Pink Bathroom

BEFORE: 





So the bathroom was pink. Really, really pink.

This was common enough in the 1950s, but not enough people see the value of the pink, yellow, green and blue bathrooms of the 1950s.

If nothing else, replacement parts are really hard to get. (Hence the wood seat on the toilet) and today every bathroom seems to need a giant jacuzzi tub along with marble flooring.

But inspired by the SaveThePinkBathrooms web site, I set out to see what I could do to preserve it.



Old lady curtains and old lady wallpaper made the bathroom look even more pink.


The shower had three showerheads, something that's not unusual today, but must have been pretty radical in its day.






AFTER: 


So you really can find anything online.

To sell this room to my teenage son (and myself) I googled "How to make a pink bathroom look more masculine" and amazingly, about 50 pages of suggestions popped up.

The one I liked best was the oft mentioned notion of doing a 50s Hawaiian surf theme. It worked.

Toilet is new - from Gerber, found by my ace plumbers at Dawson Mechanical in NJ. (The old one was broken and needed to be replaced) Ditto the faucets on the sink (and the pipes under it.) Also located and installed by Dawson.

Surfer curtain and vintage metal surf posters from BungalowBeachDesigns.com  http://www.bungalowbeachdesigns.com

Elvis towel from Amazon







1950s medicine chest and fluorescent lights (there's a similar one, a period original, in the other bathroom) from Broan, via eFaucets.com. Found by googling "1950s medicine chest"


Beach flip-flop toothbrush holder from Target - one of the many purchases I found as I was looking for something unrelated


Shower needed some scrubbing and showerheads a weeks worth of soaking in white vinegar and back to new.

Surfboard rug also from Bungalow BeachDesigns

3 comments:

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  2. Pink is definitely a difficult issue, and I love the surfer motif, but to be honest, this room isn't blending with the other rooms and isn't on the same exceptional level. I would rethink the turquoise on the walls. Sorry - just a thought, and a pretty inexpensive fix. But I'd rather be honest than rah rah. (I'm a design fanatic, can't help myself.) The rest of the room is nicely put together, though. Maybe the dark blue that is in the other rooms to tie it all in?
    Also, have you perused Design Seeds? Great color combos!
    Check this one, with pink: http://design-seeds.com/index.php/home/entry/watermelon-hues

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    1. @Lindy - I am going to give you one big blanket thank you here for your incredibly thoughtful responses throughout.

      This is the only thing close to a design project I've ever done and so it's a thrill to get compliments from someone who clearly knows what she's doing.

      As for the bathroom, in retrospect, I think I would have gone for a lighter shade of the same color, more of a pistachio, but went with the brighter color to eliminate the pinkness.

      It's an oddly designed room - the bathtub has no shower, so it's essentially wasted space, and there isn't any storage beyond the medicine chest. It's not an issue really - there's a linen closet outside that provides storage, but I'd gotten used to having sinks with cabinets under them.

      And thanks again for all your input!

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