An original pink and black bathroom is always a crowd pleaser — and today, we have a beautiful example. After figuring out relatively early in his house-hunting journey that he was likely to end up in an older house, eader Robert set his sites on finding one with either a pink-and-white or black-and-white bathroom. Of course, the RDGs delivered unto him the pink. To put his own stamp on the space, Robert needed to complete only minor defroufrouification, and the bathroom was good to go. <– bathroom pun, teehee.
Robert addressed his first email to Pam, writing:
Hi Pam – I always enjoy your blog and I thought you might like to see my pink bathroom. I’ve included probably more images than you want (i’m a photographer, sorry!)… The house is in Connecticut from 1950, and the bathroom was in pristine condition. Not a crack or chip anywhere. It’s like it was never used. It originally had some pretty u*** [edited] wallpaper and drapes which all came down immediately! I decided to work around the theme and have fun with it adding vintage stuff, rather than try and make it look current. The walls are painted with a silver iridescent glaze paint.
Funny story – when I was looking at homes I kept seeing h****** [edited] bathrooms. I remember thinking to myself, “If I have to have an old bathroom, can’t I find a black and white, or pink and black?” So when the realtor walked me in {to this house}, and she starting apologizing for the bathroom suggesting how I could work with it, I held my hand out stopping her, and said, “NO, no, no!! this is GREAT!” She looked at me and was like, “It IS??!”
Decorating a pink and black bathroom
Robert, we agree: This is great! You were very lucky indeed to land a vintage pink and black bathroom that was in such great shape and which *needed* only modest cosmetic updates to suit your own personal style. We don’t include a resource list with this story, because it looks like most of your decor items are vintage. However, we will say, it looks like you added black porcelain bathroom sconces from Rejuvenation — correct?
Painting the walls a metallic silver and adding the black crown molding really played up the contrast and angular detail of the space — making this bathroom feel handsome. The crown molding also nicely echoed the black bullnose and liner tile that outlines the bathroom — and helped to balance out the dark flooring.
The graphics used to advertise and market vintage bathroom products are so cool — a relatively easy way to make a nod to a vintage bathroom’s history — and great decor, too.
Other black accessories — like this retro wall clock — repeat the “outlined in black” motif.
Agreed: No matter how sophisticated a pink and black bathroom might get, there’s always room for a pink poodle in Paris. We are sure that lots of readers will be green with envy over this vintage laundry hamper.
Another clever trick that Robert used to continue the room’s outlines was to paint the inside of the shower opening black — thus continuing the tile outline all the way around the shower entrance.
A few other vintage details like this pink Detecto bath scale amp up the retro factor.
Vintage advertisements framed as art in pink and steel finish out the space.
We can certainly see Robert’s visual skills — he is a photographer with a nifty retro site design — in this thoughtfully designed space. Thank you, Robert, for sharing this gorgeous pink potty with the appreciative tribe at Retro Renovation.
Anna Best says
Gorgeous! Love the thick black crown. My only quibble would be to put in a black porcelain ceiling fixture that matches the sconces (so minor). I really love the graphics on the Band Aid box!
robert norman says
i HAVE thought of that actually! One of those things I haven’t gotten to!!
pam kueber says
I bet you could just find glossy, high heat, black paint and paint the receptacle — I think it would be difficult to tell the difference, given the height.
robert norman says
Thats a great idea – the fixture doesn’t get all that hot either—I sense a new project…
Lauryn says
We bought two fixtures for our kitchen from our Habitat ReStore that were pretty ho-hum until I took two coats of a high-gloss spray paint to the metal bases … and now they’re a damn close match to our black porcelain Rufus fixture from Rejuvenation. It is a really easy, affordable way to get a fine looking fixture. (One of those fixtures was only a dollar!)
pam kueber says
Yay! Great idea!
Robin, NV says
As much as I love the redo, I actually liked the original too. It’s just a different aesthetic – a more girly, frilly look. But the poodle hamper is just too awesome. Love all the little added touches with the original toiletries.
My realtor did the same thing – looked at my Ming green bathroom and was horrified. She tried to tell us how easy it would be to update but my husband and I said “No! We love this bathroom.” I didn’t know anything about MCM at the time but I knew I had to keep the original fixtures.
Janice says
Wow – what a lucky, lucky guy to have found such a perfect pink and black bathroom! I recreated one where there was none, but there’s nothing better than an original. I love all your touches and I especially love the hamper, the framed ads and your corner of collectibles from the past. I would be happy to get out of bed every morning knowing this is what would be greeting me. Lovely, lovely job!
Mark E says
That silver iridescent glaze paint is awesome!
gsciencechick says
It’s fabulous. So fortunate to have such great orginal conditon.
Janet in CT says
Robert, wonderful job! I love your metal hamper with poodle and your pink wastebasket, and all the extra touches like the old toiletries and the ads. Now tell me, are you so persnickety like me that you took off the old doorknobs and hardware to polish up the tarnished brass? I am happy to see you saved everything there. One can see that “You are proud of your bathroom”!
robert norman says
hahaha! actually I did not polish the knobs, but know you got me thinking…..
Janet in CT says
Robert, you don’t NEED to! Mine were green with crud when I moved in. Yours look wonderful. There is just something about those glass doorknobs…. both my sister and I just love them!
Patty says
great job – great fun
JKM says
Your bathroom looks great – so crisp and fresh! Love the glass doorknobs, too!
annwesleyhardin says
I don’t understand how anyone could rip this masterpiece out for a cheapo “big box store” potty. Bravo, Robert!!
Gavin in the UK says
Wow, what a gorgeous bathroom! Exactly what I would love to recreate in our house. What a lucky man. Funny thing, the first thing I thought when looking at the ‘before’ pics was how the ghastly wallpaper & curtains would have to go…
pam kueber says
Note: Lots of folks like wallpaper!!!
robert norman says
Thats true, but I wasn’t so sure about bold stripes and little roses! LOL
Gavin in the UK says
Removing that wallpaper was the best choice, no doubt about it. It made the room look MUCH smaller and distracted the eye from the gorgeous fittings, maybe that’s why the previous owner put it there?!.