apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Red. I'm talking candy-apple red (think Coca-cola red). It's vintage feeling and goes really really well with aqua and black but must be used in small doses. So use the red in accent pieces. If you want a modern feel, go with gray storage (matches the couch too) but if you want more vintage then go with more Aqua. THEN, this is the beauty of red. You can use it to carry through to the living room because the red with the gray will also complement each other. You just need to pick out a few really great accent pieces for eye-popping wow factor.

pink

I think if you really wanted to add a color, I would go with yellow, which I also think could be carried in to the living room with the grey. However, I might just stick with white since the aqua is pretty bold. For storage, you could put up a couple of shelves on the wall above where the tile ends. Since it'd be open, you could get some cute containers to keep things like qtips, cotton balls in, etc.

That tile is fantastic! I would go with a very light pastel pink with the aqua and black for a totally '50s look. Think "Happy Days," retro diners, and old Chevy Bel Airs!

I have the same color tiles in the bathroom of my rental Even the black border is the same.

I added a striped, multicolored shower curtain (similar to this one) and hung some multicolored abstract art in black frames on the wall. Other than that, I keep it simple, all the furniture pieces, bath towels, rugs and such are white. Most accessories are colorless glass, green glass, silver or a combo of those three.

I have the same color paint and aqua tiles.
I have black towels, frames and rugs, white containers and pops of lime green.

I think it works well and I love the combination!

looks like you've already got a lot of a certain color going on, so I would not distract or overwhelm and make everything else bright white. Maybe some chrome accents. I think it would look pretty classy like that. If you want to make it a little more involved, a black/white large striped shower curtain would look cool.

Pink or yellow, or look for a pattern that incorporates the aqua and black.

As far as the couch, I recently had success mixing mustardy/gold, black, grey and ivory. The same could be done with yellow as well. or orange and grey always looks cool, with a splash of ice blue.

You could get yellow pillows for the couch, use the black and ivory as accents such as vases, etc. Then the storage should be a dark wood or wood painted white if you want the vintagy feel. good luck and post pics when you're

I have a powder room with black and aqua tile c. 1936. I'm not sure if our tile colors are exactly the same, but from your photos, they are very similar. For a true retro look, you would paint the walls the same color as the tile and get matching toilet paper. I toned down my walls with SW 7542 Naturel, which looks like beige, but it has strong green undertones so it softens the tile color a bit. I also have ivory towels and a deep pink bath mat. I got the color scheme from a watercolor I have in the room. The pink really works. It's not truly retro like red, but it nods to that color combination. Good luck!

How many times this type of bathroom tile shows up here on AT (I have the same dilemma, only mine is yellow with black trim c1934). I would suggest a pale yellow, or bold red.

Its funny... We (myself included) complain about homes having a "Home Depot" look today, when there were millions of these bathrooms constructed from the 20's to the 50's. Somehow I don't think we'll appreciate the "Home Depot" look in 50 years (at least I hope not).

I like the idea of little pops of red in there. When I first saw the image Polynesian or Hawaiian inspiration came to mind. Perhaps vintage Hawaiin post cards on the wall.

http://www.islandartcards.com/shop/VintagePCBoxSet.html

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/454797922_36ee94e417.jpg?v=0

http://www.janeresture.com/hawaii/hawaii_postcard68.jpg

Red towels. A little vase attached to the wall between the shower and medicine cabinet with a red tropical flower in it.

I think stainless steel or nickel would work well and keep it clean and calm. If you're going for a retro feel you might want to check out some of the options at Restoration Hardware. I'm pretty sure that I remember seeing more options in store but online there are still some decent ones such as the "Asbury," or "Spritz" collections.

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/category/category_w_products.jsp?navSrc=leftNav&navAction=jump&navCount=1&categoryId=cat780015

Jillian,

In the first picture the tiles look a lot richer in aqua than the close-up. So if it is as high in contrast and rich as picture 1 then perhaps the way to go is to keep things a little more neutral but i think introducing pops of color is always fun and especially in a small space like a bathroom it just brightens everything up.

As far as what the accent color should be, the first color I also thought of was yellow. In combination with white it would be a nice accent in the bathroom. Also, yellow and gray are a lovely combination (there was even a post on AT a while back here) and quite frankly even bringing the aqua from the bathroom in little details into the living room would totally work too, but without getting too matchy matchy.

If you go ahead and decide to with a neutral I would go with a bright white and for the bathroom you can easily bleach things, it will pop better against the aqua as well. Then I would look for pieces that aren't too sterile and have subtle details or unique qualities.

I personally would stay away from the pink/salmon combo because I don't think a "themed" apartment/bathroom is not what you are thinking as you mentioned you want things to have a vintage feel but not like an antique store (which I interpret as maybe being too cluttered or going overboard).

To get the "vintage" look, just make sure to EDIT your pieces and to invest in some key pieces: a vintage lounge/side chair, coffee/side table, mirror, etc. Craigslist is a great resource and also through the summer there is the chicago antique market going on every weekend. By mixing old with new and accessorizing with restraint you will be able to achieve that look you want. Artwork always is great too there are tons of inexpensive options out there frequently posted on AT.

Sorry for rambling!

