Yes, I was thinking of a dove gray, but here are 99 ideas from retro renovation's pink bathroom section:

http://retrorenovation.com/2015/07/31/99-ideas-decorate-pink-bathroom/

Most of them don't have the maroon tile, but some do.

Please, please do not switch out that fabulous tile and fixtures. Like writersblock said, people pay a premium for a bathroom like that in such great shape. I too would work with a gray color for the walls. Or how about finding a wallpaper with a light gray background and some maroon touches in some sort of "atomic" pattern that was in style at the time. It would be so much fun. Maybe something like one of these? Have some fun with it.

Oh dear, cpartist. Now I want those atomic kittens.

Oh dear, cpartist. Now I want those atomic kittens.

Those are the ones that caught my eye. In fact, my best friend's Mom had something very similar (only with french poodles) in her kitchen when I was growing up. (Now I'm giving away my age.)

The bathroom is fabulous, but you're right, the medicine cabinet is just ugly. I wonder if you be able to find one to fit, or if you'd have to build a custom cabinet and affix a mirror to the door?

I don't think I've seen a towel bar like the one attached to the sink. Usually I see them attached to the sink at both ends, not one end into the wall.

My grandmother's house had a similar bathroom, with floral-patterned wallpaper carried over from the connecting bedroom and dressing room. And I think it had the same medicine cabinet, too.

I'd start saving to demo that ugly thing right now! Of course, I grew up in the 50's so I don't have the infatuation with mid-century modern that many of the young do today.

My first house had a powder room that was taxi yellow with black trim, and the kitchen was cream tile with maroon. The main bath was a faded aqua so it was liveable. That gawd all the fixtures were white! I eventually used epoxy spray paint to cover that bright yellow tile. Yes, there were a few drips, but ANYTHING was better than that tile!

Ben Moore Muslin is my first sample paint color when dealing with pinkish beige undertones. Sherwin Williams Snowbound is a cleaner white with a slight pink undertone. If you want to try paint, you might try those.

I wouldn't touch anything. This would be a great bathroom for wallpaper .

Also, Peerless Pottery still makes pink toilets. They may be the last company to do so. It's paler pink, but it may blend better than pure white if you wanted to go that route.

https://www.houzz.com/products/peerless-pottery-hancock-toilet-kit-with-seat-venetian-pink-2006x2975-prvw-vr~52693353

I think your bathroom is darling, scallops, seahorses, pink tiles and all! I too would just choose a wall treatment or color and relish in your perfect piece of history! If it ain't broke... is a very good rule in life and in orginal bathrooms!

wood scallops, white toilet and seahorse shower door would have to go. The rest should be left intact. I would do a white paint with the slightest mauve or peach or blue undertone, depending on what you like, to counterbalance the maroon tile. Heavy as it is, I would not get rid of it.

I would not touch the shower door. The scallops could be returned if a purist wanted to replicate but the doors can not. They are perfect mid centry etched glass I love them! Here is a link with some orginal ads about 1950s etch glass options;) http://www.nopatternrequired.com/2015/12/vintage-1950s-etched-glass-shower-door-catalogdreaming-about-a-mid-century-bathroom/

If I tore that bathroom out I would strive for an updated version of this theme. The med cab looks like it is missing the elongated light covers. The white toilet does stand out, getting a pink one would be nice. I love the tub alcove, the sink, and the shower detail.

Love the sea horses!

Wow, some people would kill for this :)

I wouldn't do anything other than an off-white paint job (with slightly peachy undertones) and some shower curtain and window treatment that picks up your colors.

Geez, that is a beautiful bathroom! I would look at a very pale gray wall paint, even though I am not a fan of gray.

I dislike the medicine cabinet too, but I don't know how difficult it would be to replace, without damaging the surrounding areas. Are the walls plaster? Some new medicine cabinets can be deeper than the plaster wall. This was the case in our old bath and I ended up adding trim pieces to make the medicine cabinet's sides look good. If you have an old time hardware store, like our McGuckin's, they may be able to help you. Mcguckin's

The toilet doesn't bother me, and I think changing the wall color to a light gray will help the toilet color. However, if that was my bathroom, I would be finding a pink toilet in a heart beat!

My only real thought, other than agreeing with the grey on the walls, is make sure you take things out carefully and sell them online. I reckon there'd be people who would kill for that shower door.

I ordered a sample of pink from peerless. If it matches my fixtures I would replace the toilet but I'm not introducing another shade of pink.

I found some vintage recessed medicine cabinets and I might replace mine. Someone had mentioned the shades in my lights were missing but it has chrome shades that rotate around. I'm not sure whether it also had plastic shades but I don't think that would make me like it more.

The walls are fiberboard. They look like plaster but it's a really thick Sheetrock like board with a plaster finish. It's original to the house and there's no metal lathe.

The bathroom has definitely grown on me. The shower is amazing. It has original body sprays and because they are from 1950 the pressure is amazing.

If it matches my fixtures I would replace the toilet but I'm not introducing another shade of pink.

