It looks great! We had our tub refinished and it looked brand new. The fumes were pretty awful though!

How long ago did you have the refinishing done? Do you know how long it will last? I'd love to do this in my bathroom. It looks great.

There should be a Pink Bathroom Survivors' Club! Ours was in terrible shape so we gutted it, but would have refinished if there hadn't been so many problems. Looks good.

Wow, what a transformation! Hope you enjoy your new bathroom! :-)

Personally, I would have kept the back trim. Anyway, this is great! Why spend more money and create more waste than you have to?

I had my tub refinished and am very pleased with the result. It was rough and dirty before but is now silky smooth and bright white. We have a window over the tub and just left that open with the door closed for a day or two to get rid of the smell.

Wow! Thanks for sharing, I had no idea such a process existed. I've got the same situation in my bathroom in baby blue rather than pink. It drives me crazy. I will look into this.

Inspiring! Love the transformation though I do agree that keeping the black trim could have looked amazing.

Did you do floor tiles, too? We have the worst floor tiles & I would love to just have them sprayed, if possible.

I had mine done before I moved into my current house about 6 yrs ago. The finish has chipped the most in the tub but still cleans up pretty well. We had turquoise trim and base cove that they taped over and kept. I say its a good 5 year fix. I think I will eventually gut it and redo everything mainly because the floor tiles are cracked and scuffed.

I've seen pink bathrooms that managed to look great despite the odds, but from the looks of the photo the pepto-bismol hue would have been a bit too much for me too. All in all, I think it looks fantastic! I had no idea that refinishing tile was a thing.

My only caveat with the after is that it doesn't have any personality anymore. Like the previously commenter, I personally would have left the black trim too. I hope you have/have plans to put some life back into it! A punchy shower curtain would look great.

Ok I admit, I love pink tile & would have changed out the mirror for something antique instead - staying with the vintage look. But understand that might have been prohibitively expensive. In any case, this looks quite new & great, too!

@smariel, you do realize that the medicine cabinet IS of the same era as the tile, don't you? Vintage mirrors (without medicine cabinets) are a more recent decor approach. (Not arguing that the change wouldn't look better, just that it isn't consistent with "preservation" or whatever...)

I love the white! You can do just about anything with accessories, now. (Pink, especially THAT pink, is gross to live with -- IMHO, of course.)

I had a bathroom like that but with the matching pink toilet and tub! Sold the house instead of re-doing. Your bathroom is lovely, enjoy.

That looks amazing. I love white in the bathroom. I want to get our tub refinished. Everything in the bathroom is white (tile, countertop), but the tub is almond. I hate it soooo much.

Inquiring minds are dying to know...how much did it run you?

I'd caution anyone with pets, children, respiratory problems, et cetera, to investigate these chemicals before having this done. We had a tub refinished a few years ago and the fumes were truly horrible.

I also would have kept the black trim. Otherwise, nice.

Can this be done to floor tiles? My pink bathroom is fine other than the floor...

We had our tub resurfaced and the fumes were awful. The company cautioned us that no living thing could be in the house while it was done so our pride of cats stayed at the vet. A guy prepared and taped the tub and then completed the work using a moon suit and a respirator.

We sat outside while it was done, and smell was horrendous. Fortunately it didn’t last for more than a few hours but we were beginning to wonder if we would have to go to a hotel for the night. If you go through this process, be sure to do it in the summer so that all the windows and doors can remain open for a day or two.

The cats spent two days and nights at the vets. They were not happy.

This will look nice until it starts to peel, which it will do in a few years. Then it will look like a sunburn in reverse.

Mine is refinished too and I do recomend it! I never had to worry about mold again!
It´s not perfect, one thing you didn´t say is that it needs a very deep cleaning on the tiles. And it can start peeling if not done perfectly.

It's great to see a post about pink bathrooms that isn't fawning over how adorably retro they are! I recently "made over" mine in a much less impressive fashion (It's still pink; I can't do anything to the tile... yet). Although my "after" isn't as lovely as yours, my "before" was a lot worse, too. I blogged about it and posted plenty of pictures here: http://luisadesignblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-pink-bathroom.html .
(Staceysk, I'd gladly join your Pink Bathroom Survivors' Club!)

An indication of price would be helpful.

We did this in our 1940s bathroom, which looks like a similar size to this one. Cost was right around $1700 for the tub and the tile (which in our case ranges from about 1/2 to 3/4 up each wall.) Totally worth it. The fumes are terrible, but if you find someone who does it properly, they should be able to vent it outside pretty. We (and out pets) we able to weather the storm no problem.

One thing to all the people who mentioned that they would have kept the border. We wanted to do that originally, but the quality of finish on the newly treated tile vs the adjacent vintage tile is pretty glaring. it really does look so much better to go all or nothing if you are considering getting it refinished.

I did this in my pre-war bathroom about 1 & 1/2 years ago. It looks great. Cost $1,500 to do tile, tub and toilet. The only problem is the rim of the toilet bowl - it has started to peel where the water hits it (they warned me about this). I may replace toilet eventually.

