Planning and preparing to remodel my master bathroom, so far I have come up with two midcentury modern bathroom design concepts — my first was a Flintstones-meets-Jetsons bathroom design… and the next, an atomic 1950s bathroom design. Today: My third mood board, which we’ve dubbed Pink and Yellow Custom Stenciled. I like my bathroom to be light and bright. We already know that I really want my retro modern master bath remodel to include lots of pink, but this idea board gets some lightening and brightening from one of the sunniest colors around — yellow! Besides adding some cheery yellow to the mix, I’d be doing some customization of off the shelf products for this look…
- Imagine the retro bath bar light with some silver starbursts or another reto shape or pattern stenciled on it like Trixi and Jon (and since then, quite a few others) used in their retro bath remodel.
- In lieu of using a fancy wallpaper or rock wall on this idea board, a large, plain mirror covers most of the vanity wall and provides plenty of opportunity for light to bounce around the room.
- This Kohler bath faucet is simple and modern, but its compact design and chrome finishing work well with the retro aesthetic.
- Like both of my previous idea boards, this affordable sink/countertop combo from St. Paul Home Products (link now gone) seems like just the thing to top my retro dresser made into a vanity.
- The retro dresser I scored on Craigslist for a mere $25! It has just the right look and measurements for my retro modern bath remodel project.
- This pinwheel tile floor doesn’t come in white and pink, that would have to be customized by me. My plan? To purchase the pinwheel tile in black and white, then purchase some unglazed ceramic pink tiles, pop out the black ones and painstakingly substitute the pink tiles. It would be a lot of work, but worth it in the end!
- I’m loving the shape of this flush mount chrome rimmed lamp (link now gone). I think it works with both the modern and the retro elements in the room, and I could further customize it with a starburst stencil or two on the bottom of the light.
- Here, once again is my all time favorite towel bar — the star back plate towel bar from Rejuvenation (alas, now discontinued).
- Once again, I’m hoping B&W tile has a retro pink for my shower wall tile!
- A classic retro choice, white 1 x 1 inch tile mosaic for the shower floor– hey it must be authentic since It is currently a part of my original 1962 master bath.
Painting the walls a cheery yellow might not be the end all be all for this retro modern master bath remodel idea board. I could possibly also stencil an atomic starburst or other shape (or perhaps even freehand something) on the wall to add more interest. The key to this look is taking affordable parts and customizing them to look like pricier products. Shhhh! — Don’t tell anyone! It will be our secret!
What retro motif would you stencil on the walls and light fixtures? The classic starburst? Something more geometric?
Follow all of Kate’s stories about her
master bathroom remodel — Click here.
pam kueber says
Ann Sacks says it has 300 colors. Website horrific, unfortunately: http://www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=268204&prg=2698404
There must be a big tile store where you live where you could go see… get prices, etc?
Rebecca - Madison says
Kate, I really like this design. I like Pink and Yellow together. I think if you keep them the same intensity it will be fine. We did a bathroom in yellow once and it turned out to be taxi cab yellow. Not a good look!
I love, love, love your idea about the floor. Ingenious!! Where does one find the black and white pinwheel tile to start with? I think that is a great idea.
I have looked at the Pink tile from B&W, I have a sample and went to the store on a visit to CA. I think it falls a little more rose than pastel pink but I am not sure you will find a better pink in the quantity you need. They are really nice people and very helpful.
This has been fun. Who knew so many people would get joy out of your bathroom (remodel). =-)
Rebecca Madison says
Silly me, I see now you can click on the bold words and get to the site for the tile. Thanks!
pam kueber says
Chippy might have the dots you need: https://retrorenovation.com/2011/07/15/octagon-and-dot-tile-with-72-vintage-dot-colors/
Elaine says
I love this idea board, the colors, the star stencil, all just perfect.
Is there a reason you would choose unglazed tile for the pink dot in your pinwheel pattern?
I found a burgundy dot, probably wouldn’t be right:
http://www.buytile.com/home.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=13711&zenid=dca715hr7hckuqo72ek8gaon74&szid=1
And then I found a blank dot, choose your own middle!
http://www.fastfloors.com/tile-stone/american-olean/chloe-pinwheel-mosaic
Kersten says
Kate! This is super cute! AND– I *might* have THE PERFECT vanity bar lights for you. I have two, and they can either be used horizontally or vertically. You could consider using them vertically on each side of your mirror. I had been using one horizontally above my mirror until we re-did our bathroom. I’d love to send you some pics if you are interested. (They have starbursts etched in the glass shade!) We had considered doing the same thing with our floor in our bathroom. We ordered Random Block from Daltile and it only came in almond. We considered popping out 1X1 tiles and adding pink and blue here and there but they’d only sell by the box and not by the sheet. We couldn’t justify buying an entire box when all we needed was a couple sheets. Months later, we found the exact shade of blue that we wanted at our local restore. We bought the 7 sheets that were there, but the thought of popping out the tiles now is a tough consideration since we had so many issues with the grout. You have a way of making this all look so fun!
Lynn-O-Matic says
Kersten, I might snap those up from you if Kate doesn’t want the vanity lights. They sound like exactly what I’ve been looking for. I can find one, but never two.
