Your bathroom wants to be Pink: Think Palm Beach, Lilly Pulitzer, Tommy Bahama, 1950's Miami Beach, etc....

Let the vanity, trim and shutters be cream-colored to coordinate w/ the flooring, but paint the walls a nice soft pink - the same tone as the lighter green - and decorate w/ towels embroidered w/ palm trees, flamingos & seashells, pink accessories, etc.

I think you should use the ice cream parlour colour palette, one pale pink wall the other walls chocolate brown, maybe mirror panels in the cabinet doors, and the odd chrome detail, frosted glass....etc.. Towels should be bright bright pink.

Okay, I'm just going to throw this out there--pale yellow walls, chocolate brown woodwork. Could be spectacular, could be hideous. Have fun whatever you decide--your bathroom has great potential!

I've seen stuff from the twenties (i think) that is that shade of green with yellow, orangey-coral and black accents. Maybe black for the vanity (or a really dark green), soft yellow walls and some accessories with a bit of orange?

Okay, here's my two sense:

I'd paint the vanity a glossy red - maybe erring on the raspberry side (instead of orangey-red). Then, I would replace the hardware with something fun/kitsch that resembles the tile color. Anthropologie has a ton of knobs, such as this one:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=5843981515175062873&id=973162&parentid=DECOR_HARDWARE_KNOBS_HANDLES&pushId=DECOR_HARDWARE&prepushId=DECOR_HARDWARE_KNOBS_HANDLES&popId=DECORATING&sortProperties=&navCount=28&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=sky&colorName=SKY

I would paint the walls a neutral white (not too cold or too warm - think Behr's Decorator's White), and have white towels, floor mat, shower curtain (easy to bleach, too). Maybe a few bathroom accessories that combined the sea green and red colors.

I suggest that you borrow a wallpaper sample book, and look at tropical style wallpapers. When you find a wallpaper with a color that compliments the two-tone green tiles, you can have it matched in the paint department. This may be a bit fussy, but I believe it is the best way to find a color that will make you happy, and you might just find a wallpaper that you could use as an accent (inside those framed panels on the bottom cabinets maybe---just a thought). If you are stuck with retro---make the most out of it.

My first thought was beachy pinks and creams too... but on second thought, if you are not the Miami Vice type, what about a deep matte grey on the walls, and do sort of a retro apothecary/dentist/barbershop masculine vibe since I assume you're stuck with the cream floor tiles and the vaguely country shutters and can't just go dark and completely deco with it.... leave the shutters white or cream or whatever and tie it together with a dark grey rug that covers a lot of the floor... it would kind of go with all the old chrome, and you could have old amber glass bottles to hold bathroom accessories and maybe vintage advertising for wall decor. Good luck!

Reddish colors would not go well because of the yellowish floor. So, colors would be limited unless you plan on changing the color of the floor. So, tans, light browns.. in the golden and yellowish family. You might be able to get away with a brown with a bit of a red tint. If you go with something that matches the floor will probably match the green in the tile.

I think crisp glossy white, looks fresh with the turquoise tile and it will freshen the bathroom up. You could dress up the cabinets with some hardware -
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-6020199944530410099&id=973162&parentid=DECOR_HARDWARE_KNOBS_HANDLES&pushId=DECOR_HARDWARE&prepushId=DECOR_HARDWARE_KNOBS_HANDLES&popId=DECORATING&sortProperties=&navCount=11&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=red&colorName=RED

or something like this very simple-
http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1278103&navCount=14

Then get some towels in Yellow, or similar to the tile or white-
on sale-
http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1262009&navAction=jump&navCount=7

A rug in yellow and white or something with blue.

Since you are painting maybe switching out the lighting wall sconce for something updated that would relate to the retro feel more-
http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/category/category_w_products.jsp?categoryId=cat1541280&navAction=jump&link=link=ct_chatham_bath_sconce&cm_re=CT-_-CategoryText-_-ChathamBathSconce

Are you kidding me? Silver all the way. I'd play the two-tone appeal of the cabinets, and go a light silver with slightly (very slightly) darker silver trim. That'll make accents a breeze -- clear glass and silver -- and it won't clash with the green tiles. Throw in some gray towels, a black and white photo or two, et voila! I think it could look really classy, and it'd be quick 'n dirty to paint.

