Okay folks... what color would you paint the walls on this 1930 pink and black tiled bathroom?? It's currently a bright white that is too stark. Any suggestions??

Tough one ;) Not sure what your tastes are. Just my .02, you can either play it smooth with a soft gray or cool taupe, or make it 'fun' and contemporary with a brighter color or even (gasp) deep chocolate or black (black walls in Home Dec forum here seem to be gaining a small following = a new trend?). Don't know if you've ever seen virtuals done here or in Home Dec, but lighter colors tend to go 'neon', so I generally drop them down a notch or two. That way you can see how the undertones work on the walls ;) (Although the cool taupes are not translating from software to web as well as I'd like.) And you can't go by virtual name, it's not accurate. (I list them just as a reference.) Have to find a virtual color you like, then find a swatch in real life of the same family/undertones. Tape them on the wall, eliminate from there. Get sample pots, paint on poster board, tape those around the room in different lights, and hopefully you'll get a winner. (A few steps to go through, but saves color choice remorse and repainting :D Here are some doodles, and you can see many more at the album link below ;)

BenMoore Delray Gray (a soft cool gray)

Lowe's Earth Elements Standing Rock (a cool taupe)

Lowe's Earth Elements Flood Water (a 'fun' contemporary>tropical look).

BM Bittersweet (This depends on your taste. Some coudl see it as contemporary/bit of drama, others might see it as doodoo on the walls. It's a very rich cool/dark brown, almost black in real life :D )

And the black, if you're of a bold/trendy mind

More here: mdoats bath virtuals

How about stamping something in black on the crisp white? I did this in my laundry room about 3 years ago, and LOVE it. I've attached a link for you to see it... You could do a large black fleur-de-lys all over or something else.

I'd do a latte or cappuccino color, though I like the turquoise posted above.

I would paint some pink flamingos.

Thanks for posting the colorized walls! Unfortunately, I don't really LOVE any of them. Sigh.

I love the pink and black tiles, I just can't seem to find a paint color I really like. Maybe I should be looking at wallpaper? Something with a retro feel to it?

I may need to move this discussion to the decorating forum. Although I'd MUCH rather paint, the more I look, the more I think wallpaper would work better. I'm thinking something like this:

I like your wallpaper -but honestly, it will MUCH easier to stamp your own design on, and it will hold up much better in a bathroom. Are you up for stamping at all?
Lynn

LOVE LOVE LOVE the pink bathroom! Its a gem. A real classic. Glad I don't have to talk you into keeping it!

Lynn, I'm interested in the stamping. How do you do that??? Make the stamps or buy them?

Lynn,

I'm definitely still open to the stamping. I know lots of places that do smaller stamps, but do you have any sources for stamps that would be large enough for walls?

I think my tiles in our new (to us) house are the same color. We just painted the walls "marry me" pink by BM. It is *just* about the same color as the tile, which to me, made the tile less blaring. KWIM? It kinda made the space neutralize the tiles. if you can't beat it, join it sort of thing, i guess. It actually looks nice.

I think I have the same tub too, lol, except it is rounded on one side. lol

Hmm... maybe the if you can't beat 'em join 'em thing is the way to go. I'll take a look at some pink swatches. Maybe I should go with a pink base rather than white and add a black stamped pattern over the pink.

I have to say, if I were starting with a blank slate I wouldn't have chosen to install pink tile, but there's no way I could ever consider getting rid of it now. It's part of what makes my home my home.

Here's a link... If you click on the catalog part 1, it will open a page. On that page there is an olive branch stamp, which is the one I used in my laundry room. I think a crisp black design on white would be gorgeous in your bathroom.

Thanks for posting the pictures of your bathroom. You made my day! Now just imagine this same bathroom tiled entirely in pink AND yellow tile. That's what I have. I got around the problem by choosing a bold fabric for my shower and window curtains that tied both colors together.

After looking at your pictures, I'd have some fun with that bathroom. I envision a colorful, bold, patterned wallpaper with a black background. Then I'd pick up one of the colors & use it for the shower curtain. In such a small area, you could let your imagination run wild.