Hope that heps,
yanners

Addendum:

Shower Curtains:

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=6562092695501852740&id=890035&parentid=BATH_BATHROOM_CURTAINS&pushId=BATH_BATHROOM_CURTAINS&popId=BATH_BATHROOM&sortProperties=&navCount=57&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=whb

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=6562092695501852740&id=590074&parentid=BATH_BATHROOM_CURTAINS&pushId=BATH_BATHROOM_CURTAINS&popId=BATH_BATHROOM&sortProperties=&navCount=64&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=one

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1026046&navCount=10

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1233141&navCount=10
http://www.target.com/Black-Dots-Shower-Curtain/dp/B000P656MG/qid=1213996737/ref=br_1_15/601-6832147-9966564?ie=UTF8&node=16305851&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1


Curtain rings:

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1630&f=7758

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1630&f=19476

Bath ensembles:

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/category/category_w_products.jsp;jsessionid=SSQDZHZ5QFJ3LLAWC2AR5VVMCYLACH20?navAction=jump&navCount=0&categoryId=cat780015

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1155080&navCount=1

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1060047&navCount=1

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1434001&navCount=1

WHITE! :-)

Melon!!

White shower curtain with a black border or a white curtain screened with black print. Extra long curtains would be best, allowing you to mount the rod close to the ceiling to give a sense of taller ceilings. Two curtains would be ideal. This would allow you to "frame" the bath nd beautiful tile work.

Polished chrome or nickle would add a nice bit of shine. If you have a black vase or vessel, fill with some hot pink peonies for a shot of summer color.

wow.

Wow - we have very similar bathroom tile.

There is no need for more color. The tile has that covered. Choosing bright contrasting shades just creates a color shouting match. I have found white, black, or gray with a slight lavender lean (Calvin Klein Home has some nice neutrals with just a hint of color) all work great and allow the color of the tile to shine.

The biggest challenge is finding the right white for the walls.

I'd echo what a few others are saying. I'd stick with a white (with an aqua or green undertone) or maybe a buttery yellow for paint. I'd stick to white, black and buttery yellow in the shower curtain and towels.

I could also see some pops of red, though I'd go with an oxblood or almost burgundy red.

Then carry accents of aqua, butter yellow and the deep red into the living room.

I have the jonathan adler bespoke shower curtain

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photos/050108nwsccana/images/ana4_medium.jpg

only I have black towels now

I tried to post earlier it was not working. I think some lemony-lime citrus green would look great in that room. Bathrooms... they are so easy to change. Except for tile and fixtures.
I really like that color, it is soothing, and you can pick up some various color washcloths or something cheap and try them out against it or nearby and see how they look. You can even find things in your house, maybe toys or t-shirts or anything with a color you like and hang it on the back of the door, over the shower rod, or set it on the counter, find something that maybe speaks to you and feels good. Browse some shower curtains for colors including the blue, and find what colors they've matched with it.
It's very ocean-y, so maybe goes with a sky or sunset types of colors.

I'm really not in favor of "accepting" your fate and going whole-hog retro unless you really like that. There are ways to use old-fashioned fads without necessarily recalling the era, and I think it's cool to do that rather than cover or destroy it or deny that it's there or approach it with a narrow attitude. An example would be: white or cream would look great, but some people wouldn't let their imagination past that. You can approach white as the best option because you really love how it looks or you can stop at white because you think you're doomed to try to neutralize the effect of the aqua. The first way will look better because you're choosing with intention.

And no matter what you choose now, it can be easily converted to a new preference whenever you feel like getting new towels. As far as storage... I just looked and your bathroom is almost like mine (except mine is white-ish)! My vanity is wider (which probably doesn't help you), but the apartment came with an etagere above the toilet. If you have room, I highly recommend it. Mine has open storage for towels and closed storage for all kinds of stuff that doesn't fit in the medicine cabinet. I'd bought one for when I moved in because I thought it belonged to the previous tenant. In my old apartment, I had to keep excess supplies in a kitchen cabinet (my bathroom was off the kitchen, or more correctly, at some point converted from some type of washbasin or pantry that the plumbing could be routed when they cut up the house).

I have the same (very similar) bathroom tile and set up. I found the white walls and towels thing to be a little boring. We ended up doing pink: pastel, sort of ballerina shoe pink. It looks great, and I think it's an appropriate choice for the bathroom's era. Just enough color without being to theme-y.

I also have that same kind of vanity. I ended up painting the wooden "body" of the vanity black and we love it! It's nice with the black tile--it kind of tied everything together in our bathroom.

We've ended up doing white towels with black pin stripes.

I think the color options you go with depends on what kind of mood you want to set. I'd stick with maybe using white and black and possible put an incredibly, big ol' pink flower somewhere to pop. Or you can go with pinks to really push the retro juicey feel. As for storage, if it's for in shower, check the simply human shower line.

How about a watery pinkey-apricot - almost a non colour ?

I think it would be nice to inject a little warmth into the bathroom, like with some wood accents. Something with a medium/reddish finish. A couple of wood shelves, a wastepaper basket, a wooden cup for your toothbrush... Maybe a basket for storing towels. I would look for a small work of art. A small abstract painting with neutrals, all close to white and the wall color, would look really fabulous over the toilet or towel rack. I have an all white bathroom, with wainscotting, and I put a large pink painting in there with red and brown accents in it to give it warmth. But that is the only color I've put there. I think the key is to go with one or two spots of color, and in this case, to make it happen with wood.

white. (you can always reuse white towels). if you own, a new white pedestal sink or change the faucet. glass shelves on cables above the toilet. (mine have been in the bathroom/kitchen/office of different apartments). consider a hospital track or cable system for a ceiling height shower curtain (a simple sew for any dry cleaner/alterer if you don't sew. and then ikea for the starting panels.).

I think the Marimekko shower curtain with the birch trees would be perfect. It has black, white, sky blue, green. Anthropology sells it, I'm too lazy to link :)

I would keep towels and such white, but a few bright pops of red would be amazing!

PINK!!!! - all the way! - depending on your personal stsyle you could go bright or pastel - but pink would look beautiful in her

As would red but you'd only want touches of red - you could go wilder with the pink