That's a good decision, I think. It would be great if you could match the sink, but as it is, the white isn't as bad there as in a lot of old bathrooms because of the white towel bar and the scallops above it. So it's not like it just came out of nowhere.

ETA If you decide you really can't stand the scallops, I'd keep that unit and put it in the attic for a future owner so they could put it back if they want.

I though about putting the medicine cabinet in the attic too if I replace it.

Bpathome - both bathroom sinks in the house have the side towel bars and I love them. They have them at deabath. Some of the chrome pieces are badly pitted so I was looking at replating but they are pretty reasonable to replace.

If it matches my fixtures I would replace the toilet but I'm not introducing another shade of pink.

I don't know, I think a pink that just blended with the other pinks that are also not identical would be preferable to a white toilet.

If this were a fully monochromatic pink bathroom where the floor and wall tile and all fixtures matched, I think a clearly different pink for one item, sink, toilet, or toilet seat would strike a discordant note...I've seen this, I collect real estate photos of time-capsule interiors.

It is pretty rare to see a truly monochromatic colored bathroom, there are usually subtle mismatches. Even though the tile, cast iron tub and sink, and the vitreous china toilet, and the plastic toilet seat are all the same color in my non-white bathroom --they are indicated as "matching" by color number-- because the tile is ceramic, the toilet is a different ceramic and the tub and sink are cast iron, there are subtle differences in color because they are not made of identical materials.

Another close pink in a room of already varied pinks, I don't think this is is big deal. Think about the pinks in flowers--they don't match. But put a white flower in with a bunch of pinks and it clearly stands out. White goes with everything because it contains all colors of the spectrum, but it isn't necessarily the best companion to everything. I think the presence of existing different pink shades in the bathroom may actually be in your favor.

Is the bar in the towel bar a replacement? Because they also make "clear" replacements--although they are really translucent plastic. You also don't have to keep the scallops white, that's just paint, they could be anything, one of the pinks, maroon or something else.

palimpsest - that's a good point about the pinks

Both of the towel bars in the room have the white center. The white bar is grouted to the pink and I'd worry about breaking something while trying to get the white pieces out.

If you think they are original, I would leave them.

The replacements have a spring loaded piece on one side, kind of like a toilet paper spindle, and you cut to fit one end and the this spring loaded piece clicks into the other side.

I was asking if you thought they were original or replacement because many towel bars were either color matched to the tile or they were that translucent plastic color. My grandmother's bathroom had bars that matched the white with gold sparkles tile, that seemed to be made out of plastic.

https://www.amazon.com/Ez-Flo-15198-Adjustable-Plastic-Towel/dp/B00065XNU8

palimpsest - the grout on both bars looks the same and the bars themselves are ceramic but I could not say for sure if they are original. It does strike me as odd that someone would have changed these but not changed the cracked soap dish in the tub or anything else in the bathroom

I can understand that, christa. We had a house with ceramic towel bars like those, and after a great many years, the covering on the cross bars (some kind of vinyl-like coating over wood) shrank away from the ends so that the actual unfinished wood was exposed, which started to rot from the dampness. It didn't take long.

Where can we purchase maroon tile like this? We have. Fifties bathroom that we need to match the maroon tile in place.

Try matchmytile.com. Also retrorenovation has some links to sources

if I decide to demo this bathroom, I will let you know

i'm one of the dissenters. those colors are depressing and heavy. i couldn't live with it. to save $$ u can have the tiles sprayed what ever color want. they look in good shape.

if re-doing, i would open up that shower stall, its like a tiny phone booth.

we ripped out a blue on blue and a pink with black trim. i hated them. the floors had mosaic tiles which were filthy, so much grout!! couldn't get them clean no matter what i did, vanity smelled inside, i just hated it. everything just seemed old and dirty. original install was 1957.

i think they used this tile across the country!!! i have seen it everywhere, it must have been all they made, lol!! oh, the choices today :)

i get the retro feel, but those colors are just ugly in my eyes. i need less visual overload...

good luck in whatever u decide !!

Carol Wallace,

Daltile has Chianti in Semi-Gloss which may be too light, hard to know without getting a sample.

B & W has 78W in Maroon

What year was the house built? I'm curious because I'm seeing 1930s, not 50s in that space. My house was built in 1931 and I have an almost identical shower door frame, although mine is clear glass. I also have the original body spray heads that are a favorite feature of the space. The tub apron, the sink style, and the window trim look like I would expect from the 30s and early 40s houses. Look at the sink underneath or the shower faucets - does it say Standard or Re-Nu? those are clues to slightly older time frames as Standard plumbing was bought out sometime in the 30s.

I would love to see a picture of the shower fixture!

Linda - the sink label underneath says American Standard and the shower control says Standard. The toilet and sink in the powder room both just say standard as do the body sprays. The shower head got removed during an energy audit. I'm still mad about that. I knew they took it off but I was going to put it back on and it went missing.

if it helps - the kitchen cabinets are Nevamar laminate and I have a stainless thermador double oven and a built-in nutone food center drawer. Every cabinet has a pull out bottom so one doesn't need to reach for anything.

