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!
Jackie says
Get a second opinion on fixing always! Go to recycle places to check also, because there are used appliances out there like crazy. One guy said he couldn’t fix my ’50’s oven but then did and admitted he just hates old stoves and didn’t want to fix it.
puddletowncheryl says
I found these on Craigslist.org. Don’t know how close these are but they’d be perfect.
http://springfield.craigslist.org/for/3347851871.html
tammyCA says
Also, let me add…if the tub is in great condition then keep it as is…and if you really need to replace the toilet/sink (if it can’t be fixed) then keep searching on craig’s list, ebay, for the maroon…like it’s been said by others eventually you will find the right match. Don’t ever reglaze the tub to white if it is in great condition! We have reglazed sink/tub because the previous owners must’ve done it and when we bought it was in need of it again. With re-glazed tubs/sinks you CANNOT use anything but Softscrub to clean and you CANNOT use suction cup bath mats because it will pull the glaze up. Even dropping something on the tub could chip it…it is a PITA, especially with kids…and, I’ve had a few heart pounding scares with hair dye and tie dye! (I sure wish I knew what the original ’50s color was in our bath.)
pam kueber says
Facebook reader found what looks to be this color — Crane sink and toilet — in Allentown, PA, the Retro Decorating gods hath delivered unto you — http://allentown.craigslist.org/for/3299866696.html
Sarah g says
Oh my! How perfect! Get em get em get em!! Then replacing the white toilet seat for burgundy will be super easy!
lynda says
Hope she is close enough to get those in Allentown. How perfect!
Jamie D says
I know a few people mentioned having a new white sink and toilet coated burgundy to match. This option was mentioned for us by a bathroom contractor to match our light blue tub. My only concern about it would be keeping the toilet clean – as I understand, you can’t use harsh or abrasive cleaners on the coating, and I’m wondering how a toilet would hold up to scrubbing & buildup. We have hard water and get lime scale as it is…I don’t want to think about how a re-coated toilet would look when it’s already difficult enough to keep a factory glazed toilet and tub clean.
I think new white fixtures would look just fine if you carry the white over to the shower curtain and paint.
Another option – if you want to go with pink fixtures, Gerber makes new toilets, their Viper model, in a couple shades of pink.
mb from CT says
Another person here saying get another opinion, at least on the sink. Some plumbers just want to rip out what’s there. After asking around I found a plumber who was happy to repair my dripping 1948 sink and tub faucets. The plumbers were were supposed to fix it before the closing gave me wrong information and put in the wrong parts. Although the white will look great, too, your bathroom is so beautiful it would be too bad if you unnecessarily replaced what didn’t need to be replaced. It really is beautiful!
Chris says
Naomi,
I agree with what several other posters have said, I think you need a new plumber more than new fixturers. The sink facet leaks you’ve said, but unless the sink itself is cracked and leaking, there’s no reason to replace it. Many (most) plumbers either are now unfamiliar with how to repair old fixtures or just plain don’t want to do it because they spend their lives installing new home depotish items. It’s very true you can’t pick up a replacement facet for that sink at home depot, but you can get them online (dea bath being only one starting point). Further you usually can get seats, valve stems, seals, etc for the existing one to be rebuilt. Same with the toilet.
Finding the right plumber who knows how to do it and is willing to take the time is the hard part of your search (it took me 4 plumbers saying a similar problem was a write off before finding the 5th who told me to buy 50 bucks of parts and he solved the problem). The parts to rebuild it will probably also be cheaper in the end than replacing everything.
Good luck.
Mikey says
I used to do plumbing before I became a welder and I can say for sure that is a Crane Drexel sink. I fixed one of those awhile back. The problem with those is the valve stem goes and the rubber washer gets cracked and dry. The guy who taught me plumbing was as old school as you can get. He told me most plumbers wont fix the problem because they just want to get in and out.
If you were in Texas Id come help you fix the toilet and sink. Everything can be fixed.
Where is the toilet leaking from? Where is the sink leaking from?
If the sink is dripping from the faucet then that means one of the valves is not working right. If it is leaking from around the handle, then the rubber washer or seat is worn and needs to be replaced. I personally would just replace the valve stems with new.
As for the toilet, is it leaking from under the tank? Or is it leaking from inside the tank?
I would love to see you keep these fixtures.
Lets fix these pieces and not replace them!!!!!
Gracie Manasco says
Mikey,
I need to remember you for when I install my blue Kohlers. I’m replacing my new crap with vintage light blue in the next year sometime… I’ve never flushed this guy so who knows if it’s going to work when I get it installed. I might need some advice!
Gracie
alyssa starelli says
GO PINK!! why couldn’t she find pink fixtures? Yes, Maroon would be hard to find, but with a little persistence, pink wouldn’t! I see them often at the rebuilder centers and craigslist, they’ve got to have those wherever she’s from. Grab a coffee and make it your Saturday morning hobby!
I say this because that is one of the most impressive small baths I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a lot.
Aly Star
http://www.aly-star.com
Susan @ Retro Restyling says
I agree, I think if she HAS to replace the fixtures then white would be ok and she shouldn’t dare touch the tub. It’s awesome! I definitely agree with the white shower curtain too.