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Home / Bathroom / Pink Bathrooms / Pink bathrooms - popular

The color pink in bathroom sinks, tubs and toilets — from 1927-1962

Kate - March 22, 2016, Updated: August 30, 2021

vintage pink bathroom

Read all about Mamie Eisenhower’s pink bathroom at Gettysburg here

Every Retro-Renovation-card carrying reader knows that pink bathrooms were wildly popular in midcentury America — thanks in part to First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, who popularized the color in the 1950s. When did we first see pink in bathrooms, though? And what were the different shades from the different manufacturers? I dove back into one of our favorite resources, The Building Techology Heritage Library on archive.org, to start tracking the history and see how many different pinks I could find in bathroom fixtures. 

American Standard pinks — Rose Du Barry (pinky purple Orchid of Vincennes), Corallin and Venetian Pinkvintage pink bathroom vintage pink bathroom vintage pink bathroom
vintage pink Kitchen sink

Above images: 1930 American-Standard Rose Du Barry bathroom fixtures and kitchen sink from the MBJ collection/archive.org.

In the 1930s, American Standard offered a Rose Du Barry pink (above) which looks to be a very rosy, bright pink. The company also offered Orchid Of Vincennes (below) that is likely a lavender pink, though it is hard to tell from the vintage catalog whether it leaned more toward purple or pink.

vintage lavendar bathroom vintage lavendar bathroom

Above images: 1930 American-Standard Orchid of Vincennes bathroom fixtures from the MBJ collection/archive.org. 

vintage pink bathroom 1950s vintage pink bathroom 1950sAbove: By 1950, American Standard had removed their purpley pink Orchid of Vincennes from their color lineup and tweaked their Rose Du Barry pink to be a softer pastel pink, which they called ‘Corallin’. Above from: 1950 American-Standard catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org showing Corallin Pink bathroom fixtures.

midcentury pink bathroom midcentury pink bathroomBy 1962, Corallin was out and a very similar pink — called Venetian Pink — had taken over. In fact, Venetian Pink can still be found today at the last known source for a new pink toilet, Peerless.

midcentury pink bathroom midcentury pink bathroom midcentury pink bathroomFive images above: 1962 American-Standard catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org showing Venetian Pink fixtures.

Kohler Pink — Lavender, Peachblow

vintage pink bathroom vintage pink bathroom

A few years ago, Pam wrote about the very first year — 1927 — that Kohler offered its bathroom fixtures in colors besides white. “Lavender” was in the new palette — and golly, we think it looks pink.  Above: Lavender fixtures from a 1928 Kohler catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org.

1936 Kohler bathroom colors vintage pink bathroomBy 1936, Kohler had created a separation between Lavender and pink by creating a peachier pink named “Peachblow” which — along with Tuscan, Spring Green and Lavender — became one of their most popular colors. Above: We see Kohler’s color lineup and a Peachblow bathroom in this 1936 Kohler catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org.

1948 Kohler colors bathroom vintage pink bathroom vintage pink bathroomAbove: In this 1948 Kohler catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org, we see the whole palette for the year, which included Peachblow, which Kohler says is a “..more restrained, almost beige” pink that is a toned-down version of Lavender.

vintage bathroom colors vintage pink bathroomBy 1949, Kohler had reduced its color offerings to just four: Spruce Green, Peachblow, Cerulean Blue and Tuscan. Two images above: from a 1949 Kohler catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org. 

Kohler colors 1950s vintage pink bathroom

Above images: In this 1950 Kohler catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org, Peachblow is still going strong.

kohler bathroom pinks 1970-2004According to Kohler’s excellent color timeline, Peachblow remained in production until 1973, when it was joined by Pink Champagne, a much bolder pink. In the 1980’s Wild Rose and Innocent Blush took over, though they were much more beiged-out pinks. Antique Rose was added in the mauve crazy mid 1990s and then Vapour Pink, a light pastel pink similar to their vintage pinks, was around for a short while before Kohler completely removed the color pink from their lineup.

Crane — Orchid Pink

vintage Crane bathroom colors 1940

vintage pink bathroomIn 1940, Crane offered Orchid Pink along with India Ivory, Citrus Yellow, Pale Jade, Lavender and Sun Tan as part of their lineup. Images above from: 1940 Crane catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org.

Montgomery Ward — Tropical Coral

coral pink vintage bathroom

This 1955 Montgomery Ward catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org offers fixtures in Tropical Coral.

Briggs — Coral

Vintage pink bathroom Vintage pink bathroomThe two images above show Coral from the 1950s Briggs Beautyware catalog from the MBJ collection/archive.org.

Eljer — Old Rose, Royal Orchid and Coral Blush

vintage bathroom colorsPam spotted some Eljer catalogs from 1939 and 1940 on archive.org that showed several shades of pink — including Old Rose, Royal Orchid and Coral Blush.

