Okay, here's my vision. Paint counter gray, cabinets white. Wallpaper w ikat gray paper. Bring pink in with some towels otherwise use gray. Silver accessories, hardware for sparkle.

Thanks for the advice on the lighting and the varnish. I will definitely take them into consideration. I agree that the lighting is different in the two bathrooms. I think the bathroom that has the oranger looking wood has more light coming in from the bedroom it is attached to. We would really like to keep the original wood. I have never really thought about it yellowing. Thanks for bringing that up. My husband and I were just talking tonight about how we plan to eventually refinish the wood paneling in the living room and kitchen. It has faded TREMENDOUSLY due to sunlight from tons of windows. My husband actually brought up that it probably wouldn't be necessary to refinish the bathroom wood but maybe that will help. I will also take into consideration the light bulbs. I don't even remember what kind of lights are in there.

http://houzz.com/photos/1562632
Oops forgot wallpaper suggestion

My husband's grandmother had pink and grey bathroom it was similar to yours. Her sink was like yours but with two pedestal legs.

Let me make a suggestion about the bathtub. Ask the current owners politely "What were the considerations that led to putting in the bathtub surround?" or "Would you advise replacing the bathtub surround?" Don't ask "Is the tile falling off the wall over the bathtub under the bath surround?" A question designed to elicit more information often gets a helpful answer from sellers. Most people want to be helpful.

Stripping off old yellowed varnish is pretty quick and easy. I can't tell what kind of wood the cabinets are made of from the photos. If you don't know, take a drawer or door down to the fanciest lumberyard in town or to a friendly cabinet maker or better yet, a cabinet refinisher that you might want to hire. Or post a close-up photo taken in sunlight with a ruler to show scale, as a new dilemma on Houzz. These look like someone took the time to match the grain which indicates careful custom work.

http://www.wisewoodveneer.com/veneers.html

Whatever you do, don't do a thing to the actual vanity cabinet - it's beautiful and amazing and original. Definitely get rid of the wallpaper. I am reading your blog, and I know you said you looked around for a similar bathroom and couldn't find one, but cleaning the counters and accessorizing simply can go a long way in the short run. Your house is amazing. Good luck from a fellow former St. Louisan!

I agree if you could get cabinets back to original blond wood It would be more true to retro look. The counter bothers me the most. I still think an ikat paper would wrk and modernize the room without sacrificing integrity.

glaze the sinks white ( and if you have a tub too) not expensive at all. Formica is so inexpensive a fix and they have great looking ones these days! Why live with that dated color? Then paint cabs white and add new hardware. It should not break the bank.Best of luck!

Thanks for the advice. I had never considered how much the cabinets have probably yellowed! I now think the first thing we should do is refinish the cabinets and keep them natural. Then, we can go from there. I am not sure what the wood is but the whole house was custom built and designed by an architect. We have the original plans so it's likely they might say. Most of the wood elsewhere (living room paneling and exterior) is redwood but I guess this could be different. (I don't know my woods well.) The living room has a wall of windows and it has faded so much we decided someone changed their mind after the plans were done and decided not to go with redwood. It wasn't until some wall hangings were removed and we saw where an old thermostat used to be that we realized it WAS redwood. Vida, I really like the photo you did. Thank you!!

I wouldn't paint the cabinet as it most likely (built by an architect) is quality, I would leave it as is. Painted refinished wood sometimes doesn't quite look as nice, unless it is custom spray painted. I would hate to see you change the original integrity of the cabinet. I feel you can work around it. Furniture takes a very,very long time to change color.

I'm not thinking of painting it but maybe stripping and restraining/ refinishing? (I'm not sure the correct term) It needs to be done on the living room paneling and kitchen cabinets also. Almost every room in the house has a wall of windows so there has been a lot of sun damage.

I would not paint the vanity, but like you said, restaining/refinishing would be the way I would go. Change out the hardware on the vanity to match the faucent. I would put a few matching the stain baskets, filled with hand towels in pink and blue.

Below is a set from jcpenny that may work well in the room and bring all the colors together. As for the walls I would pick a very light blue, not a baby blue, but a light blue.

