level.

Problem:  Leaky Valves.

Solution:  Call my Friendly Neighborhood Plumber.

Problem:  The bathroom had zero storage.  Not good for someone who values organization.

Solution:  Installed a cabinet over the toilet for additional storage.

Problem:  Old, rusty medicine cabinet.

Solution:  Replaced medicine cabinet with one that has a larger mirror and more storage.  Although I still don’t like the look, it “fits the hole” in the wall.

Problem:  Horrible lighting and no electrical outlet.

Solution:  Light fixture placed above sink offers an excellent source of light.  My husband put the fixture on a separate switch and added a GFCI outlet (a must when you have an outlet near water).

Problem:  The woodwork was not complementary to the pink.  Talk about clashing colors!

Solution:  Replaced door trim and painted it white.  We removed the door, sanded it down, and added flat trim to give the illusion and depth of a two-panel door.  Then, we painted it white.

Problem:   Hinges and doorknob were tarnished brass.

Solution:  Replaced doorknob.  Removed hinges, cleaned, and spray painted with nickel paint.

Problem:  A wooden window resided in the shower.  There are 100 reasons this was a terrible idea. Wood + Moisture = Trouble.

Solution:  Replaced the window!  We decided on a vinyl white window with frosted glass and PVC trim since it resides in the shower.  It looks great, functions perfectly, has a screen, AND the room is much warmer!

Problem:  Although the toilet seemed functional, it was a water hog.

Solution:  Replaced the toilet with an efficient model.  Thank you, Friendly Neighborhood Plumber.

Problem:  Yellowing plastic shower head.

Solution:  Replaced shower head with a nice chrome fixture (shown above on right).

Work In Progress

This room has been a work in progress.  We were not able to replace everything in the beginning.  The toilet, shower curtain, medicine cabinet, shower head, ceiling light fixture, and vanity were replaced as soon as we moved in.  Those things were quality-of-life issues for me.   I am not being dramatic!  The addition of a three-light fixture above the vanity was next because I couldn’t see to apply my make-up, and had no outlet to plug in a hair dryer!

My Really Bad Idea

• At one point, the floor looked really dingy and the only thing I could think to do was cover it up.  In a moment of desperation, I  applied peel and stick vinyl tile.  BAD IDEA!  It looked ok at first, but then it moved.  There were large gaps.  It looked terrible.  Lesson learned:  Vinyl tile does NOT adhere well to ceramic tile.

• Removing the vinyl tile years later was no picnic.  I used my heavy duty steamer(best thing I ever bought), Automotive Goo-Gone and hot water with Dawn Dish Detergent.  With a little elbow grease and an afternoon of work, our vintage tile floor was restored!
• I found out the reason the tile looked so bad originally.  Someone had waxed it.  I didn’t realize that until I was using a razor blade to scrape excess glue off the floor from the vinyl tile (again, that genius idea was a huge fail).  The shine was back!
• Check out the top picture…notice the random pink tile inserts?  It’s a little maddening because there is no rhyme or reason to the pattern.  Since I am a little particular, I think that was a contributing factor to my decision to cover that floor.  Now, I think it’s kind of cool.

The Vanity Debacle

• When we purchased the vanity, it was higher than the old wall-mount sink.  Therefore, the plastered-into-the-wall toothbrush holder and soap dish had to go.   The sink wouldn’t fit under them, so we tore them out. That, in turn, left holes in the wall.
• Our Friendly Neighborhood Plumber, mentioned above, made a second backsplash above the sink top with cultured marble.  It was ok but was not what we wanted.  It covered the holes and didn’t look terrible, but it just didn’t fit our vintage bath.
• The vanity we purchased back in 2005 was a shaker style, which we love, but it was also stained wood.  It didn’t go with the pink, so we recently sanded it all down and painted it white.
• Since the vanity was removed from the room, we decided to remove the cultured marble backsplash and properly patch the wall.  After much discussion and a plethora of mediocre options, we decided to remove tiles from behind the vanity to finish the wall above the sink top.   It was the only thing that would look right.  Definitely not the easiest option!  Those pink tiles were happy where they were and did not come off the wall without a fight!

• The sink top was replaced with something more contemporary that we picked up for free.
• We purchased an updated chrome faucet.
• Check out how it turned out (photo on right)! I think the updates have added an almost beachy feel to this vintage bath. The simple process of changing out the wood stain for white paint has made the space look and feel 10 times larger!

Finishing Touches:

In order to make sure the pink and green tile looked brand spanking new, we took a razor blade and removed any paint splatter from the tile.   Some of the colors we found were pretty wild!  Finally, we gave it a good cleaning.  After that, we:

• Dug out grout that was cracked or damaged.
• Removed all old caulking around the original cast iron tub (which is also in great shape) and floor. Then, we replaced it with a good silicone caulk.
• Cleaned up all the original chrome using Brillo pads and a soft touch, which removed decades of build-up and rust.
• Purchased a soap holder insert from Amazon that fits the recessed soap holder in the shower (I was so excited).
• Matched the old grout the best we could and grouted the “new” tile as well as the “old” where the grout had failed over time.
• Used artwork to add more color and flair to our space.

The End Of Our Vintage Pink Tile Project

After we completed this last phase of the vintage pink tile bathroom project, we both feel content with the color combination.  Because of this, we don’t feel the need to get a sledgehammer and destroy the pink tile.  We have embraced it and brought it back to life.  The bathroom is truly vintage.  Or retro.  Whatever you want to call it.  Unfortunately, I was vetoed on the 1960s boomerang shower curtain, even though I really did find one to compliment the pink and mint green!

Hopefully, you will find some inspiration to embrace the period character in your home.  I would love to hear from you and see your pictures.  By thinking outside the box, you will really love your vintage pink tile!

Until Next Time,

April

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