Take the pledge

50s Pam on Jul 05 2008 at 11:47 pm | Filed under: pink bathrooms

44 Responses to “Take the pledge”

1. on 06 Jul 2008 at 2:47 pm 150s Pam

   I pledge to help Save the Pink Bathrooms? Pink bathrooms: (1) Make you look younger what with all that pink light reflecting off your skin, (2) Speak to an era when we were eager and willing to take more design chances and have fun with color, and (3) because they almost always fit with the house they are in. If I had a vintage pink bathroom, I would surely treasure it!

2. on 13 Jul 2008 at 2:13 pm 2Sara

   I just bought into a house with a pink bathroom (a huge selling point for us!). The previous owners partly renovated it, although they left the pink sink, toilet and tub! I can’t wait to retro-renovate, and return my pink bathroom to it’s former glory!

3. on 13 Jul 2008 at 2:30 pm 3Femme1

   I pledge to honor and respect the pink bathroom. Unfortunately, I am not the owner of such (I wish!), but my mother has a lovely one with blue-flowered trim tile. It fits perfectly in her 1950s ranch.

   I think “Save the Pink Bathrooms” should go on a letter-writing campaign to the offices of HGTV. Let’s deluge those home-renovation gurus that tell everyone to tear out those pink beauties (and blue and aqua and mint green and gold-speckled lovelies) and replace them with faux-Italian tumbled stone. I want them to stand back and realize that colors and styles have their day, and that even their precious granite will look outdated in a few years. Of course, what’s in style is what keeps the U.S. consumerism machine grinding on, in interior design as well as clothing.

   So please, take a step back from what you think is in style today and what the house magazines and TV shows are telling you is in style, and take a good look at your pink bathroom. Think for yourself. It’s probably petite (as were most bathrooms built in this era) and nicely designed, with interesting details and contrasting trim. Your sink and tub probably have cool geometric details, and you might be lucky enough to have the original space-age looking faucets. Think about how happy pink can make you feel, and as Pam said, even look better in the mirror. And thank your lucky stars that you are the lucky owner of a vintage pink bathroom!

4. on 13 Jul 2008 at 2:52 pm 4Catherine

   I love all the pictures, very inspiring to those trying to embrace their own pink treasures. I hope to do mine justice!

5. on 13 Jul 2008 at 2:55 pm 5DeeJay

   I pledge. If I ever remodel my bathroom again I pledge to go retro pink and hunt near and far to save the pink from certain doom.

6. on 13 Jul 2008 at 3:05 pm 6Stephen Bauer

   I’m in! I have a great appreciation for those old “pink bathrooms”. I had a pink and black bathroom in my house in Kansas which also sported a turquoise and black kitchen with a beautiful pink Frigidaire with a soft mint green interior! I also had a chance years ago to buy a 1956 (?) Airfloat Travel Trailer that was built by MGM for Elizabeth Taylor for location work. It had a beautiful birch interior with rose colored features, like bathroom, kitchen and phone! The guy selling it lived in it and smoked himself into a case of Emphysema and was going to sell it and move to Palm Springs. He decided to take the trailer with him… Anyway that’s the sad account of how I lost Elizabeth Taylor’s Trailer, and a pink bathroom as well! Alas!!

7. on 13 Jul 2008 at 4:09 pm 7Crystal

   I believe it’s a cardinal sin to destroy pink bathrooms! I have one now and I pledge to do all I can to save them wherever they are found . . . Pink bathrooms, the endangered species of home renovation - LET’S MAKE T-SHIRTS!

   Hey Crystal, I like the tee shirt idea! - Pam

8. on 13 Jul 2008 at 4:20 pm 8Andrea

   I think granite is a sin! Someday in the distant future I will perhaps be able to buy a house and save a pink bathroom, but until that day all I can do is spread the good word. I’ll put up a link on my blog shortly. Keep up the good fight!

