Not a pro. Recently there was a redo bath titled “my boyfriend won’t let me change green” or similar title. She had a green sink & toilet in a tiny bathroom. She used a big green palm or banana leaf with black background wallpaper. Completely transformed. The green fixtures belonged & looked great. The point is that when you embrace what you have by finding a wallpaper with your existing colors, you can have an “intentional” look instead of “don’t look at the ugly maroon tile”. There are lots of fun wallpapers on Houzz with gray and tiny touches of maroon. Some have matching fabric if you want a window covering or shower curtain. I don’t know how to transfer from my wallpaper folder to here for you to see. Could someone tell me how, please? I think you can have a fun bath with the existing tile. Good luck!

@Phoebe - found it and see what you're saying. I've had a look around a bit today after the earlier wallpaper suggestion. I can find safe or bold and expensive so far!

Safe:

https://www.burkedecor.com/products/vertex-burgundy-diamond-geometric-wallpaper-from-the-symetrie-collection-by-brewster-home-fashions

Bold:

https://www.burkedecor.com/products/maharani-wallpaper-in-grey-and-burgundy-from-the-sariskar-collection-by-osborne-little

Have u considered painting it? Think about it, it’s not a tile that will get any real contact with, except when u wipe it to clean.

we had a toilet paper holder that was set inside the wall, the color didn’t work after we did minor things so we painted it. Still there n still in great shape. We just used spray paint.

Love the Bold Maharani!

I would go all out and do a floral wallpaper, leave burgundy tile and get dusky pink or white towels.

More inspiration, won't be too busy with half the walls tiled and big mirror

Yes, love that Bold Maharani and it is a better pattern to go with the floor and the wall tile pattern than the other one. And it takes away the maroon tile from showing off as it becomes more part of the wall paper. If you would go forth with it (or anything for that matter) make sure that the hue of the background vs the tile compliment each other. This is a good starting point.

If wallpaper is a possibility find that 1st before making any decision on the vanity light.

Thanks @tedbixby - you launched the search! Sample of Maharani ordered and expert wallpaper hanging spouse is willing to bold the heck out of this bathroom if the hues are good.

Wonderful. And finding that paper so quickly has to be a sign that it is meant to be :) I can't find the thread but someone did a bold pattern in their bathroom on Houzz recently and everyone went good crazy over it. I think more people would do it but it is out of their comfort level so good for you to be open minded about exploring this as a possibility. And thank goodness your spouse is on board and even more so an expert wallpaper hanger :)

This is the link to to powder room with the green sink and toilet and the dramatic wallpaper. [Powder room[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/boyfriend-wont-let-me-get-rid-of-green-sink-toilet-dsvw-vd~5487829)

I would paint the burgundy border black. The grey tile would then permit you to use any color accessories and be as bold as you like with paint or wallpaper on the walls. I have done this in the past and it held up beautifully for several years until we sold the house and moved. Unless, however, you love burgundy.

Love the Maharani and the big floral and am adding other ideas. I'm still flummoxed about how to transfer images from Houzz shop to these sites, so will give you the names of wallpaper that I think would be great in your bath. My favorite (funky but beautiful) is "Witch and Watchman Amazonia Light". If you look at close up it has grays and maroon in small doses. 2. Waverly Wallpaper Wa7769 Mandarin Prose Oriental Asian (black background is beautiful, but would require great lighting for a bath) 3. The Enchanted Garden Epping 122231 (much lighter with gray in background.) Maybe someone more adept than I am can post the photo of your bath with the samples of wallpaper side by side.

Have fun!

Phoebe- are you on a lap top? If so, I can help you on HOW TO. If so, are you trying to post a photo from the Houzz shop and then to the discussion? Just clarifying..

I have the same border tile! disliked it when I moved in, but it also was in great shape. now I love it! try retro renovations website on how to coordinate colors to downplay what you don't like and play up what you do. that shower curtain is definitely not doing you favors. we painted instead of wallpaper and it was enough.

Hi, Ted,
I’m on an IMac desk and/or iPad. Yes, I found wallpaper samples I ‘d like to paste to this discussion. Thanks for your help.
Phoebe

Phoebe -If you find something on the Houzz Shop that you want to save, hover over the item and you should see a EMAIL and a SAVE box. Click on the SAVE box. Then a box will pop up that will ask you what Idea Book you want it in. You can also create a new Ideabook from this box. Once it is in your Ideabook and you want to show it on a discussion you hit the Houzz Photo below here where you are typing. A box will show up which you will be able to go to the Idea Book that you want to grab the photo from. Once you find the photo, click on it and it will show up on the box on the screen and then you hit the INSERT button and then it pops into the discussion. I don't have a Mac or use my iPad for Houzz but am thinking these steps should be able to work for you.

As far as pasting your photo into the photo that the OP has posted. That is above my pay grade (lol) but to get around it at times I'll ask an OP to put the photo of their dilemma in their idea book and then I grab it and put it into mine. And then I can do a sketch (have you played around with sketching as that is quite fun) which is some what like photoshopping and then I can post it on the dilemma. I've asked Houzz to make it so that we could take a photo off a discussion and be able to directly put it in our own Ideabook but am not getting anywhere with that request.