Something like this? Black counter, black hardware and teal walls.

I had a 50's house with a light and dark green bathroom. The counter was newer gold laminate. Really hideous combo. I painted the laminate with a faux green and white marble. It actually held up really well and when we sold the house, the new owners kept it for many years. I believe I lightly sanded the laminate to give it some tooth and used an oil based paint.

Something about the pink and wood tones makes me think orange and reds. Sometimes the best way to diffuse a color is to add more color in similar tones not a completely different color -as you can see that the blue doesn't diffuse the pink at all, just makes it stand out more. Have fun with some hot colors.

Don't use paint stripper on the cabinet. Formby's makes a refinisher that removes varnish or whatever and leaves the wood looking great. I'm not sure what you can do if you are committed to keeping the pink & the blue. There's no magic solution. If you paint the walls the blue color then the pink will stand out. If you paint the walls white, you have a bathroom that's pink, blue & white. It is what it is.

https://www.facebook.com/SaveThePinkBathrooms

All are wonderful ideas. I really think that if you fix one color problem the other will not seem to be a problem. What color can you live with, blue or pink? Go with your style and what you like.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/make-it-work-old-school-tile-in-the-bath-185976
Check out the very bold Lush wallpaper. Something like that is probably the direction I would take. It puts such a bold pattern on the wall with another color and the pink & blue become background not the focus of your eye.
http://pinterest.com/pin/12314598952135178/

Please, please do not touch the tile. It is the perfect colors. The bathroom is like stepping back into a 1960 bathroom and that is so awesome. Play up the room with a little more blue, maybe a nice mid-century wallpaper!

'pattiegoode' I love that wallpaper!!

We have no plans to touch the tile. I am worried about wallpaper holding up in the bathroom. Is there stuff that will?

I would use wallpaper only if you have a venting and an additional window will help. I had wallpaper in a very small bath and had no problem. Apply with adhesive on wall and paper.

well if my mom was still alive, she'd love it....I well remember our entire home having to be done in pink and blue + our car was pink too! I can't believe my dad was OK with it....you need to get rid of one of the two colours, my choice would be to get rid of the pink it is passe right now too....watch your local big box stores for when they have sinks on special and then replace them with white ones....if price is the issue then do one fixture at a time but have a plan....we've just recently got rid of coloured fixtures and I cannot put into words the difference it made....have fun with it and post some after pics

Speaking of pink cars ... my boyfriend at the time (husband) had a pink and white Ford Crown Victoria. He is small in stature with many taller male friends. He was thought of as one bad a_ _ and a dangerous competitor for trying to date me. :)) Those were the days. Loved that car!

well,,ours was a dodge with the great big fins at the back....thought it was pretty amazing back then with its pushbuttons!....oh my goodness! I still can't believe that my dad actually bought a pink car....it was the one I learned to drive on in 1961!

I think you can update that room simply by adding touches of black and perhaps blue and/ or pink towels combined with plain black ones. There are many modern accessories which use all these colors now, some with contemporary patterns that make the pink and blue part of the pattern. I see that the Formica or laminate continues up the wall a bit. That would be a good place to paint black trim or use tile to border the room. Here is an example of a design that would incorporate pink and black while updating things a bit. http://www.zazzle.com/salmon_pink_daisy_on_black_customized_daisies_kitchen_towel-197300457398657981. Or consider painting the wood black or add black molding to the mirrors. I have seen some great patterns using black, pink and blue!

We recently had a 1960s bathtub/shower refinished and kept the tile. Love it!

I kept thinking about your bathroom today. Here is a pattern which I hope shows that pink and blue can be updated with a coordinating wallpaper. i am NOT suggesting you use this print but something similar in a tasteful print should work but I am not an interior designer. Once you have your wall color or pattern in place, the towels and accessories should be a snap. Hope the picture shows up.

Susanph44, is that the exact bathtub in both photos? You just had it re-enameled? Is it a pretty easy process? I am so curious how well it holds up. I think we will try to work with the pink AND blue at first. If that doesn't work I think we will look into re-enameling the sinks and tub and keeping the blue. You guys have all given me so much great advice and gotten me thinking about things I hadn't even considered! Thank you! I never dreamed I would get so much input. I guess the pink and blue bathroom really touched a nerve with people. I posted another question here https://www.houzz.com/discussions/how-to-arrange-room-around-built-in-shelving-dsvw-vd~521756 but have gotten virtually no response. I guess it's not as exciting!