   Thanks for using the widget on your blog, Andrea!!! - Pam

9. on 13 Jul 2008 at 5:59 pm 9Anita

   The first house I ever bought in 1985 was in Lakewood, WA - it was a 1940-something ranch style and it was amazing. The main bathroom was green and pink tiles. Some of the tiles on the floor had been broken, and I was young without the extra $$ to get the floor fixed appropriately, so I just left them. The tub & other fixtures were pink and it had this amazing counter space to sit down and primp/put on makeup. I wish I had photos of it but I don’t. The house I grew up in was in South San Francisco and had (I think still has) yellow and green tiles in the bathroom. Very art deco, very cool. I would never consider ripping out a beautiful vintage bathroom. The house I live in now we purchased from a model new - but I tried to get as much of the art deco & mid-century feel to it that I could with the limited options, so my master bath has the white tiles with the black bullnose trim. No granite, no vessel sink basin. I still need to get some great art deco light fixtures for the room though. I’m with you - save the pink bathrooms (and green, and yellow, etc etc etc)!!!!!! Anita

10. on 13 Jul 2008 at 7:56 pm 10Palm Springs Stephan

    Of course I’m on board. Unfortunately, my efforts to create an authentic 1950s pink bathroom failed when I was unable to find a matching set of truly PINK fixtures, so I had to go for 1950s blue instead. Thanks to all of those HGTV desecrators, most of the pink pieces are now only a memory. I wonder … can we be genrous and include saving colored 1950s bathrooms of all kinds? Blue, yellow, gold, black……..

11. on 13 Jul 2008 at 11:10 pm 11Samantha

    Here’s one!

    http://desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/2008/07/ashley-roi-jenkins.html

    I know I need to get some pics of mine, too. Very soon!!!!

12. on 14 Jul 2008 at 2:38 am 12sumac sue

    Hi. I hope I am considered a charter member of Save the Pink Bathrooms, since my pink half-bath was featured on Dec. 29, 2007 on retrorenovation.com! I did get rid of the blah lavender-gray paint on the upper walls by painting them white, but, I still haven’t attempted wallpaper. I suspect 50sPam has launched this new site partly to keep sending me the message to take care of that oversight!

    Thanks, Pam, for another creative and inspiring effort!

    (Exclamation points are a given when it comes to discussing pink bathrooms — as you can tell from this post and previous ones!)

13. on 14 Jul 2008 at 6:49 am 13Kitschy Kimberly

    Great site Pam! I have a pink bathroom and wouldn’t change it ever. Samantha, thanks for the link! That is a smashing pink bathroom that was featured.

14. on 14 Jul 2008 at 2:01 pm 14Tarky7

    I pledge to Save The Pink Bathroom !

    Kit

15. on 14 Jul 2008 at 5:23 pm 15Liz

    I cant tell you how thrilled I was to find this blog! I too have a delightful little pink bathroom, it was one of the reasons I bought the house! I cannot imagine tearing it out.

16. on 14 Jul 2008 at 6:36 pm 16Laur

    Does pinky peach count?

17. on 14 Jul 2008 at 6:37 pm 17Thom Watson

    I hereby pledge to preserve the pink bathroom in our 1956 Doelger home in the Westlake division of Daly City, California.

    In 2006, my partner and I decided to relocate from Washington, DC, to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he’d grown up. His parents had been renting out the home in which he’d lived from birth through age 8, and it had recently become vacant, so they offered it to us. Though I’d been to San Francisco many times, I’d never heard anything about Daly City, and I had never seen the house until one month before our move. I was a little worried about it, since I had no idea what to expect.

    Imagine my great surprise, then, to discover that the house is part of a classic mid-century development, Westlake (the inspiration for Malvina Reynolds’ “Little Boxes”), and that it was in near original condition (so many of the homes in the area, while maintaining their original eclectic facades and exterior charm, were renovated in the 70s to my horror and despair, as we’ve seen when hitting open homes): original metal cabinets with chrome fixtures, yellow tile with chrome accents in the kitchen, original fold-down ironing board and cosmetic cabinet in the kitchen, original dark wood paneling and flagcrete fireplace, original parquet floors, and original pink tile with chrome accents in the bathroom (the sink and original toilet seat were replaced at some point, but we intend to address this). I love the house, and we’re slowly but steadily filling it with appropriate mid-century furnishings and accessories.

    Some pictures of the house here

18. on 15 Jul 2008 at 2:26 pm 18Tera

    Our 1949 house has it’s original pink tile. We kept it! I pledge to encourage others to keep their Pink Bathroom!

