When Renovating Isn't an Option, Loving Colorful Tile Has to Be

Popular from the 1950s through the 1970s, when it seems everyone wanted a bubblegum pink, lipstick coral, or tantalizing teal bathroom, colorful vintage tile is pervasive in fixer uppers. And whether it's positive or negative, everyone seems to have a strong opinion.

Often, someone insists, "This must go," the minute they walk in and see an original tile bathroom in an old home. It's then ripped out in lieu of a serene marble hexagon or a minimalist subway tile, lost to the graveyard of decor trends.

But every once in a while, thanks to budget or taste, this relic of the past remains.

I am that new homeowner in my new (old) home, circa 1895. And here I am, presented with this vintage colorful tile decision.

Perhaps luckily for our budget, one bathroom in the home shines in its pristine retro perfection. The mauve bathroom, as I like to call it, is an ode to someone's grandmother's choices in late 70s. I imagine she undertook a well-intentioned, loving renovation. She left two bathrooms with their original tile, but in this one bathroom, she got to exercise her design muscles.

Grandma Helen, as I've decided to name her, clearly had a love for all things pink, particularly a specific shade of tea rose that reads like a delicate mauve lipstick that's lasted two decades too long. She wrapped that mauve right around the shower, then painted every last bit of the walls mauve, and installed a striking mauve cabinet on the wall, with a faux dentil molding that was carefully chosen to match the original crown molding throughout the rest of the house.

Grandma Helen poured love into this bathroom. So who am I to change it?

To Temper or to Lean In?

If it's not in the budget to renovate or you simply have an affinity for colorful vintage tile, you have two choices you can make.

First, you can try to temper it by going neutral throughout the rest of the room. You can paint the room white, add calming, neutral elements, and try to treat the tile as if it were crisp white porcelain. You turn that vibrant fuchsia into a neutral. When someone walks in and comments on the tile, you say, "Oh, it's pink? I hadn't even noticed."

Or you can lean in. You go big, bold, and excessive, showing off the tile as if you're proud of the color decision that someone made long ago (because maybe you are!). You pick a wallpaper and a shower curtain that echo the color, and you pull in loud, contrasting accents.

Have orange tile? You use a turquoise bath mat. Mint green tile? That gorgeous yellow and mint floral wallpaper would make a lovely addition. You embrace the design decisions that were already made for you and turn them into a statement. The final result falls somewhere between granny chic and retro camp.

How I'm Treating My Vintage Bathroom

Now, in my own bathroom, I like to think my approach to my colorful vintage tile and mauve bathroom falls somewhere in the middle. My contractor offered to rip out the mauve tile, saying it would be an easy fix.

But why? It's lasted this many years, why stop it now—especially when there are bigger, more urgent renovations to tackle. Instead, I'm going to lean in, kind of.

While I considered going all in and channeling a Dorothy Draper-inspired look by choosing a mauve pink floral hydrangea wallpaper and having a shower curtain made in the same fabric, I decided not to echo the mauve throughout the rest of the room. I'm not quieting it, but I am going to contrast it.

Instead, I'm opting for a black and white toile wallpaper, covering up the mauve walls, but being careful not to touch the mauve cabinetry. Sure, I could paint over it with a glossy black, giving the space a totally fresh look, but something about that big mauve lipstick cabinet grabs me. She needs to stay right where she is, in the color she is.

I'll do a subtle black and white ticking stripe on the shower curtain, covering up the mauve tile in the shower when it's closed, but leaving that rose color waiting as a surprise, as soon as the curtain is opened.

Of course, the bathroom has once-elegant brass fixtures to complement its mauve pink color, and I'm going to embrace those, too. Someone long ago thought these were the fancy choice, along with that mauve, so why take them out now? This mauve bathroom is here to stay, for now, and I'm going to learn to live with, embrace, and maybe even love this colorful tile.

What to Do With Your Vintage Bathroom Tile

Here's the thing about bathrooms: nothing is truly timeless. Every decision you make is going to be seen as dated by someone who comes across your bathroom in two, five, or even thirty years.

And bathroom renovations are expensive. Demolition, tile work, and fixtures cost money, and they're not always realistic, especially when you're already facing a fixer upper with bigger fish to fry than whether or not the bathroom is going to have pink tile.

Sometimes it's best to look at it as a memory of a homeowner past. This was carefully selected by someone who loved that home and thought that tile would be there for generations—just like every person today who's putting farmhouse tile in their bathroom thinking it'll look timeless for decades.

Design shouldn't be a fast decision. It can come with time and living with the original character can be an exercise in appreciation and creativity.