This week’s Retro Design Dilemma comes to us from reader Pat — who has just become the caretaker for the 1953 ranch home where she grew up — after moving back in to care for her aging mother. Pat is trying to clean up the home little by little — and is a little overwhelmed with the task at hand. Deciding to start the process by fixing up her peachy-pinky-beige and maroon bathroom — Pat knows the peeling wallpaper and missing grout will need to be fixed. What she’s not sure of: What kind of treatment should replace the aging wallpaper? Pat needs help with ideas on how to decorate this mid century bathroom.
I have a 1950s bathroom in a ranch-style house that was built in 1953. (I grew up there and have now moved back in to assist my mother who is no longer able to live alone.)
The bathroom has maroon floor tiles, and in the 80s my parents replaced the tub surround with beige 4″ x 4″ tiles because water got behind the wall and the original tiles had to be removed.
The tub and toilet are the original “flesh” color (for lack of a better description, but I’m sure you know what I mean).
My parents also replaced the original vanity, not sure when but now have an oak one w/matching mirror, probably from Home Depot or something similar.
It’s got a few layers of wallpaper; the present one is peeling, but underneath it’s all rough and bumpy from the old glue and the previous layers.
I’m just wondering about what kind of wall treatment I could use after I remove the old wallpaper, and if we replaced the vanity and mirror, what would look appropriate?
The dark lines you see between some tiles are missing grout (the whole shower enclosure needs to be regrouted), and there is some rust along the seam on the tub.
There is so much to do in this house, this is just a very small part! I’m doing the best I can but it’s overwhelming.
Thank you!
Readers, what should Pat do with the walls when the peeling paper is removed? How about the mirror and vanity situation?
Kate’s solution: warm & woodsy
Aside from tackling the removal of all of that peeling wallpaper and missing grout, I would remove the shower doors and replace them with a curtain. The curtain will be easier to keep clean — plus the right shower curtain will help tie the room together. It is hard to tell the exact shades of maroon, peachy-pink and beige that are found in your tile, tub and toilet, but this butterflies shower curtain from Overstock.com seems like it might have the right colors for your space.
Since the shower curtain is patterned, I would keep the walls a solid color. To add more interest and contrast to the space, picking a light green from the shower curtain and using it as the wall color will help visually pull the space together. Red (maroon) and green are complimentary colors that work well together.
For the mirror, I’d choose a simple, frameless oval shape — like this Moen mirror from Home Depot — which will feel light and airy by comparison to the large, oak framed mirror currently in place.
To finish up the look — green hand and bath towels will repeat the green wall and shower curtain color again, for further cohesiveness. For a slightly retro kitschy look, add a pine cone bath mat and a shelf over the toilet with some cute vintage knick knacks, like this family of chipmunks Pam found on Ebay. Alternately, if kitsch isn’t your thing, a solid bath mat in one of the colors found in the room would also work wonderfully.
Pam’s solutions: Playing up the ruby red jewel box
What a wonderful daughter you are, Pat, to be there to help your mother! Here are my thoughts on your bathroom:
- As other readers have mentioned in their comments: Safety First. Please consult with properly licensed professionals to ensure you know latest safety guidance on securing this bathroom against slips and falls. I bet that they even have this advice at the doctor’s office! Now on to decorating….
- To me, that rich red mosaic tile floor file seems to be the major star of your vintage bathroom. It sure looks gorgeous. However, that beige-colored tub and tile and toilet. Umm, not so much. So, I would most definitely play up the ruby red… and treat the beige like a neutral.
- If your safety experts agree with the advice to take out the sliding door and install properly secured hand rails instead, I would take out the slider. That way, you could use a bold shower curtain to add color and pattern — and it would play down the expanse of beige tile. I would find gorgeous ruby-red towels to go with.
- I would add a beige-colored toilet seat… and as another reader suggested this morning, I’d change out the sink to match the other fixtures.
- Since in this design I added a very bold shower curtain, I think I would just paint the walls — probably a classic ivory. Nothing too harsh.
- I might leave the oak vanity as is… the oak tones kind of meld with the beige-colored fixtures. I think I’d change the pulls though — I might choose an oak pull to keep it simple.
And…
- Since you asked for wallpaper, Pat, how about something like the design above. As described above, I looked for a wallpaper with a ruby red design. It was actually difficult to find this color in the several places I looked. But finally, I found this light and airy floral by Brewster. Wallpaper is such a personal design decision… and this is not particularly retro — I’d call it traditional… but I wanted to show it to illustrate how I got to it: (1) the color of the pattern is close — ideally you want to match that ruby red floor, (2) the field, or background, seems to work — I did not like how brite white fields looked in this bathroom; a color that picked up a bit of your beige tone (but not toooo much) seemed to work best, (3) the scale of the pattern looked right — you need to bridge the mosaic of the floor and the squares of the shower/tub surround when you choose the wallpaper, (4) the wallpaper kept the room airy, and (5) the price was not too bad.
- I’d add ruby red towels and a creamy shower curtain in the same color as the field color of the wallpaper.
Thank you, Pat, for submitting your Retro Design Dilemma — good luck with all — and let us know what you decide!
samantha anastasiou says
hi,
has anyone tried re-glazing their porcelain tub and sinks? I have vintage porcelain kohler sinks, but they are worn and stained. I’ve noticed companies that do re-glazing and was wondering if anyone knows anything about it.
thanks!
samantha