Kersten says
You got it Lynn-O-Matic! They’re big and I imagine tricky to ship, but we’ll take it one step at a time. I had them listed on the misc. items on the forum a while back.
Lynn-O-Matic says
Just let me know, Kersten. Do you have pix? I tried looking on the forum and couldn’t find the listing. That would be so exciting to finally find the pair of lights!
Lynn-O-Matic says
Oh, Kate, you almost gave me a heart attack with that starburst ceiling fixture before I realized it was a stencil!
I love your previous two mood boards, but this may be my favorite. I know that floor would be a ton of work, but SO worth it.
I also love the yellow and pink together. As long as you get a yellow and pink of the same intensity, like you have here, I think it will look smashing.
Kate says
Sorry to startle you Lynn-O-Matic! It is pretty cool with a stencil, huh? I do like the pinwheel tile, though it would be oodles of work!
Lynn-O-Matic says
Well, not startle, exactly, Kate. More like inspire extreme lust and excitement, combined with the mental acrobatics to figure out how to accommodate that in our bathroom (replace the ceiling fan/light with this light? No. Can we send someone up in the crawl space to rewire and add a ceiling light? Bingo! Do we truly need two ceiling lights in such a small bathroom? Who cares? It will be so awesome.!)
Jordanna says
I loved the Atomic storyboard.
This one, I love stars, yellow is my favourite colour, but something feels funny.
I’m not sure I like the pink and yellow together? Or feel like the yellow doesn’t tie to anything else? I’m almost never against yellow, this is a funny feeling!
Maybe if there were yellow/buttercream tiles? Or yellow sconces like those Jonathan Adler Capri ones he has?
Or maybe I would part with the yellow and do an effect more like the Moonlight colour of the Stardust Bradbury wallpaper, with silvery on white? Or on pink. Or a tone-on-tone pink?
Stenciling the light is a really cool idea, I wouldn’t have thought of that.
I am liking the pinwheel tile.
IMissLiberty says
I agree about pink and yellow. They can easily clash, but it’s hard to rely on a mock up via computer. I think part of the issue will be the exact wood color – varnish can easily read yellow, while some wood can have a pink tint, and all of it depends on the light. They not only have to look good with each other, but with the wood.
I LOVE my Solatube in the bathroom. It’s the best light for really seeing!
Kate says
If I were to go with this version, I would likely bring in more yellow in the accessories-towels, bath mat, shower curtain. I could even find some small yellow or cream tiles to pop randomly into the shower tile…
lollie says
As a word of warning, be sure to test your yellow paint color in your bathroom before committing to the shade. I lived depressed for a year when we moved into a home with the wrong shade on the bedroom walls. Once we got around to painting I realized the bedroom would have been a better place to start than the “show” areas.
I don’t know if I have seen anyone comment to the fact that the reflection of all the pink in the bathroom is flattering to everyone’s complexion.
Jordanna says
Was a huge fan of the atomic 1950s bathroom.
Huge fan of stars.
Yellow is my favourite colour.
But the yellow feels shoved in here? With it being only on the walls, and the tile all in pink and white, and the wood vanity. It just doesn’t carry through enough for me, I guess. Were it mine (and of course its not and you can tell me to shove off) I would take a page from Bradbury’s Moonlight Stardust wallpaper – but maybe in paint and stencils if $$ was biting me in the tuchus.
[url]http://www.bradbury.com/sdc_720_moonlight.html[/url].
Could work in white or pink or silver or some combo.
Alternate I would try to pull the yellow into more things. Maybe something like the Jonathan Adler Capri Wall Sconce in yellow art glass?
Lynda says
Kate, I think this look is very pretty. The light fixtures from Home Depot look nice. If you stencil, I would use one of the high heat paints since the bulbs do throw off heat. I did this on a fixture of mine and haven’t had trouble with the high heat paint. Also, did you check Overstock.com for tile? I noticed they have some of Home Depot’s Merona tiles there without the steep shipping charges that Home Depot has. This one even has some pink: Somertile Academy Pink Floor and Wall Tile. I like the Kohler faucet upgrade. Kohler seems to have lifetime parts if you need them. I have never paid for a Kohler faucet part, they send whatever I seem to need in a timely way. The large mirror is a good choice. You may want a frame on it since it seems, that over time, the silver comes off the underside of the mirror around the edges. I think you made some good practical choices!
Patty says
Are you talking about newer mirrors flaking? I have a large, unframed mirror in my bathroom. It’s been there at least 16 years and it looks fine. Don’t know how old it is.
lynda says
I was told the newer ones do not last as long as the older ones because they can not use the same products to put the silver on the back of the mirror. (environmental rules) The steam in the bath seems to eventually make the back of the mirror start to break down. A small chrome frame/trim seems to stop the problem. I also believe there is something called mirror sealant that helps stop the problem.
Elaine says
I have an unframed mirror spanning both the vanities in my master bath. It has been there since build in 1964, builder confirmed. It is still perfect along the edges.
Kate says
Thanks for the tip on the high heat paint! I’ll keep that in mind! I do check Overstock from time to time…will also keep that in mind! 🙂