19. on 15 Jul 2008 at 5:38 pm 19marcie

    I pledge to preserve the pink bathroom! We are scraping the paint of the wonderful pink tiles in one of our bathrooms. The paint is a real pain to get off but thank god they just painted over them and didn’t do anything drastic like tear them out.

20. on 15 Jul 2008 at 6:00 pm 20klez56

    I closed on a 1956 ranch yesterday. While inspecting one of the bathrooms I noticed that the shower didn’t really have white tile but had been painted over. After much scraping I found pink wall tiles with pink mosaic on the base of the shower. The other part of the bathroom had the wall tiles removed along with the sink and counter top. The vanity used to be pink but was also painted over. I pledge to keep whatever pink I can successfully uncover!

21. on 15 Jul 2008 at 7:29 pm 21Shawna

    I pledge to be an advocate and ally to the endangered pink bathroom, and any other mid-century bathroom color at risk of extinction, including but not limited to mint, yellow and turquoise. We do not possess one of these colorful characters; however, I additionally pledge to do no harm to the white tile and custom-built birch cabinetry found in our home’s bathrooms. I can hear our 1958 home quietly sobbing whenever we watch HGTV gut one its friends.

22. on 16 Jul 2008 at 3:24 am 22LawMom

    When we purchased our home in 1997 (the 1st time… funny story) a woman at the open house said, “The first thing I’d do is rip out that horrid peach and black tile.” We knew then that we’d have to buy the house and save the bathroom.

23. on 16 Jul 2008 at 3:34 am 23wandab

    I take the pledge! one pink bathroom at a time. starting with my own.

24. on 16 Jul 2008 at 5:53 am 24Chriss

    Ok. I don’t have a pink bathroom to save but you have my upmost support! Although I do take exception to the fact that this is “pinkcentric”. What about the blue bathrooms? What about the yellow bathrooms? What about the black and white bathrooms? What about the seafoam green bathrooms? Are these not being destroyed for the sake of granite tile as well?

    Anyway, I used to live in a great 1650 sq. ft. apartment in University City (St. Louis) that had two…count them, TWO pink bathrooms! One was pink and seafoam, the other was pink and…wait for it….maroon (eegad). I loved this place. I miss this place. Sigh…

    Also I found this neat YouTube vid via a link on LottaLiving.com. It’s a beautiful 50’s house in New Orleans that was saved from destruction only one hour before the wrecking ball was to swing. About halfway through the vid you will see the amazing pink bathroom that was saved as well!

    http://www.squanderedheritage.com/2008/03/26/a-house-of-the-future-almost-a-house-of-the-past/

25. on 16 Jul 2008 at 6:04 am 25wandab

    pictures of my pb to come, it’s a doozy!

26. on 16 Jul 2008 at 3:55 pm 26Robin

    I have a pink bathroom that will be saved! My husband and I just bought our adorable 1954 contemporary ranch two months ago, and we are lucky enough to have many of the original fixtures (our other bathroom is dove grey). The former owners tried to cover up or “contemporize” over the mid-centrury charm of the house, but we are bringing it back!

27. on 16 Jul 2008 at 11:48 pm 27genjenn

    I saved my pink bathroom! I bought my 1951 house in 2001. It was in sad condition after years of being a rental and surviving a series of cheap and stunningly talentless DIY owners. All that remained of the original pink bathroom was the remarkably pristine box shower and separate white tub. It took a lot of research, patience and B&W tile (they manufactured the original tile so the pinks matched exactly!), but I am now the delighted owner of a fully restored 1950’s Pink Bathroom. I couldn’t be happier. Call me crazy, but I swear the house is too.

    Incidentally–My neighbors love the pink and are kicking themselves for ripping out their yellow, dusty lavender, blue and yes, pink tiled bathrooms.

28. on 17 Jul 2008 at 6:03 pm 28evidentress

    I don’t have one, but I lend you my full support! I feel the need for a full-fledged “Save the Vintage Bathroom” campaign!! My personal fave is aqua, but let’s not forget about the yellows and even the avocado ones. This is a part of our architectural heritage and they can’t be lost to weekend warriors and flippers!!!

