The house we live in was build in 1963, which apparently was some nadir in contractor’s taste.
The upstairs bathroom is pink. Bazooka bubble gum pink. As in:
The walls are covered in Bazooka bubble gum pink tile to about shoulder height.
The floors are covered in Bazooka bubble gum pink tile with gray grout.
The sink is Bazooka bubble gum pink.
The surrounding cabinet the sink is set into is formica in a hideous freeform swirling of about six shades of pink, the most prominent of which is, yes, Bazooka bubble gum pink.
The bath tub is Bazooka bubble gum pink.
All three wall mounted towel bars are Bazooka bubble gum pink.
The wall mounted soap dish above the tub is Bazooka bubble gum pink.
The wall mounted glass/toothbrushholder AND the wall mounted soap dish above the sink are Bazooka bubble gum pink.
The mirrored medicine cabinet has an enameled Bazooka bubble gum pink surface.
The toilet paper holder is pink.
The freakin’ toilet is Bazooka bubble gum pink.
The only surfaces that are not pink are the ceiling and the top four feet or so of the walls.
I truly cannot stand this any more. I never liked pink, but after a few years of facing this bathroom that dislike has turned to genuine hatred.
Mr. Strong says that redoing tiled walls, floors, and fixtures that are in perfect working condition and near-mink condition is an insane waste of money. He says that ‘someone with a real decorator’s touch’ could offset the horrible pink through wallpaper and towels and such in another color, overpowering, as it were, the Bazooka bubble gum pink with lashings of tasteful slate gray or moss green or something.
I say it would take Godzilla, Mothra, AND Rodan working in combo to overpower the massive PINKNESS of it all.
Is there any way to paint the wall and/or floor tile and get a reasonably good-looking and wearing result? Can something be laid over the tile? Like, oh, linoleum or vinyl or Pergo or whatever? (Not carpet, carpet in bathrooms is nasty.)
I’m afraid the pattern of the tiles (a mosaic of 1X1 and 1X2 inch tiles) will quickly ghost through any new flooring.
I’ve heard of bathtub refinishing – can they change the color? If so, would it work on the toilet and sink, too?
I’m willing to try just about anything. Right now my fall back plan involves a lot of “accidents” while performing calisthenics with a sledge hammer.
Don’t diss pink. Pink was a hot color in Levittown bathrooms, and also featured prominently in 1950’s laminate countertop designs by Formica®. The boomerang patterns were re-released as a salute to retro-style.
Pink-it’s my new obsession
pink-it’s not even a question
pink-as the bing on your cherry
pink- 'cause you are so very
-Aerosmith
My sympathies, Starvingbutstrong. My entire flat was decorated in various shades of pink by the previous tenant. My bedroom being a shade of luminous salmon pink, which, 4 years later, still torments me when occaisionally I scuff the paintwork.
Wall and floor tiles are easily repainted - you need a tile primer. For the walls tiles, ordinary paint should be ok – I painted my beige kitchen tiles about four years ago and they’re fine. They seem pretty robust, just one or two scratches in the area around the kitchen sink, but those tiles have had plenty of knocks.
The floor would need floor paint. Not having painted a floor, I can’t speak for how robust the finish on painted floor tiles would be. I think vinyl would be a better option. Use underlay to avoid the tiles wearing through.
As for the fixtures. A cast iron/enamel bath can be resurfaced. Here in the UK it’s usually only done if homeowners are keen to keep their original victorian bath. I think DIY kits are available and I would guess they’re going to be white. If baths can be done, so can basins, but toilets?! I’ve heard of them being gold plated :eek: but that’s a job for a professional.
Maybe if you deal with the tiles and towel rails and other easy stuff, you can live with the fixtures?
The other option is to sell them. Much as you hate it, it’s probably someone else’s dream kitsch bathroom. Look up some architectural salvage yards. This one , for example, has coloured suites in stock. Mint green as a change, perhaps?
I painted the walls in the 15 by 26 kitchen in my last house Pepto Bismol pink. I loved it. But that’s my taste. Anyway, as long as the bathtub is not that nasty plastic stuff, it can be painted with special paint. I don’t know about toilets though. Tile can also be painted, but it’s pretty dicey because the paint doesn’t always cover and stick well. I wouldn’t even try painting the floor. Unfortunately if you want the pink floor gone it will have to be ripped up. As previous posters have said, painting the walls is a no-brainer and will help immensely. As would changing whatever else is easy, like the t.p. holder, towel bars, toothbrush holder (those things are icky anyway, so just get rid of it). Sinks are cheap and easy to replace also but in order to keep the cost down you might have to sacrifice the vanity. I think there are loads of cheap and easy things to do in order to de-pinkify but if you want it truly gone, you’re looking at gutting the bathroom. (I also think I watch too much DIY television).