Are you aware of the Houzz Save button if you want to save Photos from other sites?

Often by Goggle searching, I find the steps on how to do stuff on Houzz. If you have any questions or need further clarification let me know.

Hi Ted,

Thanks for your great instruction. I do know how to save to ideabooks. I have many ideabooks, loving to browse them for pleasure and ideas.

Now, my difficulty is when I want to show it on a discussion and the Houzz box pops up giving options. When I tried to click on "Ideabooks" to pick up the photo, nothing happens. the light gray font stays light gray and nothing happens when I click. When I go over to the box giving the option of dragging and dropping or choosing a photo and browse for the photo it chooses my desk top items, not the Houzz. Frustrating. Maybe I should contact the Houzz customer assistance?

Please explain the Houzz Save button to save Photos from other sites.

I love these discussions. So fun to see ideas and outcomes. I've been redoing houses for many years. One of my favorite things to do.

Again, thanks for your time and patience.

Phoebe

Phoebe- There is an on-going discussion regarding problems that Houzz users have. Not only do we have the ear of Houzz there, if others have encountered your issue they will let you know how to solve it, if they were able to. You might start there by posting your problem. And start by telling what type of device you are having the issue on. As we are finding that issues vary depending on the type of device. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/another-houzz-update-dsvw-vd~5033309 And as you mentioned there is Customer Service though they don't always seem to have the answer but at least you'll have some options that might get your problem resolved.

If you search Houzz Save button it will explain and how to install which will be quicker than me explaining and hijacking this thread more. But don't hesitate to ask me further questions as after all we do have time as we wait for the wallpaper to arrive-lol...

Quick update - we were over at the house again taking measurements and one of the samples had come in, so here’s a quick down and dirty mockup... close enough that I think it’s the one.

Love that paper. Since we can get monitor color distortion on our side, how does the background gray work with the gray tile? And even though it appears that the burgundy tile isn't an exact match do you feel that it is working with the pattern colors? From my side it does.

How are you feeling about it? Does it get you excited about the bathroom now?

you‘re right - while the grey and burgundy are not a perfect match, it looks very good in person. I think it works too. I love it! Very excited about the Bathroom now. It’s going to be quite the fun, statement room. I have two more samples coming yet, but would be thrilled to go with this one. I love the big format. Great call - thanks again!

You are welcome and you did a great job of finding this paper.

It's amazing how much wallpaper can transform these 1960's bathrooms and keep the character but at the same time putting the WOW factor back into it compared to just painting (ho-hum) the walls or adding an undescriptive shower curtain. Before you make your final decision and your husband goes to the trouble of putting it up, take the sample/s and shop for your shower curtain and towels just to make sure that it will all come together after the paper is up. As some times what you think will be easy to find isn't and then it gets frustrating.

I've been on Houzz for quite awhile and I'm so thrilled that I'm starting to finally see people wanting to put color and their personalities back into their homes.

For a ~50 year old bathroom, it's in amazing condition. It was built very well. Would be very smart to leave well enough alone.

Alison- once you decide on the wallpaper, we should talk lighting before you put up the wallpaper -just in case the electrical has to be moved.

True - one overhead or two on each side? We're going to replace the mirror with a medicine cabinet, and we'll likely go the recessed route with that. Picked up this Kohler off Craigslist new for a song.

@phoebe - looked up those papers you suggested:

https://witchandwatchman.com/products/amazonia-light - I bet my boys (whose bathroom this will predominantly be) would really dig this one. Very cool.

https://www.houzz.com/products/waverly-wallpaper-wa7769-mandarin-prose-oriental-asian-toile-prvw-vr~23770485 the oriental toile is actually cool too! A previous home had toile in the powder room - I wouldn't have picked it, but came to really like it.

https://www.wallpaperdirect.com/us/products/albany/epping/139882 - is this the one you mean? Interesting.

Appreciate you finding these. Will definitely think about them as I am sanding the gritty texture off those walls!!

The wallpaper is Great! So excited for you. Probably off white towels. I wouldn't try to match or compete with the wallpaper . Let it be the Star!

We were typing to each other at the same time. Glad you found the paper I saw, but I like what you found much better! I can't wait to see it up!

Off-white could be good with boys for sure! Although white can be bleached. I am a bit of a bleach fairy...

As for lights - these could work on either side - can't beat the price either!

[https://www.houzz.com/products/champagne-2-light-exclusive-chrome-and-white-vanity-prvw-vr~84847818[(https://www.houzz.com/products/champagne-2-light-exclusive-chrome-and-white-vanity-prvw-vr~84847818)

We're doing a total kitchen and master bath redo, so the budget for the shared bathroom is smaller :)

Great buy on that mirror :) I love the shape of it especially if you go with the floral wall paper.

I like the idea of side sconces. My concern with the one you are considering is the bulb brightness (lack of) it uses. From my understanding it uses a candelabra bulb which isn't a real bright bulb to begin with and with a frosted glass I don't think the light output will be very bright. You might want to do a bit of research to see if this type of bulb will be adequate for your needs. A good way to check is to see what your current vanity light wattage is and see how this compares.