29. on 17 Jul 2008 at 7:03 pm 29KC

    I had a pink bathroom–and a pink kitchen. They were charming and wonderful. I miss them dearly.

30. on 17 Jul 2008 at 7:12 pm 30MidCent Keith

    A bathroom should be pink, don’t you think?
    Here’s mine:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/28718267@N06/

31. on 17 Jul 2008 at 8:21 pm 31Propagatrix

    I am a pink bathroom appreciator, though I do not yet have one of my own. Save them by any means necessary!

    “Please…won’t someone think of the pink bathrooms?”

32. on 18 Jul 2008 at 12:28 am 32g

    Hi,

    I came here from Mabel’s house

    http://mabelshouse.blogspot.com/

    I featured Mabel’s pink bathroom in a blog post here:

    http://doves2day.blogspot.com/2008/07/everyone-has-bathroom.html

    What I really wanted to draw your attention to, though, is not my post so much as the quote I found of what I think is the most amazing description of a pink bathroom in all of English literature, from A. S. Byatt’s novel “Possession”:

    “The bathroom was a long narrow rectangle, space saving, coloured like sugared almonds. The fitments were a strong pink, tinged with a dusky greyish tone. The tiled floor was a greyish violet. With little bunches of ghostly Madonna lilies - they were of Italian design - on certain tiles, not all.These tiles extended halfway up the walls, where they met a paisley vinyl paper crawling with busy suckered globules, octopods, sea-slugs, in very bright purple and pink. There were toning ceramic fitments, in dusty pink pottery, a lavatory-paper holder, a tissue holder, a toothmug on a plate like those huge African lip-decorations, a scallop-shell holding pristine ovoids of purple and pink soap. The slatted, wipe-clean vinyl blinds represented a pink dawn with rose-tinged bulbous cumuli. The candlewick bath-mat, with its hide-like rubber backing, was lavender-coloured and so was the candlewick crescent snugly clutching the lavatory pedestal and the lavatory lid. On the top of this, alert for house-sounds, and urgently concentrating, perched Professor Mortimer P. Cropper. It was 3:00 A.M.”

    I think that description is hysterically funny and wonderful, and you being a lover of pink bathrooms, I hope you like it too!

33. on 18 Jul 2008 at 5:23 am 33Peril

    I inherited Nana’s pink and black bathroom (1952) in 2003 my sister and husband #4 had removed the classic plastic tile around tub. Still have pink tub, black formica, custom mahogany chevron designed cabinet and found a pink iron sink to replace pink steel one that was chipped. I love the inspiration I get from pictures and comments on this sight. I am dedicated to the pink/black 50’s bathroom.

34. on 18 Jul 2008 at 8:32 pm 34pd

    I pledge to save and love pink bathrooms! Oh how I envy those who actually have one…

35. on 18 Jul 2008 at 11:54 pm 35Cindy

    A pink bathroom? Ooooooo la la! I have never had one but after looking at the photos on retrorenovation my dreams are of pink tiles, sheet vinyl flooring, groovy fixtures……so I have a pink bathroom in my mind and pledge to keep it just as it is. If I’m ever lucky enough to have a real one, pink it will stay!

36. on 19 Jul 2008 at 10:48 am 36Fiona

    I pledge to do anything I can to save the pink bathroom, and if I’m ever lucky enough to own one, boy will it STAY pink!

37. on 26 Jul 2008 at 5:32 pm 37Julie Christine

    THINK PINK!

    I was blessed to find a late 1962 model home in good condition. Bathroom #1 broke my heart at first sight: a pink sink, a pink tub, and pink and white ceramic tiles all around, all of these in perfect condition. The bathroom needed only repainting. I chose Sherwin Williams bright white in eggshell finish for the walls with hi-gloss finish for the cabinets, door, and trim. This bathroom looks lovely with a pink and white floral cotton shower curtain, pink rhinestone curtain rings, and a matching rug all by Shabby Chic. I also purchased three pink towel sets.

    I have spent the past 2.5 years restoring the house. I am now in the process of restoring the second bathroom. It was originally a half bath. There was an adjacent utility closet, and I thought that it looked big enough for a bathtub. I searched high and low for a blue bathtub, and found a 60s porcelain blue tub resting in a warehouse in its original shipping crate, and still wearing the factory sticker. It has been installed, and I am thrilled with it! I am now in the process of looking for the ceramic tiles for the walls.