And...crazy as it sounds...I do like the idea of the yellow wallpaper although I am afraid you'd have to paint the wood. If the tree branches in the wallpaper were dark enough you could add some pops of black. I can't take credit for the basic idea. I saw something similar in a decorator show home and it was a favorite of the crowd.

I see how yellow could work in the bathroom. We are not too excited about painting the wood. We love all of the natural wood in the house (seems like we are not the norm). But, the comment earlier about the varnish yellowing was a light bulb moment for me. I think first thing we will be doing in the bathroom is refinishing the cabinets with new stain, varnish etc.

I understand your reluctance to paint wood. We have kept most of the wood in our home but sometimes it is hard to keep it in place and work around it. I would not throw yellow into the mixf unless it was part of a major pattern that tied in the blue and pink. Otherwise, the room could lack balance.

I wanted to add that I generally avoid wallpaper but in this case it might be your best bet.

Yes, alcompton, it is the same tub. It was refinished in one day and has a warranty. We need to change the fixtures yet.
We redid the vanity, too.

Thanks for the photos susanph44. I like your bathroom old and new! Just out of curiosity is it a Jack and Jill also?

I agree with Margo - I find the sinks very cool, the thing I don't like is the counter which should be easy to replace. And yes, paint cabinets and add new hardware. If you get rid of the blue counter and keep everything else neutral you may find that the color of the tub and sinks is actually nice and in keeping with the age and character of the home.

I love the sinks too. I've seen so many old bathrooms with pink sinks look lovely with just a few changes. Is that blue carpeting in the bathroom floor?

I am glad to hear so many people like the sinks. I definitely like their style and hope to come to love the color. I am really hoping that we can refinish the cabinets and really come up with a decorating scheme that we will love and that makes everything else work. If anyone comes across shower curtains, towels, art work etc. that would work with the pink/ blue/ white post them please. I need to do some googling.

There is paint for just about anything. If you neutralize and then add accessories, you will create what you love. IMO, the cabinets in this scenario are not the problem.

It is so interesting that everyone has their own opinion about what should be changed first. So, I decided to make a quick poll on the subject. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-is-the-biggest-problem-in-this-bathroom-dsvw-vd~523246

You should definitely keep the original pink fixtures. There is actually a movement to save the pink bathrooms which were so common in the '50s and '60s. This website has a ton of advice about how and why you should save your rare pink bathroom, and not just learn to live with it but learn to love it as a great design feature that you are luck to have: http://retrorenovation.com/category/bathroom-categories/pink-pink-bathrooms/ Browse through it for ideas of how to make the pink work for you.

The blue countertop is probably not original to the house, so you can replace it without qualms. A black countertop would be too harsh of a contrast, but a soft gray or white would look beautiful. If you keep the pink fixtures and mix in newer design elements (sticking with sympathetic finishes that go with the mid-century modern style), you can make a fresh-looking bathroom that won't look dated or like a '60s time capsule, or like you tried to force the wrong design into your house.

Removing the pink fixtures, or refinishing them to white or another color would truly be a tragic mistake.

Could you explain why you think the blue is not original? Thanks!

I'm torn on this one.

You could tile over the counter with a mosaic and tie in the colors. Just a thought. Wallpaper and accessories can pull it together even more.

http://houzz.com/photos/1444633

http://pinterest.com/pin/111464159497300336/

http://pinterest.com/pin/179792210093838277/
What a difference wallpaper makes!

http://pinterest.com/pin/473300242059268300/
Article with hints on retro bathroom

Hi, what I tell my clients is to keep the tile if they are not ready to redo the bathroom and to pick a Wallcovering that will incorporate both the pink and blue together. Add other colors as well and by doing that the bathroom will look more complete. By painting it will make any tired concept more obvious. The idea is to bring it to a more updated look! Still keeping it retro. Feel free to e mail me. Hope this helps