Reader Naomi’s new-to-her house came fully equipped with a retro pink and maroon bathroom — which she loves. However, there are a few problems — the toilet is broken and must be replaced, and there is also a non-repairable crack in the sink. Naomi is okay with replacing the broken maroon fixtures with white, but she doesn’t want to replace the still-perfect maroon tub. Her dilemma — she’s not sure how it will look to have two white fixtures and one maroon tub.
Naomi writes:
I just bought a house with a classic pink bathroom. As soon as I saw the main second floor bathroom in this house, I thought of the “Save the Pink Bathrooms!” site — it was so emphatically a classic vintage 1950s pink bathroom. It has Mamie pink tile on the lower half of the walls and on most of the floor, with maroon accents: TP holder, soap dish, edges of the tile…….and all the fixtures. The toilet, sink, and tub are all that same maroon.
I am planning to paint the upper part of the room something other than gray — probably a very light pink. My issue is the toilet and sink. The toilet HAS to be replaced, because the tank leaks and a plumber was unable to fix it. The faucet in the vintage sink also leaks, and was also not repairable. Fixtures in these colors are no longer made — I’m probably going to need to replace them with white fixtures. Since I don’t want to replace the tub, and the tub is that same deep burgundy, what are some ways to tie the room together?
Can you give me any suggestions on how to deal with this? Are there any pictures in your Flickr group from people who had colorful fixtures but who had to replace a toilet?
Thanks!
This issue hits home for me — since my minty green hall bathroom has a mint green tub, white toilet and white sink — that all work together in the room. Fear not Naomi — I have some ideas to help your bath.
Check with deabath.com first, regarding your fixtures
First up, though: Are you really sure the old toilet and sink are goners? Pam says the sink looks to be a Crane — and deabath.com is the expert in vintage Crane — so you might want to consult with them before ripping these lovely vintage fixtures out. If your old fixtures must go, yes, it seems white is the answer. You may also want to stay in touch with deabath.com, though — because over time, true replacement fixtures in your vintage maroon color may well come up. For example, was this your color in this photo of Crane Marcia sinks from our deabath past?
Pull together your bathroom colors with the shower curtain
If your maroon sink and toilet really must go — yes, replacing them with white makes sense. To pull the whole room together: Find a shower curtain that had all three colors — pink, maroon and white. I managed to find this Hometrends Ashdown shower curtain at Walmart.com (link now gone) that is not only pink, maroon and white. Assuming the maroon color worked in person with the tub, the walls could be painted to pick up the fourth color in the shower curtain, light beige. Use maroon rugs, and mix and match your towels to any or all of the colors in the shower curtain.
If the first shower curtain didn’t work out, a simple white shower curtain would repeat a large area of white over by the tub, helping to evenly distribute more white around the room. Painting the walls a light pink — as Naomi suggested she might do — would brighten up the walls and make the whole room look cohesive.
Since there are a lot of maroon accents — the soap, towel and toilet paper holder, the border tiles, the small mosaic floor tiles and the decorative bird tiles — that even though the bathtub is the only maroon fixture, it will still make sense in the room. The key here is repetition of color. All of the colors are already repeated around the room — which is good design. Changing out the sink and toilet for white fixtures will not ruin this good design, but simply change the distribution of color in the room. Instead of pink and maroon being the dominant colors, white and pink will be the main colors and maroon will be more of an accent. The key to getting this color balance right is just choosing the right shower curtain and wall color to blend with the existing elements.
Good luck with your new pink bathroom, Naomi!
Oh and — come back and noon today, we asked Bungalow Bill, and — with no hesitation — he identified your gorgeous accent tiles!
Jo-C says
IMG_0464.jpg
I have that same bathroom!
Joan S. Gresch says
By the way, the flamingos are a riot! To match the mood of the 50’s flamingos, I’d go with that theme! Look for a shower curtain with those birdies, perhaps with some extra color like green, yellow, black. There’s a LOT of pink going on, and even though I love every bit of it, you need to add a little pink with other colors in the shower curtain and perhaps artwork (or cute shelves with some flamingo statutes and doo-dads! Remember, this is the funky 50’s! Go for some humor and whimsy.
Joe Felice says
Pam, why would you tell her to lose the burgundy sink & commode? They are the bomb! I wouldn’t change thing, except for the light fixture. Maybe move the toilet, if possible. Right next to the sink isn’t cool.
Pam Kueber says
See text, we were accommodating her request!:
Pam Kueber says
And I said!:
Joan S. Gresch says
Re the maroon toilet and sink that have issues– I have a 100 year old toilet… yes, 100 years old! And it does have a crack. However, I don’t feel that anything is unfixable (and nothing needs to be perfect!) Even though the crack shows, it has been patched with a white grout that has been holding for many years now. If I was going to be gone for 2 weeks I’d probably drain the water, but I think I can trust this repair. The new grouts and clear epoxies might be a good choice for fixing these beautiful maroon fixtures. By no means would I be getting rid of them. They apparently are even doing okay right now, or someone would have taken them out. By the way, there are universal color tints that one can buy in powder form, and they can be used to tint white caulk to match anything. You will need to get some caulk and maybe 2 or 3 colored tints, and practice mixing the up until you get the right color. You have nothing to lose if you were going to get rid of them anyway… but please don’t! The has to be a solution.
Linda says
Do you have a reuse place in your area? In the Western New York area we have several and I have seen pink and occasionally the maroon toilets and sinks there and also in Rochester. I know they have them in Canada too. The other option is to ask someone from an autoshop if they can spray paint an enamel coating on the sink and toilet before they are installed. Good luck!
Pam Kueber says
Hi Linda, I have never heard of a spray coating for a toilet or a sink that would endure.
Carol says
I am difficulty sourcing flooring similar to the picture for our 1950s bathroom that has maroon tile. The showers original floor is a mosaic/basketweave design using maroon. Also, having difficulty finding maroon accessories such as towel bars, toilet holders, etc.
Pam Kueber says
Carol, I responded to your question already (see comment thread just above). Also hunt for vintage.
Also start digging into all our subcategories and/or use the search box.
For example, see our entire category on Bathroom tile and start digging in.
Re maroon accessories, bathroom accessories subcategory, there’s a story right at the top. https://retrorenovation.com/2014/11/13/ceramic-soap-dish-bathroom/
Good luck.
Carol Wallace says
Sorry…I guess I did not see your previous response. I have researched your web site as suggested but unable to find what I need. Thank you
Pam Kueber says
Carol, did you call the folks selling vintage? That might be your best bet.
Carol says
No…I was a bit discouraged with you email I guess. We work full time and constant research is tough. That is why I went to this website for help.
Pam Kueber says
Hunting vintage can be like hunting a needle in a haystack – I cannot do that for readers. Hence my annual Jan. 1 essay: https://retrorenovation.com/2018/01/02/home-renovation-hard-way-really-takes/
John R. Krause says
I had Crane fixtures throughout my Colonial home in California. I DID find parts and after market washers for one of my Crane (Pale Jade) basins. I repaired it myself. Was perfect after that. Took me a week or so, but well worth it! Please don’t get rid of the toilet or sink. Goofball plumbers of today don’t have the knowledge or patience to figure out the older style plumbing. My house was built in 1939. If I could keep/maintain all of my Crane fixtures, you can too!
Since then, I moved to my new smaller house here in Indiana, a solid Bedford stone low-hipped roofed 1956 ranch. LOVE IT!!
Too bad; no original tile, or Crane fixtures.