    Pink is my favorite color. When I walked into this house and saw the pink bathroom my heart said This Is Your House! My little girls take bubblebaths in the pink bathtub. This is my dream come true.

38. on 29 Jul 2008 at 5:09 am 38Di Di

    I came across your website a few months ago as we began our pink bath renovation. I am proud and pleased to say that we have painstakingly preserved all that is pink while updating and enhancing non-functioning elements of the bath thanks to B&W tile selections. We have a few finishing touches to add and then will post our results. Your 32 page photodocumentation of the pink baths is true artistry. Good, bad, beautiful, ugly, timestopping, tacky, and heartwrenching, all rolled up into one. Thank you for the view.

    Di Di

39. on 07 Aug 2008 at 2:31 am 39Heidi

    We bought a 1956 ranch house in Las Vegas two years ago with a wonderful pink and chocolate brown bathroom. When the pink toilet in it passed away we searched until we found a new pink toilet (from Kohler) so we could keep it pink! Our plan is to put in pink VCT flooring if we can find it. We still have a long way to go in our restoration project but we are so happy to have our lovely pink and brown bathroom.

    Now we are investing in a second mid-century modern house just a block away. I was excited to see that the master bath has pink tile in the shower and a pink marble countertop and backsplash. We will be keeping that bathroom as pink as possible, too!

    Long live the fabulous pink bathroom!!!

40. on 08 Aug 2008 at 8:02 pm 40Mary Joy

    Just enjoyed reading about all the pink bathrooms.
    My home has 6 bathrooms and TWO are pink, the front powder room and the one I call the kids bathroom which has maroon trim. All of the tile is in perfect condition as in the old days they did it right-in cement.
    Everything is original and my fixtures are Crane so I have stocked up on the inner parts so that I can keep them forever.
    Two of the other bathrooms are blue, one with a deeper blue trim and the other with maroon. Believe me, they are so beautiful.
    My kitchen tile is a soft yellow trimmed in blue.
    Then there is one bathroom which is yellow (with mint green trim) and the last and smallest bathroom is a half bath with blue tile but the toilet is just plain white. When it wears out, I need to change that one! MJ

41. on 08 Aug 2008 at 10:27 pm 41Uncle Jack

    VeryVintageVegas.com pledges to educate and re-train the hords of upcoming buyers who are about to discover the treasure trove of pink bathrooms of all colors that are so abundant in Vintage Vegas.

    http://www.VeryVintageVegas.com is committed to the preservation of all classic homes and historic neighborhoods of Las Vegas. Pink bathrooms and yellow kitchens are just a small part of the mid century modern revival movement that is still in it’s infancy in Las Vegas.

42. on 16 Aug 2008 at 2:45 am 42faith

    I’m so happy i found this site! My sweetie and i purchased a 1956 brick ranch almost two years ago, and the pink bathroom was a MAJOR selling point. We are very lucky, cosmetically the bathroom is in wonderful shape, and we are comitted to keeping the pretty pink-ness of it!

43. on 22 Aug 2008 at 10:03 am 43Dr. No

    I am taking the pledge. I moved into a 1969 condo. The bathroom floor tiles are dark pink, light pink, and white; and the shower tiles are light pink. I have just put in a special order for a light pink/dark pink/gray marble sink.

    Can anyone recommend good places (or items) for a mirror - lighting - medicine cabinet?

    Additionally I am doing the kitchen in a black/white/red 50s style and need cheap but cool cabinet and drawer hardware. Help?

44. on 22 Aug 2008 at 4:35 pm 44pleasantrealtor

    I take the pledge! The house mom & dad built in the late ’50’s has a pink bathroom I still use when I visit. It has to large velvet black cats…very chic…hung on the wall…love it! I agree with the other comments about how awful it is when these home improvement shows demo these bathrooms! They are demolishing architectural history! Also, as a realtor, I see lots of retro bathrooms that are so cool…but the buyers want to update first thing! I just found this website and think it’s great. I’ve been a retro fan for many years and friends and family think I’m nuts. I will have to let them know about the site to show them I’m not the only one

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