Is the light length a good size with the mirror?

I believe this sconce uses the same bulb as the one you are considering so I thought you can get an idea of the brightness or lack of..

Oh. That is DIM. Thanks for pointing that out. I would not have considered light bulbs!

I think it's pretty clear that removing without damaging adjacent tiles is possible. Really enjoyed reading so many inspiring ideas here for transforming the space without removing the border tile. However, I think reglazing is still a great option worth considering if the color really bothers you.

Quick update: we've been busy tearing the kitchen out for the last week and a bit (actually, more than a bit, we are two people and not as fast as I'd like) but today while waiting for the skim coat to dry in the kitchen, I made a start on the bathroom! Today was mostly a scrape old paint off the border tile, ditch the shower bar, remove the mirrors (my god, so heavy), skim coat the walls and remove the small storage cupboard. Forgot to take afters, but here's the job site this morning.

I'm digging the old light over the little storage cupboard. I'll definitely be putting that somewhere else in the house. That area will be turning into a laundry closet and, in an insane stroke of luck, the door color (SW Dorian Grey) is a perfect match for the wallpaper background.

I'd dearly love to change out the faucet handles on the sink - terrible pitting. Anyone ever done this? I need to crawl under a take a look at the fixture arrangement.

I expect it will be a while before the next update, but, we're getting there!

Alison- Whew... I'm tired just reading your ambition today :) But it is coming along nicely. Regarding your faucet handles. Do a new posting in regards to that and post it in the Plumbing Advice. I think you'll get a rapid response there quicker than on this thread.

Thanks for taking the time to bring us up-to-date as I had been wondering what you were up to.

Happy New Year.

When you are done please come do mine. :)

I've changed tile borders before. I would have gotton rid of the red. Just saying...

OMG - tedbixby, I just read your post above about the Houzz save button. This is amazing information! I've been on this site for years and it is the first time I've ever heard of it and I've just tried it out for real and it worked beautifully!! Gosh, why don't they have a helpful hints page somewhere for users??

Thanks, Ted. I'll post a question on the faucets specifically. And believe me, I am exhausted, can't believe we ditched a scuba trip to do this! :)

Following

mvcanada- isn't that Save Button wonderful? Have you tried sketching in your Ideabook? That's fun if you are like me and don't have the knowledge to photoshop. I don't know if all the devices offer this or if it is some how done differently on different ones. I'm on a lap top.. It takes a bit of trial and error but easy to do once you get through it a couple of times. Though I still feel Houzz needs to work on this more as it could work easier than it does ( are you listening Houzz??)

It's looking good! You really have an amazing amount of energy. I hope that spectacular wallpaper works out.

Alison...Following this thread with great interest. Regarding your comment about the faucets, you can still get “faucets for shelf-back sinks” (google this.) Its possible that you only need the trim pieces, i.e., handles, , not the valves. However, the challenge will be whether they’ll work with your sink‘s integrated spout and pop-up drain.

Some basic info about this type of sink can be found here:

https://www.chicagofaucetshoppe.com/Slant-Back-and-Shelf-Back-Faucets-s/2133.htm

Also, the company in the following link specializes in antique plumbing parts and it looks like they may have replacement faucets for your sink (not cheap.) In any event, they’re experts and will advise you on how to proceed:

https://deabath.com/product-category/faucets/lavatory-faucets/shelfback-faucets/

Just noticed they have rebuild kits too: https://deabath.com/product-category/faucet-parts/re-build-kits/

Not a Pro.

We have changed the border tile also.

We actually took off all the border tile and added a large mosaic tile border then put the border tile back on. What a change. I must say thou I was dealing with a mustard color tile bathroom.

Some inspiration:

@Beaniebakes - thank you very much! I will look into thise resources.

@RedRyder - thank you! we’ve decided to break early today, but next up For the bathroom: Caulk removal and sanding the skin coat for priming. Today I was finishing up the skim coat in the kitchen.

@njmomma: early in the thread a pro advised that based on era these tiles went up they were likely set with concrete, not thin set, and after taking the kitchen down to the studs we have learned that this house was built with concrete board, not drywall. Attempting removal will be a nightmare and require extensive plastering and there are only so many hours in the day :) Im also grooving on the crazy, brash wallpaper idea. Glad your border tiles came off without a fight.

Well. That took forever. :)

And it’s still not quite done (we’re not even in the house yet which is why it looks a bit spartan) but the replacement medicine cabinet came in today ( the one I had planned to use is, frankly HUGE, so we needed something better scaled to the space.)

I love how it turned out, thanks for the ideas and encouragement!

LOVE IT :) Turned out great and gives the bathroom a modern spin while working with the original elements. Congrats.

glad you kept the original tiles. I actually like them. love the wallpaper.

you can have your original faucet hardware re-chromed. (if you can remove them)

That looks great! It’s a happy room now. Good solution.

That is fantastic! I loved that you embraced the vision!