You must have a fantastic house that hasn't been remuddled. I hope you realize what a gem you have and don't change things just to have something new. It's good to hear that you have warmed up to the bathroom.

The shower fixture you have is similar to the one in my bathroom however mine is showing its age. We have two separate valves in addition to the one shown so we just leave the temperature mixer valve set and turn the water on and off with the valves that control the showerhead and the spray heads.

If the shower door is like mine, you could take it apart and replace the glass with a new tempered glass panel. Replacing it with a similar quality modern door will take a large chunk of money from your bank account.

Linda - I have 2 separate valves too - one for the shower and one for the sprays. I love that shower so much. A friend who hated the colors, took a shower and said "Ok, keep this shower."

I am about to do the kitchen over because the edge banding on the cabinet and cabinet door bases is crumbling and driving me nuts. It's everywhere and the pressboard under it is visible. Every builder wants me to make a huge open kitchen but I am going to keep the kitchen size and I have been trying to preserve both bathrooms and the layout and architectural features of the house.

It sounds like you have a good instinct about what your house needs. Open plan kitchens are such a trend now but they just don't work right in most vintage properties. When we redid the kitchen in my next house, I wasn't interested in opening the kitchen up to the dining room. My business partner did his best to pressure me into doing that but I finally had to just tell him that I had made my decision and the answer was NO. We moved the doorway over and widened the opening by a foot so the opening is the same size and arched shape as from the foyer into the living room. After it was finished, he even admitted I was right to keep the rooms to their original size and configuration.

Linda - that's exactly what I am dealing with right now. The entrance from kitchen to DR is rectangular (swinging door) that is 30 inches wide and the entrance to the foyer is a cased arch that is 57 wide. Everyone keeps telling me I should make a peninsula between kitchen and DR. I think I just want to match the arch though (although I will lose cabinet space).

I need another bathroom so I have to use either the mudroom or breakfast area to create that

Trust your instincts! Remember that extra thinking time is cheap and you are the one who will be living with the results for years to come. I know it can be hard to tell someone with a sledge hammer to slow down and chill out but stand firm.

My current house has a breakfast room and a large dining room. We ended up using the dining room as a main floor reading room and our eating table is in the breakfast room. We use the space as it fits our life, not in the traditional style. Having both a breakfast room and a dining room table 20 feet apart is unnecessary for us and the dining room table just ended up a junk catcher.

I would be happy to look at your floor plan and make some suggestions about adding another bathroom, if you would like to send me an email. Sometimes just getting more ideas to sort through can help clarify the pros and cons before starting to spend the money.

OMG, When I bought my house back in the 70's I had the exact same colors. maroon tiles with pink fixtures.

I also have a 1950's pink bathroom ... though after looking at yours, I see mine has been updated. And I had to look at the tub again after looking at my pictures, it is a different pink than the toilet and the sink.

I had a 1950's blue Master bathroom also, but just remodeled that because the shower was leaking into the basement. I did not keep any of the original character, I made it how I like it.

pamghatten - are those white tiles glazed/painted or was that the original color?

The white tiles are not painted or glazed .... I think they are original. The blue bathroom that I gutted had original blue tiles that had the same "crackle" affect on them.

moxxr, I think your bathroom sinks are from the 80s. The previous owner of my house built the house in 1988 and installed the same sinks but in this lovely raspberry color

I was very happy to change them out to this

badgergal - my sinks are from 1950 or earlier. I know this from the brand.

I'd love to change them out but lots of things to do in the house and I have to figure out what gets done when

I think badgergal's comment was referring to pamghatten's light pink sink, not the burgundy ones in the initial post.

Think badger girl meant pamg.' S sinks are from the eighties.

Pam, I think I remember your bath remodel and I was very impressed how you modernized the space while giving a perfect nod to the room's original vibe!

Sorry moxcr, I was referring to the light pink sinks of pamghatten. I think your pink and maroon bathroom is fantastic. If it was all light pink I wouldn't care for it but that maroon color is great.

Yes, I'm sure my pink sink and toilet are not original. They are a totally different color than the tub.

Thanks roarah .... this bath remodel is in my future too. But not a priority right now, I'm working on the outside of my house for Spring/Summer.

OMG. This is the color of my bathroom as well! And it's been very difficult finding pictures of other bathrooms with the same scheme. (The reverse -- pink with maroon trim -- is easy. But maroon with pink seems much less common.) The towel bars, toothbrush holder, etc. are all pink. The previous owners covered all the tile with white paint and I can't decide whether to strip it off or not. I'd like the room to be original but it's only 5'x7' and I'm worried it will be too dark and oppressive.

For a few days I was sure I was going to strip it off, but the stripper I used on a test portion wasn't very effective, so now I don't know if I want to bother. And of course I don't know the condition of the tiles and fixtures under the paint.

Unfortunately the original floor tiles -- which were very cool -- are already gone.

Love the seahorse door!

I had a pink and maroon tiled bathroom in a 20s house in San Diego-- our first home! We couldn't afford to remodel it and I found this Laura Ashley floral wallpaper with the same pink and maroon and it was really cute! Kind of feminine but it made sense and looked great!