Last week, after our “Save the Pink Bathrooms” fest, I received this sweet letter from Sebastian in Montreal:
Dear Pam,
I‘m a French Canadian living in Montréal. I bought my first house 3 years ago. The house was built in 1955 and I bought it from the very first owner. Not much renovation had been made and the bathroom is still in the 50s look, except from the sink and the ugly vanity…
Being born in 1973, I have not known the era when yellow, blue and pink tiles were “in”… But, after 3 years in my house, I have come to like my yellow bathroom and would like to renovate it respecting the style and color… an idea that pleases you I’m sure!
Attached you will find some pictures of it.
I don’t know really where to start! It seems almost more complicated to fix it rather than changing everything. I saw 
on your site the Olympic Tile store probably have some replacement yellow and black tiles. I would like to redo the window frame in black tiles instead of wood. What kind of sink should I buy? How can I give back some shininess to the floor? What color should I paint the walls? Do I keep the mirror? Do any of your readers have the same kind of bathroom?
Well, any help would be appreciated! 
And I would be happy to start the “save the yellow bathrooms” movement.
Regards,
Sébastien Langevin
Didn’t I say this was a great letter?! Sebastian – I am so proud of you for doing things the hard way – and saving this yellow bathroom. It is the right and noble thing to do!!!!! And, it will make you very very happy.
Well, Sebastian and I have emailed back and forth this week, and I have a bit more information. First – as you can imagine – storage space is actually a big issue. The vanity, as inappropriate as it is decoratively, actually serves this purpose well. But, it also turns out that there is 8″ of depth in one of the walls. This is important, I think.
So here goes in terms of suggestions:
1. Get a wall-mount sink with chrome legs and towel bars. I found this one on ebay for Sebastian, but he is rightly 
concerned about the shipping cost. Even more importantly, he really needs to try to match the Case yellow – this is crucial, as your eye will pick up the difference. So he is going looking today at a salvage place that may have a match. Even if it takes a while to find the right sink — I think it’s the smart thing to do — and now that you’ve put your retro reno vibe into the universe, Sebastian, the sink will come to you! With the bathroom being so compact, having the wall-hung with legs will really make it feel more spacious.
2. The mirror: See this image from 1954. I suggest creating storage space immediately to the left of 
the mirror – extending to the edge of the toilet, “centering” the entire installation on that wall — to provide more storage space along this wall. I think that open shelving like in this photo would look great; but would not be practical; put part of the cabinet (to the far left, shelves in the middle) behind a door of some sort. Everyone: If you have a lot of space behind a bathroom wall – use it. I did, and it’s great. 8″ is a wonderful depth, actually – nothing gets lost by being too far back, yet it’s deep enough for large bottles like woolite.
3. For over your mirror — I love this Rejuvenation Lighting “Rufus” sconce for
you. It is perfect with your black trim and overall deco look.
4. Of course: Wallpaper. I searched and searched and came up with this option from Secondhand Rose. Now, I do have to qualify: This paper is directionally where I would see this bathroom going….but it may not be exactly right (background too pink? Maybe it’s just the internet…). But, I think you need to look for a print like this – one that has a deco feel, a ‘lighter’ look, and includes your core colors of sunshine yellow (in this wallpaper: chartreuse, close enough), black and porcelain white. What I think you want to stay away from is anything that emphasizes the bumble bee look — the harsh tones that this bathroom can evoke if treated wrong. You want to soften it a little. This paper or one like it, would do that. This wallpaper also gives you the ability to work in other colors – blue or merlot towels and fluffy rugs, for example. Again – you must also have some good sources in Montreal, tres chic!
5. Tile around your window? Sure, but please note, it will be difficult to match the ‘mud set’ look of your original tile unless you get someone to do this who really know what you are doing. If you can’t find someone, I would be cautious. If the wood is rotted out, as an alternative, you can replace it and use marine paint for better water resistance. I’m sure a good lumber store will even tell you a wood species to use that’s best for this situation.
6. Polish your floor tiles? Nope. I think they are meant to be matte, Sebastian. They are fantastic, btw!!!
7. Accessories: Once you get the wallpaper in, these will play out. Have fun with towels and rugs. Re the shower curtain, I tend to favor something that blends in rather than stands out, but this is not a hard and fast rule. Find vintage switch plate covers for your electric outlets and light switch. You can also find new models of chrome exhaust fans for the ceiling exhaust that I see in another photo.
