apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

You have a hidden gem: a Pink Bathroom!

Rent a steamer and peel that paper off and let's see what's underneath - and while you're at it, replace that light fixture with something simpler and chrome. (put the landlords in a box for replacement when you move.)

Then embrace the pink: choose towels, accessories and showercurtain that are in your new fun pink and white color scheme.

I agree with bepsf. The paper absolutely must be removed (I can't imagine anyone would argue in favor of it) and that the steamer is your best bet.

The purple tiles are not that bad. If you truly hate the shade, tell your landlord that you're into design and you think you can increase the value of the place. Buy a high gloss oil-based paint in a neutral shade (white, sand, light gray...) and just paint over the tiles. If it's quality paint, it won't peal the way this god-awful paper did. Even in such a humid place.

bepsf says pink I say robin egg blue..I would replace the towel holder with something simple Restoration Hardware has styles that would work this bathroom. Take off those pink holders and either but a white shelf there or replace them with something to match the towel holder.

I would replace the light fixture but I am feeling less modern and more vintage.

There was long post on removing wallpaper a couple of days ago.

wow i cant believe they papered over it and cut out the little soap holder spot!! hahaha. oh my.

It's possible that those tiles were covered up because they are in poor shape, or there are some missing. So I'd have a Plan B: what if you remove the wallpaper and the tiles are in a bad state?

I did not know those were purple tiles-I saw the first picture looked like wall attached cheap pick soap hold and whatever else good gads.
agree with greenmeansgo- paint over the tiles I always think white looks best.

"Take off those pink holders and either but a white shelf there or replace them with something to match the towel holder."

I could be wrong, but I'm willing to bet that those holders above the sink are 50's-vintage ceramic tile insets - They're not coming off unless the OP is tearing out all of the tilework.

However, I agree w/ you about the towel rack - it looks like a cheap plastic dimestore thing that's just stuck on the wall w/ adhesive.

Be careful, there may be a reason besides the purple tiles that there was wallpaper on the wall. We removed something like this and found that the wall had been patched underneath and looked even worse...

Who papers over tile!? And in the bathroom of all places! Definitely tear that paper down! We have a pink and black bathroom in our rental and adore it. Embrace the quirkiness!

even if the tiles underneath end up being worse, you can still just smack something on over it. you'll never be able to live with yourself if you don't find out what's under there (and then post pix for us to look at :)

You people are colour blind! Those tiles are as purple as my socks. I agree with cutefrenchhouse about having a plan B in case of bad tile condition. If you want to strengthen your argument to strip the wallpaper, you could mention that the peeling wallpaper is probably harder to clean properly--dirt will creep in under the edges.

There could be something the matter with the tiles, but my guess is that the previous inhabitants just didn't like the purple tile. My pink bathroom tiles were covered in hideous black/blue marble contact paper when I moved in, and the tiles were in perfect condition underneath. I would definitely remove the wallpaper.

yowser, re the colour debate - i would call that colour lilac ^^
i bet you guys have pondered why someone would stick up paper in a bathroom many times while brushing your teeth!

if you can convince the landlord that painting the tile is a good idea - you can buy special tile paint and primer, which will be more hardwearing and come up better than regular gloss oil paint. it can be tinted any colour.

good luck

I'd be careful if you want to remove the pink cup and toothpaste holder. I removed my black ones. They were cemented into the plaster. Half way through the project I realized that. There was no turning back. I ended up with huge holes that had to be repaired. My advice - leave them alone.

Remove the wall paper with a steamer. Embrace their lovely pinkness. Decorate to coordinate with it and have fun! (pink and white, pink and burgundy, pink and robin's egg blue, pink and chartreuse green, pink and fuchsia, pink and black .... you get the idea. )

Replace the towel bar and the light fixture. I would go more vintage in keeping with the era of the pink tile. Lowe's had some great stuff which was pretty inexpensive (which I put in my black and white 50's bath).

If when you remove the wallpaper the tiles are a mess you can do a couple things, depending on what's wrong with them. You could paint them, re-wallpaper them, put up that tile board stuff. None are pleasant options, really. I have my fingers crossed for you that the person who put up the wallpaper just didn't like the pink! (Who wallpapers tiles in a bathroom???)

You might want to talk to your landlord prior to doing anything. He might be able to give you some insight into why the wallpaper decision was made so you know what's in store for you.

Good luck!

Start rippin' it down... but beware: you may not like what you see underneath (and I'm not even talking about the tiles).

Wallpaper in a humid bathroom is a great way to trap in moisture and create MOLD. If you're going to rip this down, be smart and wear a mask. Most mold is not really harmful, but black mold can cause all kinds of health problems. If you find anything that looks suspicious, you need to tell your landlord immediately. Every lease that I've signed has had a section about mold- your landlord should have inspected for signs of mold prior to your move-in. If they've missed something, they need to be made aware of it so that they can have it cleaned up by a professional.

I know this might feel like overkill, but trust me- you don't want to get stuck in a place with pervasive mold.

This is a long shot, but it is definitely worth doing.