You do have to be very careful to not drop anything - I dropped a hanger and it caused a small chip on the tub.

Also - don't use harsh cleaners. The company that did mine provided me with a list of acceptable products.

Overall, I'm very happy with my decision.

Looked better before. How much did this temporary fix with bonus toxic fumes set you back?

The paints that are used for this process contain isocyanates, which are incredibly toxic.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/isocyanates/index.html

caveat emptor

I'm going to do this to my bathrooms for sure! It's awesome. I had never heard of doing the whole bathroom. There is hope. :-)

the paint is toxic, but balance that against the waste created/resources used in gutting/replacing an entire bathroom. sustainability is never completely cut and dry. plus if you hire a reputable company, they will ventilate well and it shouldn't create too much of a negative impact on indoor air quality. at least it didn't in our experience.

I have a bathroom completely tiled in pink tiles (no regular walls at all). If this type of service is available in my country, I am definitely going to do it!

wait till it starts chipping, a total nightmare, not to mention hideous. we sooooo wish the previous homeowners had left the adorable charming pink tile the way it was. :(

What happened to the soap dishes? I would like to make mine disappear, but can't do a bathroom reno yet. My budget will only allow for a regrout.

Personally, if I had been that bothered by the pink tile, I would have carefully removed the tile, and retiled with a white tile. The pink tile could have been saved and sold or given to someone trying to fix or renovate a vintage bathroom. This way, perfectly good vintage tile has been lost for good. And as you said yourself, this is only a temporary fix, probably in the order of 5 years.

White subway tiles can be found for less than $1 per square foot; simple square white ceramic tiles even cheaper. We found tiling to be fun, and so would have no qualms about tackling such a DIY project. Even with higher end materials, such a small space would not be very expensive to retile.

The painted effect on the tile is not aesthetically appealing close-up, although it looks good in a photo. I especially dislike the painted grout; the painted grout in my opinion makes it look cheap when seen up-close.

I'm sorry, but this is exactly the sort of renovation project I would have counseled against in my old role of helping people renovate their old house...

p.s. Sherry Binh -- that mirrored cabinet is not the same vintage as the bathtub and tile, it is much more recent. They simply were not making medicine cabinets with that sort of frame profile in that period.

Part of the unease with the pink tiles is that the pedestal sink is new, and attempts to create a '30s vibe, as do the taps. That doesn't fit with the '5's-70 feel of the tiles and tub.

I think you were wise to paint the black trim white. My bathroom has black trim all the way around the room (just above the height of the towel bars) and it is a very visible dust collection area, needing to be wiped off every two or three days. :(

I don't know if they used this method or not, but the previous owner of my apartment painted over the tile floor in the bathroom, and the paint has chipped and peeled over time. It looks awful! So, forewarned, etc.

Can anyone give a price comparison of removing the wall tile and re-tiling versus this method?

We had the same pink tile in our bathroom. We needed to rip out the tile around the tub since the grout had disintegrated and water was getting in. It was a nightmare! We replaced the tile around the tub but ended up covering the rest of the pink tile with wainscoting. It looks really good and was very inexpensive and much less toxic than having the tiles replaced or refinished.

Looks good but makes me so glad we gutted our bathroom down to the studs.

My tub was refinished when I moved into my apartment 10 years ago. At first, I wasn't happy with the way it looked (blotchy, uneven coating) and Management was obliging enough to have it resprayed to my complete satisfaction.

If I recall, I couldn't use the tub for 2-3 days while it dried and cured so I stayed elsewhere. Upon my return, there was no strong chemical odor. The crew left the bathroom exhaust fan running and that was sufficient to expel chemical odors.

10 Years Later: Overall, the finish looks as new as it did when it was first applied 10 years ago. There are a couple of chips in the finish that I am sure I've made worse by my hard brush scrubbing when I clean. The finish will definitely chip if you drop something hard and heavy, like a full bottle of shampoo.

The finish also seems to be fairly susceptible to staining so you have to be diligent in quickly cleaning up hair dye residue and the like--and by quickly I mean I use cleaning spray while I shower when I dye my hair.

As I am renting, I didn't have to pay for the refinishing but I wouldn't hesitate to do so if ever needed when I get my own place.

My apartment must be pre-war also, because I have identical tiles in my bathroom but in mint green. (The toilet, sink, floor, and tub are also mint green.)

looks great! how do you find a good tile refinisher? i'd be nervous about choosing someone.

"national treasure worth saving"=) ...wow, these writers on AT, make me laugh,laugh and laugh with their wit - thank you for not-only providing great interiors but zest for life as well !!!

Save The Pink Bathrooms: http://savethepinkbathrooms.com/

I'm sorry. I can't understand how everyone can go completely wild over a bathroom with no color in it at all. Is this where all who are afraid to make their own decorating decisions are headed now? White is taking the place of brown and grey?
Come one, Bethany, do you have a favorite color? Use it!

Can you tell me who you used for the work. There is nothing better than a great recommendation.