Norwall's wallpaper book, The Look, has some funky wallpapers in pink and black.

Theese two are my favorites:

Though some pinks are nice too:

Wow. Fun patterns. Thanks for the link.

I would paint it lime green and do some towels in pink, lime green and black with a shower curtain maybe in the lime green.

I know someone who has a bath similar to that and she used black and white toile wallpaper and hot pink towels, looks great.

Surprisingly I love the floral in that wallpaper link you posted. Usually florals are the last things I'd look at, but 20" repeat will make a statement and the colors pull in the pink, black and white as if it was meant to be there instead of trying to work around. Sandy (who reads everything about pink tile, not wanting to take mine out either.)

Didn't notice this was on painting forum. It came up in a forum search for black wallpaper. Now I'm off to look at the rest of that link you posted. Thanks, Sandy

That looks just like my bathroom!

My bathroom even has pink and black, basket weave floor tiles, instead of the white and black that you have.

I used Restoration Hardware Latte.

I have flourescent lighting in my bathroom so that makes a difference in how the color is perceived too.

The trick is to find a wall color that has some *green tone* in it to offset the red tones in the pink. Stay away from the beige/brown that have orange tones to them. Or blues with red tones that will look purple. (Unless you WANT a purple bathroom of course.) A greyish-blue could work in your bathroom too.

Restoration Hardware had a small color selection, but the colors offered just seem to be made for older homes. I could see a greyish-moss color in your bathroom too.

RH has recently eleiminated a lot of the colors from their small selection, and now only offer a handful of their most popular colors right now.

Bud Wi

Do you have any photos of your bathroom that you could post?? I'd love to see them.

Sorry, I do not have a digital camera. I intend on getting one. I need someone who will help me shop for one and teach me how to download pics to a computer or website. LOL. I don't have kids or grandkids to teach me any of this new stuff and believe it or not most of my friends do not own a computer or are as clueless as I am about most of the features.

Getting a digital camera is on my list of "things to do". I try to will post pics here, and there was another thread around that had a pink and black bathroom discussion I will revisit too.

My bathroom looks like it was put in by the same guy that did yours. Ha. I have the black bullnose tile edging with the thin black tile line a few inches down from the bullnose edging. The same black soap dishes and towel rod. Same mirror. I do not live anywhere near you so I don't think the same builder actually did the work. I'm sure this was a popular look back then.

I see your curtain rod looks like it was installed so that the curtain hangs inside the tub. I moved mine out a few inches so my curtain hangs outside of it and hangs straight. You have an incadescent fixture there that may interfer with this sort of change though. Mine does not have that.

My sink has been replaced, but yours look to be in excellent condition and is very cute.

My old tub is not stained but has lost it's shine. I checked into replacing it and doing so is sure to damage the old tiles in the process of removal.

I checked into the thing where they come in an install a high grade acrylic (I think) shell over the existing one so the original tub does not have to be removed. It is still very expensive to do though ($1000 if I want black).

I want to get a new toilet seat and I have looked everywhere for a black one. Nada. The one I have now is a high quality, vintage, black mother-of-pearl look one with chrome hinges. The seat is starting to peel underneath. If you know of any sources for the old style mother-of pearl (even in grey or white) please let me know. I can't even find a cheap plastic black color one in the stores as a replacement and I don't want pink.

My vintage bathroom did not have even a single electric outlet in it. I guess everyone in those days shaved with blades and of course all the things we have now like electric toothbrushes and waterpiks and blowdryers did not exist. I had to add outlets.

Here is some trivia that I posted in the Decorating Forum a while back about pink and black vintage tile:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/con1105011230798.html

It seems that the old vintage, black tile has the possibility of being made from radioactive materials.

I have not had mine tested, and and not unduly alarmed about it, but I am going to do more research on this when it comes to remodelling my tiled kitchen, and make a choice about removing it from the kitchen that I spend so much time in, which is not like the bathroom.

I am going to recommend the Restoration Hardware color palate for paints again. Great "old house" colors.