I Saved My RETRO PINK Bathroom, Don’t Roll Your Eyes!

Sep 13

Here’s a little history about Pink Bathrooms…

Did you know that the pink bathroom trend started in the 1950s because of First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower? Maime, the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was the First Lady from 1953 to 1961 and had a love for a specific shade of pink. This color of pink has been dubbed “First Lady Pink” or “Mamie pink.” It was her signature color; she looked great in it and according to Wikipedia, for the 1953 inaugural ball, Maime wore a pink peau de soie, Nettie Rosenstein gown embroidered with more than 2,000 rhinestones. You can see this gown at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Also, did you know that First Lady Eisenhower liked to implement the color in her home? Yes, Maime used the color in many of the rooms in the Whitehouse. Reporters and staff referred to the Eisenhower Whitehouse as “The Pink Palace” because of all the pink accessories and items the First Lady decorated with. All that being said, First Lady Eisenhower kicked off a national trend for pink clothing, housewares, and bathrooms.

My house was built in 1955 and obviously, the ALL pink bathroom was inspired by First Lady Eisenhower.

LaPoint Design - Retro Pink Bathroom-Before Image 1

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I know what you are all thinking and I’ve heard it all a million times.

“Oh my gosh, that is a lot of pink!”

“That is the ugliest bathroom I’ve ever seen with all that pink.”

“Lori, you need to tear this out and update it.”

“I can’t stop laughing, it’s just so oo pink."

“Take a sledgehammer to it!”

To all of those expressions, I say NO! I love my pink bathroom and will forever preserve it as much as possible. It was and is actually in great condition, minus the terrible original wallpaper and the plaster ceiling cracking.

LaPoint Design-Retro Pink Bathroom-Wallpapered Switch Plate Image 1

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I know there are plenty of you that love wallpaper and I respect that. I will never be a fan of it. I’m boring and like good old painted walls, even stenciled walls if I want something extra. My dislike of wallpaper might have to do with the flower wallpaper craze, it may peel eventually and make the room look ratty, and it’s a pain to remove. I know that it’s come a long way with patterns, design, and such, but I’m still not on board.

The previous owner of my residence must have had a love for wallpaper. They even wallpapered the wall switch plate. I felt bad throwing it out, there was a lot of time taken to get that wall plate perfectly covered with matching wallpaper.

As I’ve said before, I have a love for homes, old and new. With older homes, I like to keep them as original as possible. When updating and renovating, I don’t like to give the house an entirely different vibe. They already have so much character to begin with! My favorite thing to do is blend the old/original with new and modern touches that make the home more functional.

Just for your information, your 1950s bathroom tiled walls and floor are probably considered a “mud wall” and “mud floor.” This consists of wire mesh stapled to the studs and/or subfloor, a 1-1/2 inch thick layer of concrete/mortar type substance, and then the tile and grout. Take notice of your floor height going into your bathroom. Is it raised with a marbled transition? If so, than most likely your retro bathroom was built this way.

LaPoint Design-Retro Pink Bathroom-Floor Transition Image

This may or may not pose to be a difficult demolition depending on your skill level if you choose to gut and start over with your retro bathroom. My skill level is weak when it comes to this type of demolition. I’m not a muscular person, I’m short (only 5 foot 3 inches), and I’m a known klutz. Even though I tell myself I’m superwomen when it comes to all demo, I would need a jackhammer at a minimum to get the tile out of my bathroom. Jackhammer plus Lori would equal a catastrophe and a trip to the ER. Let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty!

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My husband has the skill set, is stronger, and is taller (almost everyone is) than me, so he could do the demolition on my Pink Retro Bathroom no problem at all. But, I couldn’t let that happen, I love my Pink Retro Bathroom. Despite my husband’s wishes to, “Take a sledgehammer to it!,” I got my way and kept my pretty pink bathroom and updated it a bit. We peeled off the flowered wallpaper, skim coated the plaster walls and ceiling that were peeling, added a new medicine cabinet, light fixture, faucet, wall plates, and some glass shelves.

LaPoint Design-Retro Pink Bathroom-After Image 1

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I decided to try to go with an “Old Hollywood Glam Theme” with black and white accents. I found two cute daisy (my favorite flower) black and white fabric shower curtains. I had my Aunt make window curtains out of one of the shower curtains so that everything would match. I found a Bling light fixture, laundry chute knob, and shower curtain hooks. It’s all about the Bling, right? My sister stumbled upon two canvas photos, one of Marilyn Monroe and one of Audrey Hepburn. I had some glam photo frames and added some quotes from Ms. Monroe and Ms. Hepburn that seemed to fit my theme in them.