I'm thinking taupe and white. My cousin has this color tile in her kitchen and it's painted a deep taupe with lots of white accents, and it looks awesome. The right shade of taupe is key, hers is not too warm. The taupe I'm thinking of has cooler/grayish undertones.

Any of these could look great--it's a matter of personal preference. But I'd go in another direction, accenting the green with sophisticated grays and white. The vanity could be a deep gray with the inset panels on the doors painted pale green or soft white. Paint the walls white and/or a paler gray. A simple white fabric shower curtain and towels--maybe a black or charcoal rug. You could soften the window with simple white linen--or by simply removing the shutters and applying frosted film to the glass. Bright nickel accessories could complete the look. I think it would be a handsome bath!

I'm a big fan of gray and teal. Glossy, dark gray (with greenish undertones) on the cabinet. I like the two tone doors so I would keep those, and a lighter gray on the walls.

I like pink with teal too but I honestly don't think I could live with pink paint day in and day out

I am begining to detest the word "retro".

In retrospect, I can think of other better names like:
"Early American Grandma Style"...
or "Oh my God! I gave all of that old rubbish to the Salvation Army",
or "Muriel, do you remember? We once actually wore that stuff!"
or "Todays young designers too busy playing with themselves instead of designing anything that people can live with",
or "I may be poor, but at least I won't live in a McMansion".

So much "Retro" is truly lovely and inspiring. So much should be left for compost. Let taste and practicality decide, not "alternative" fad.

I met paint everything walls, cabinets, and shutters white
Ralph Lauren Egret is nice soft white.

I'm thinking cream walls, the vanilla ice cream kind of cream, which should go with the colors in your floor. Cabinets should be a very light powder blue which will look beautiful with the silver hardware and towel racks that you have. Put a matching blue rug on the floor and put up this shower curtain by Wamsutta: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=108184

Colors in the shower curtain will tie the green tile, the cream walls and the blue cabinets together beautifully. Good luck with the bathroom redo!

I would play up the art deco colors in here. Love the mint/jade green - use black and cream accents, and a touch of scarlet or burgundy red. I would probably go cream on the walls, black on the sink base. Find some bakelite handles. Use an octagon-pattern floor tile of the era. This could be a very lovely bathroom!

If it were mine, I would do the sea glass look. Pale blues and greens.

Paint the cabinets and shutters black, the walls a cream (whatever is bright but seems to go with the floor - I'm thinking in the vanilla family) and get these pulls for the cabinet doors:

http://www.rejuvenation.com/fixshow6336/templates/selection.phtml?ref=1

It's hard to know because not everything can be seen, but I might even match the dark green of the tiles and paint trim in that color - around the window, around the doors. Hard to say. And, I'm sure there is a toilet in there somewhere, so get a black toilet seat for that as well.

I second the red paint on the vanity it will look really lovely with the drawer pulls suggested. i would paint the shutters red as well.
I don't think the floor will be a problem with the red paint. The red will look ok with the floor tile too.

I don't think anything will make the floor tile, the green tile and the white tub seem like they "match" short of some kind of beige and white stripes on the walls--which would just be awful.

BTW
The tiles have a lot of umph, character and color. Let them shine with a sunny contrast, but don't overpower them. The tiles and tub don't look "retro" at all, but rather the genuine old article. (The floor tiles look newer.)

I like this combination from Benjamin Moore:

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/bmpsweb/portals/bmps.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=fh_aura_hiddenPage&NodeUUID=%2FBEA Repository%2F518032

We have Aura paint in our bathroom, and it's holding up well, was very low odor when it went on, and is generally a pleasure to work with.

I agree about sea glass green and blue hues, but what about painting the vanity a shade of coral!?

You have a short timeline, so there's the phase 1 to do this week and phase 2 to do later on.