So, I hope this helps, monsieur. Retro Renovation readers — what are your ideas for Sebastian?
Colleen says
Pam, did my email/photos make it to you? I tried the address you gave “retronovation at gmail dot com” but it got kicked back for a nonexistant address so I tried “retrorenovation at gmail dot com” thinking it is like the website.
Pam Kueber says
Colleen, I don’t think I have them yet. Sorry, yes the proper address is retrorenovation at….
Colleen says
Oh, and if Sebastien is still listening…and it is probably way too late…but my window sill IS tiled. It has a very deep ledge covered in the same original yellow Romany tile that the walls and arched shower enclosure have on them. The window is glass block surrounding a tilt in vent window that I am sure is also original.
Pam Kueber says
Send me photos sister! retronovation at gmail dot com
Colleen says
I’m so happy Sebastien scored the yellow sink. My toilet and sink were black and it was AWFUL. You couldn’t tell when the toilet was dirty or clean and you’d brush your teeth and the sink looked dirty. I found myself cleaning them ALL the TIME. I will admit the old toilet was an American Standard classic though. The front of the stool was pointed like the bow of a ship. (alas, it only got one good flush in five even after replacing all the guts in the tank so it had to go…needs to be functional) The sink and vanity weren’t original, but when I tore them out I found the holes in the tile where the original wall mount sink was. I bet it was black too.
My walls were originally painted gray (I think I like that better than the dark pinky-beige he mentioned he had, but the gray had to have closed in the small room 4ft X 10ft), and I chipped two pieces of the “drunken tile” the former owner put over the original tile to find out what it was. It was all yellow in a pattern, matt with the color all the way through. His floors are AWESOME. (I hate that they tiled over mine.)
Pam, did Sebastien ever send a photo of his finished masterpiece?
Amy, Depending on the yellow…I like it with blue and green. My bathroom yellow has an olive green tinge so I may pair it with that and a light italian Orvieto terra cotta (has a yellow-honey-orange instead of the usual terra cotta red). If you have a piece, take it to the store and put it up next to the other colors (tile and paint) and see what looks good to you. If you don’t have any you can take with you, bring home a couple sample tiles and bigger paint chips to get an idea what colors look good with it.
Pam Kueber says
Colleen, Sebastian has not sent a finished photo. He also wrote in to say that the yellow sink he found was too big – too wide – for the space. This is certainly something to watch for – take your measurements (as well as your color chips) with you when you shop!
Amy says
Hey I have that same problem but the bathroom is very veryyyyyyy small, and the tile are like White i cant seem to match yello with anything
jennifer says
I have practically the same bathroom! I was considering refinishing the tiles, but I LOVE the B&W basket weave floors.
Laurie says
What’s wrong with the white walls? I like them, they go with the white in the floor. And, I’m completely jealous of the floor!! Yellow/black/white is one of my favorite retro combos. I think the white walls will look quite sharp once the tiles are regrouted or bleached. We have a friend who just dremmeled out all the grout in his bathroom and regrouted. It takes a long time, but it does look good! Get a nice white shower curtain with a black strip along the bottom…perhaps like this: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1026046&navCount=1
50sPam says
Hi Laurie. I am a wallpaper proselytizer. You have entered the Church of Wallpaper. May I offer you some Wallpaper Kool-aid?
Especially for little 50s bathrooms. I just think they really hit the ball out of the park in terms of finishing them off. If you get the wallpaper just right, they play off the tile so beautifully. I have three bathrooms – and the wallpaper made a huge difference in terms of making them utterly delightful.
50sPam says
Hi, Lisa. Should we recommend a black sink to go with the yellow tub and toilet? I certainly thought about that — white, too. My only concern was that, the yellow is SO strong, that to choose another color, even one that ‘blends in,’ would itself call undue attention to the sink. Put another way, I guess I’m so trained to see the tub, toilet and sink match, that changing out any one of them would be very noticeable. And with that strong yellow color, even more so. One possibility – a decorative vintage, undermount sink that is white, with yellow and black scrolls — kind of like these from a previous post; but that would add even more pattern; might work though. I tend to think the best possible scenario: Now that Sebastian has put his vibe out into the universe — the retro decorating gods will send him his yellow Case sink.
50sPam says
Kristinski: Thanks for the great idea about taking the cap thingy from the toilet out to look for a new sink. I guess in a pinch, you could take the back of the toilet water-top thingy, as well.