Are the Pastel Tides Turning on the Pink Sink?
Easter egg colours have typically been a fixture of 'before photos', but would you embrace this lost look now?
Salmon, avocado, mint. While they might make an interesting salad, they certainly aren’t the popular choice for the 21st Century bathroom … not like the bathrooms of yesteryear. Mid-century bathroom fixtures – sink, bathtub, toilet – were often pastel pink, light blue and minty green. The tile was often one of these Easter egg–like colours and accented with black borders. But as time marched on and tastes changed, pink sinks and their friends became items you typically spotted in ‘before’ photos.
The pastel tide may be turning. I’m seeing more period baths that are wearing their old-school colours proudly – and there’s even a website that’s dedicated to their preservation.
The pastel tide may be turning. I’m seeing more period baths that are wearing their old-school colours proudly – and there’s even a website that’s dedicated to their preservation.
After the trend enjoyed a healthy 20-year run, it became anathema. People began ripping the fixtures out almost as quickly as they installed them.
But, in design and in life, everything that is old becomes new again. Some homeowners are keeping their pastel potties or even reinstalling vintage fixtures in fairy floss hues.
Take this bathroom, by English Heritage Homes of Texas. For the project the owner bought vintage plumbing fixtures. The tile was custom made and antiqued to look age appropriate.
But, in design and in life, everything that is old becomes new again. Some homeowners are keeping their pastel potties or even reinstalling vintage fixtures in fairy floss hues.
Take this bathroom, by English Heritage Homes of Texas. For the project the owner bought vintage plumbing fixtures. The tile was custom made and antiqued to look age appropriate.
This vintage sink – or at least vintage-looking sink – lives in a very modern home, built by RD Architecture.
Although the house is equipped with forward-thinking amenities, such as insulated concrete forms and solar systems, the owners chose to make a whimsical splash in the bath with a pink sink.
Although the house is equipped with forward-thinking amenities, such as insulated concrete forms and solar systems, the owners chose to make a whimsical splash in the bath with a pink sink.
This pink sink lives in a teen’s bathroom, designed by Michelle Williams Interiors. The designer gave the idea an update with pink crystal cabinet hardware and a blackboard wall written on with rosy-hued chalk.
The description of this London bath says that it lives in an old house that was updated – probably in the 1950s. The modern homeowners embraced the look and accented it with crisp white walls and flooring.
In this home, by The New Design Project, the designers say they wanted to “celebrate the urban features we uncovered during the renovation and combine them with playful elements”.
The old blue sink took on a new life with simple, graphic tile patterns. The creators write that “each room has a strong personality that delivers a happy experience”.
The old blue sink took on a new life with simple, graphic tile patterns. The creators write that “each room has a strong personality that delivers a happy experience”.
This 1920s Mediterranean-style home that was renovated by Carlson Construction Company is a motherlode of vintage bathrooms.
One bathroom is done in traditional pink and black.
One bathroom is done in traditional pink and black.
The tile work and its colour scheme are carried onto the floor. Note that other vintage charmer: the rounded-corner bath.
The colour scheme is tempered by grey on the walls and ceiling.
In another bathroom in the same house, the tile is lavender and black. In this writer’s experience, that colour combo’s rarity factor ranks right up there with that of the VHS tape player, the rotary dial phone and the avocado-coloured refrigerator.
More uncommon still is the vintage pink and burgundy bathroom. This home was reimagined on a budget by designer Amy Peltier. Whether the choice to leave the original tile was economic or aesthetic, the old tiles look amazing with curtains made from a fabric with a 1950s pattern.
The artwork over the tub borrows the warm coral tones of the tile and the curtains. Clearly, context is everything.
The artwork over the tub borrows the warm coral tones of the tile and the curtains. Clearly, context is everything.
This project, by Tim Barber Architects, shows how green and black tile can look as fresh today as it did during the Eisenhower administration.
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Do you have colourful vintage bath fixtures? We’d love to see them. Please share a photo in the Comments below!
MORE BATHROOM INSPIRATION
Beautiful Bathrooms: 10 Show-Stopping Sinks
Bathroom Inspiration: Soak Your Bathroom in Art Deco Splendour
Find a Bathroom Vanity That Suits the Way You Live
SHOW US
Do you have colourful vintage bath fixtures? We’d love to see them. Please share a photo in the Comments below!
MORE BATHROOM INSPIRATION
Beautiful Bathrooms: 10 Show-Stopping Sinks
Bathroom Inspiration: Soak Your Bathroom in Art Deco Splendour
Find a Bathroom Vanity That Suits the Way You Live
“Her bathroom in Gettysburg was pink down to the cotton balls,” she writes. “She redecorated the private quarters in the White House in pink … reporters called it the ‘Pink Palace’. The colour also seems to have been known as ‘First Lady Pink’.” The idea proved to be as catchy as the We Like Ike slogan (’Ike’ was Eisenhower’s nickname and the slogan played a heavy part in the success of his presidential campaign) and as it spread around the nation, blue and green joined the movement.