Alliance Ware — Pinkalliance ware vintage bathroom fixtures

Pam found this ad for Alliance Ware porcelain enameled bathroom fixtures that includes a pastel pink in a 1950s Small Homes Guide.

CATEGORIES:
Bathroom Favorite stories from Retro Renovation Pink Bathrooms Pink bathrooms - popular

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Reader Interactions

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92 comments

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  1. Mishell spolar says

    July 14, 2019 at 6:00 pm

    Where can I sell my 1960 pink toilet?

    • Pam Kueber says

      July 15, 2019 at 6:24 am

      Try craiglist or Facebook Marketplace.

      • Amanda Russell says

        August 13, 2019 at 2:09 pm

        What is the maker and color of pink.
        I have broken the tank cover of my American Standard toilet.
        Interested!

        • Pam Kueber says

          August 16, 2019 at 10:44 am

          Depends on the year but see the story, some information is already in here.

          Plus you could try: https://www.plumbingsupply.com/freetoilettanklidssearch.html

  2. Markie says

    February 2, 2019 at 5:19 pm

    We’re acquiring an entire bathroom of pink tub, commode, sink, vanity and relaxation unit. The fixtures are marked Crane Pacific 1958. Super excited and proud to be saving a pink bathroom!

  3. judah says

    October 23, 2018 at 10:36 am

    I need help in matching color for my sink..

    • Pam Kueber says

      October 23, 2018 at 10:40 am

      Hi Judah, I’m not sure what you are asking.

  4. Don Heeter says

    May 10, 2018 at 9:12 am

    I have a Pink Bathroom sink that has the logo on it
    LJ No 1 and a date of 9-24-640
    Is there any information that anybody can provide me on who the manufacturer is ( LJ ) ? The bowl is 17 1/4″ width, 13 1/4″ High,
    6 3/4″ Depth. Thank you for your help.

    • Steve Taylor says

      October 10, 2018 at 8:43 am

      Not 100% sure, but I think LJ is for Eljer.

  5. Bob says

    February 10, 2018 at 8:19 pm

    the Venetian pink bathtub picture is right below the words “the ultimate touch of femininity for m’lady”

  6. Bob says

    February 10, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    In the above article there is a picture of a bathroom in Venetian pink by American standard. That is exactly the bathtub I grew up with. Where can we get it

  7. HoustonTX says

    February 16, 2017 at 12:05 am

    My pink tile bathroom is original to the house, built in 1956. The accent tiles, toilet, sink and tub are bone. No broken tiles, just some gaps in the grout which I can fix. My problem is matching the pink or at least finding paint and accessories that don’t clash, and digital photos just can’t seem to get the color right. What I need is a color sample I can take shopping. Any tips on how to get one?

    • pam kueber says

      February 16, 2017 at 7:34 am

      I guess what I would try is getting paint chips from a big box store and seeing if I could get a close match to the tiles – and then use those. The other way you could do it is to get a set of acrylic paints in the right hues and then start mixing until you get matches that are close — then take those color samples with you…

  8. Amber Dancy says

    March 28, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    I think my master bath might be Venetian Pink. It’s more of a peachy-pink as opposed to a feminine pink, but paired with very light peach tiles it makes the toilet and sink look brighter. I imagine this was a compromise between husband and wife.

    https://flic.kr/p/uBFfLr

    As much as I love vintage wallpaper, I’m not a fan of my master bath. It hurts my eyes and I’d love to pair the pink with an aqua or a light blue. Maybe make it pop a bit more.

    Our original bathroom (circa 1948) has white fixtures, but the tile used to be this AMAZING shade of blue-green. https://flic.kr/p/uzjind
    Can anybody identify the color? Shame it was painted over. Everything in the house was made by American Standard, as far as I can tell, if that helps.

    • pam kueber says

      April 4, 2016 at 10:20 am

      We have some stories on the other colors coming up!

  9. Cheryl says

    March 24, 2016 at 11:02 am

    We just bought a house built in 1960. It has a very dark pink bathroom which I am going to keep, with grey and pink small tiles. The house also has the formica counter tops and because everything looks so good(like no one lived there) we will be keeping as well.

    • Mary Elizabeth says

      March 24, 2016 at 1:18 pm

      Kudos to you, Cheryl! Welome to the “Save the Pink Bathroom” club. Why is it that so many of the midcentury houses look spanking-new clean? Was it the quality of the fixtures or was it the obsessive cleaning that a stay-at-home mom could find time for? Maybe a little of both?

      Enjoy decorating your pink bathroom and finding things to go with it. There are many, many stories on this site that will help you. Look also for discussions of non-abrasive cleaners to keep that tub, sink and toilet looking spiffy for another 56 years! Also enjoy your “new” old house in every way.

  10. Katie says

    March 24, 2016 at 12:28 am

    IKEA has towels and bathmats in pink. No pink shower curtains, but they do have a few patterned ones that have pink in them.

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