Phase 1: paint the vanity a dull, dark forest green (similar to what it looks like the border is around the bathtub). Not olive, but something with a lot of black in it. Use the glossiest paint you can find. Add new hardware if you are so inclined, or wait and see how what you have works with the repainted cabinets. At this stage you can leave the walls the white they are, or if you have time, repaint them in a pleasing white as suggested above (but not the vanilla ice cream--too yellow).

Phase 2: replace the shutters with natural bamboo matchstick roman blinds. Think TEXTURE. I'd do a similar-hued shower curtain, something nubby and neutral. Or I would have a shower curtain made out of some fabulous 40s barkcloth that incorporates the colors in the vanity and tile. Do not make the window covering match the shower curtain, though. When you get around to replacing the bathmat, again, consider texture--something rustic and beachy would look great.

Good luck!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these photos! We JUST bought a house that has almost this exact same bathroom, same tiles, layout and everything. A California ranch built in 1955. I was planning on posting a photo to ask for help with the color scheme so I'm thrilled with all these ideas people are sharing. Please, pretty please, share your after photos? I'm personally leaning towards doing greys and creams in ours.

I like green and black. i would definitely paint the cupboard fronts glossy black (unless they are those hideous plastic numbers masquerading as cheap pine). But I'd want to wall paper with 50's bamboo patterned wall paper (or paint bamboo onto the walls if I had a weekend to spare - Then I'd get an opaque white shower curtain.

As great as vintage details are, these seem a little difficult to make look fresh... The tile is incredibly specific, and a hard color to contrast without going to the soft tropical pinks mentioned above, which I find too literal for this period. And then the newer details really don't go with it, which is typical, but often hard to integrate well.

I guess it might want to have more green in the cabinet to integrate the top, but I 'm not a big fan of paint matching with tile - it can devalue the integrity of each material.

For my money:
I don't know how 'arty' you want to go, but if you stripped the cabinet to the bare wood (a little more work) - even if it comes out a little washed/aged looking, and then added the blue glass knobs mentioned above, to pick up the tile, I think it would be nice. Or another blue/green, if these don't match enough. A regular faceted crystal pull in aqua would also be fun, vintage and quirky on the bare wood.

The vent at the sink is probably metal (aluminum/silver?) and would match the faucet. With a good white on the walls (as the tub) and a simple new light fixture, it would treat the sink cabinetry like a focal piece. Play with the vintage. Keeping the rest crisp and white, and the other details modern, will make it a statement piece of furniture and steer away from 'shabby chic.'

And the warm wood color is a version of the peach or pink, would contrast nicely. And the earthiness will give some leeway to the flooring.

While I *rarely* appreciate a patterned shower curtain, this would be so clean and sparse that you could even benefit from a playful, arty curtain:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/best-products/best-of-three-tree-shower-curtains-059512

Whew. I'm starved. I clearly need a project to work on.

Good luck!

I am with sally. Dark glossy hunter green for the walls. Take down the shutters if you can.

How about some GREAT wallpaper? http://www.wallpaperwholesaler.com/Shoppingcart/image_product.asp?image=/119/3646/CJ2815.jpg

http://www.wallpaperwholesaler.com/Shoppingcart/product_detail.asp?book=4270&pattern=GE9499&currpage1=6

http://www.wallpaperwholesaler.com/Shoppingcart/product_detail.asp?book=3614&pattern=KBE13094&currpage1=10

http://www.wallpaperwholesaler.com/Shoppingcart/product_detail.asp?book=3702&pattern=BK61204&currpage1=17

I love the chocolate and cream suggestion. Or a vibrant tropical wallpaper. Stay away from pink. I'm thinking that might look more dated than retro.

If you can't decide how to paint, I'd shop for your accessories first. When you fall in love with a shower curtain, or find great towels that set off your tile, then you'll know how to paint.

Hello!

i know this post is old, but can you please post what you ended up doing with the paint? Any pics would be great also.

We have the same exact tiles!! In process of picking colors now and I just cannot decide!

-valerie.