My house was built in 1954. Pink was clearly popular in 1954 also. But if you think pink is bad, consider this. By our best estimates, prior to our arrival, the bathroom had been cleaned sometime in 1954. To be charitable, late 54.
The only thing worse than a pink bathroom is a filthy pink bathroom. The evening we closed all the pink tiles had been removed from the walls, the sink removed, and I had taken a sledge hammer to the bath tub (which was kinda fun).
But the floor. Oh, the floors. Some property of the pink floor tile rendered it stronger than cast iron. I took a swing at the floor with the sledge, and it merely bounced. I ended up skim coating it and laying lineoleum.
Little shards of pink tile still crop up in strange places til this day.
Well, you could count your blessings. The only thing worse than a pink bathroom would be a bathroom with red walls.
My sister decided to paint her bathroom. She’d read about using a sponge to make sort of sponge-prints of one color paint over another for a sort of mottled effect. It works when the colors are right, it looked lovely in the example pictures. So she decided to do it–red sponge-print over white walls. It looked like someone had slaughtered a goat in the bathroom. Gah, it’s making me dizzy now just thinking about it.
Paint the walls, and buy a new toilet and sink, get new fixtures. Heck, just painting the walls white will probably go a long way towards making you feel better about the bathroom.
We have a pink-and-gray bathroom, with gray grout in the floor. Built circa 1961. We hate it, have hated it since day 1. But we redid the kitchen first.
According to a book on apartments that I once got for a friend (who also had a pink bathroom), you can paint over tile. You need the right paint.
What about some remnant gray colored carpeting, gray shower curtain, gray towels and gray toilet fixture. That should soften the pinkness for under $100 until you come up wth a better plan.
Or perhaps avacado colors, or purple. Even brown might offset the nausea.
I’m not sure , but I think bathtubs can be reglazed.
First, I must confess, I painted my bathroom pink. Just the walls, the fixtures are all white. With black touches thrown in, it takes on the feel of a Parisian bordello.
Anyway…I wanted to warn you about the tub resurfacing. DIY kits are available pretty cheap, but they don’t work. The finish looks great until the first time you actually run water in the thing. Then it develops a severecase of hives, with huge bubbles all over the surface. Eventually…like the second shower…your new surface starts peeling off in huge sheets. This is not good for the plumbing. And it will bring back the pink that will not die. :eek:
I’ve been told that tubs can be professionally resurfaced and that works well. It involves removing the porcelain coating completely and reglazing the base. But, as anything good in life, this is more expensive.
I just wanted to share my snicker at that image. Carry on with the DIY tips.
Oh, and from personal experience, the pink tub/sink/toilet (although mine are rose) aren’t so bad if you can do something about the tile elsewhere. I suggest painting the wall tile as other people have said - can’t be worse than the pink, and any color will dampen the enthusiasm of pinkness.
For the floor, you could maybe use that nifty tile paint (which is good but doesn’t hold up for long on the floor) and then put a rug in the high traffic areas.
Wanna trade bathrooms? At least I can do something with the pink (I’d just go totally funky retro with it).
Mine was built around 1983. The bathtub is black. The shower is tiled in black. The glass doors are framed in black. The floor is black tile. The other three walls are floor-to-ceiling mirror. And, yes, the ceiling is mirrored, too.
I have been able to see every single angle of my doughy white ass to last me a lifetime.
I’ve seen worse. In my own house. My in-laws built it in the '50s. The upstairs bathroom is lavender. And green. Bright, pale lime green. My husband once said he had picked out the colors himself, but nowadays he denies having said that.
It is possible to get bathroom carpet tiles. We had that for a while; it made some difference, but the lavendar wall tiles and the lime tub, toilet and sink kind of overpower everything. They are good quality items, too, and have lasted over 40 years.
When we first moved in, though, that was the least of the problems. The front hall, from the front door, up the stairs to the lavender-and-lime was chartreuse. To the right was the dark burgundy living room. To the left was the blue dining room. I have blocked out what color(s) the kitchen was. The downstairs bathroom was the most sedate of all, merely pink and grey. We have since redone everything except the lavender-and-lime; it’s out of sight most of the time anyway.