Convince your LL that the paper breeds mold, and that the rental will be more marketable after you leave if he/she gets the tile re-glazed. There's no demo involved with re-glazing!

Then all you have to do is replace the towel holder and light fixture as others have mentioned before.

Presto...change-o!

Oh dear.
Well, definitely remove the wallpaper. Hopefully, nothing funky is growing between the paper and the tile...

I would kill for a bathroom with tiles that shade of lilac. :D Bathrooms are luckily not a "serious" room (at least in my mind), so this could turn out to have a really cute look to it! I really like what other posters have said about coordinating some towels with the lilac (in an alternate color!) and just going for the whimsy!

Are your landlord's cool with letting you tear down the paper? I mean, I don't know why they'd want it there in the first place, but some people are touchy about their hideous rental units.

I think it could be cute even with the funky color. Especially if you can put a cute, modern pattern somewhere in there. Shower curtain, maybe?

I'm renting right now too, and my tiles were HEINOUS when I moved in!
So, I ran down to a craft store and bought a nice big can of bight white ceramics paint and painted ALL the tiles in my bathroom. I did this 2 years ago and they're all still white as anything.

If you DO rent a steamer to take off the paper, don't forget to keep the paper WET while you use the steamer!

I say rip off the wallpaper and then give it a week to see how you feel about the color. It might be a bit of a color shock seeing strong color on the wall after being used to the wallpaper, but it looks like a really cute and funky shade that might add just that much more character to the apartment.

If there are patchy spots where there has been tile damage, then you may be able to hide just that part of the wall with something that looks artsy and intentional.

First, clear any changes with your landlord. I'd volunteer to strip the paper if he agrees to fixing any problems under it. You have to put in some work, but he might have to put in some money -- less than if you didn't help, though.

Second, that is lilac. Not pink. My parents have a 1960's lilac bathroom to this day -- with lilac vinyl flooring. I hated it living there and hate it now, but it can be worked with. Dark plum towels and lots and lots of bright white wherever you can put it might make it elegant.

Good luck.

I've sure seen worse in rental bathrooms. My rental bathroom in Brooklyn had a rotting window frame, no shelf space, exposed plumbing beneath the sink, and walls that hadn't been painted for 20 years.

Over time, I built in cabinets over the toilet, tiled a wall, added a medicine cabinet, and found a really great Miro-esque shower curtain for the shower ring around a clawfoot tub.

The landlord didn't object, but in the end, he tore it all out, just like he tore everything else out of any workmanship in the apartment and replaced it with something his underpaid workers decided was "modern."

purple, i hate purple tiles. i have a purple tiled bathroom. yeck. but i hate moldy peeling wallpaper more. painting tiles sounds like a terrible idea.

I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing over that photo of the wallpaper! What was your landlord thinking when they installed this?? Take the wallpaper down...anything is better than that! It looks like it should be an easy job, cause it looks like it's peeling away in spots already. Good luck!

Paint! I had the worst tile job in the last house I owned, but they were all in good shape (alas). See horror evidence here, complete with the bathtub the former owner painted with one coat of standard latex - it peeled off as soon as I took a bath.

Enter paint. I needed to sell the house, didn't have a budget for redoing the bathroom, and didn't want to screw the potential owners. Home Depot sold me CIL Smart Primer (the super-duper stuff that will stick to anything). I washed the tiles really well with TSP, taped my edges, did two coats of primer, then two coats of a semi gloss kitchen & bathroom paint. Results: not as perfect as new tiles, but SO much nicer.
It also wore really well over the 4 months it took me to sell the house. Cleaned well too.

Only words of caution: you cannot possibly over prep for this. Clean the tile as if you're preparing for surgery in there. And don't rush the drying time.

Good luck!

wow put a bright towel and bright shower curtain in there... quick! then I think it's half solved.

Man this is terrible. I have to agree, get rid of the paper, nothing can be worse than that... you could always touch up the tile and paint it a bright fun color. I would also replace the light fixture... I would probably go slightly "mid century modern" myself... this bathroom I think has a lot of potential! It seems to have a lot of character. At least give it some bright towels and maybe some little curtains, something to liven it up.

Before you go removing that wallpaper, make sure the tiles aren't falling off the wall underneath. The landlord may have done this for a quick-and-dirty fix.

You are lucky you came across me ;)

I'm afraid I can't offer advice about peeling the wallpaper, but some years ago I rent an appartment with a bathroom in good shape but with awful old, old-fashioned tiles, that all it did was depress me.
No need to experiment with painting, trying to convince the landlord etc: just find a store with stickers for bathroom tiles! It may sound cheesy but you won't believe the change -- and you need to stick them on only about 1/20 to 1/10 of the tiles. Voila.

The 1980's dentist whose office they stole that wallpaper from is gonna be mad when he sees this! ;)

WHY WOULD SOMEONE PAPER OVER TILE??? i wonder what they were covering up. expect problems. replace the light with something a bit modern. i'm thinking deco. then, i'd use white & black accessories. maybe find some fun b&w photos w/ a vintage look.