apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If you are replacing the faucet, then you will have to rip most of that (plasterboard patch) out -- any chance of finding tiles to match the existing? This would be your opportunity to restore the original condtions.

Quite frankly, the picture doesn't present a flattering portrait of the rest of the tile -- since you own the unit, I think you really should consider redoing all the tiles for your own sake and for re-sale value.

maybe fill the space with small mosaic tiles or carve out the plaster to a certain depth (if possible) and retile that one spot? i have no idea....

You have my deepest sympathies.

One thing you could do is replace the plastered area with tile of the same size and then have the whole lot (rest of the pink tile and all) reglazed to a color of your choice. It would really rejuvenate the look of teh bathroom. I've seen a bathroom done where they reglazed old pink tile with white and it looked wonderful. I think it was a 5' by 8' bathroom with tile going 3/4 of the way up all four walls and if I recall coreectly, reglazing cost around $1000.

If that is gypsum board (or anything other than greenboard), that's a mold problem waiting to happen. Not _if_ it's kept dry, _when_. Plan on doing a new tile job within the next six months.

A few owners in my older Toronto co-ownerhip co-op have been down that road already. As a Board member, we dealt with the results in other units elsewhere. Needless to say, there were liability issues.

If it's acrylic sheet sealed sealed with silicon around the edges and fixtures, then you're OK. Decorate at will!

In the very least, demolish that plaster insert and put in a mosaic insert around the faucet fixtures, using a mixture of tile textures, designs that will compliment the existing tile.

There are also companies who can put in a fiberglass surround that can cover it all up, which would be less expensive than a complete new tile job, unless you are handy and can do tiling yourself. I suppose the extent of the work depends on whether that pink tile is used beyond the bath tub. I suspect the hardest part is deciding what to do and tearing it out. Good luck!

Expanding on Mid-C Frank's Idea -- As a band-aid type of solution, if you couldn't find tiles to match your existing, you could so sort of a random pattern with another color tile (starting with that area behind the faucets) and choose some other spots to change out existing tiles so that it looked intentional. Maybe?

this is making me itch. I concur with Mid-C Frank.

If you want to preserve the original tile, Bella Tile on 1st Ave and 11th street in manhattan have TONS of vintage tiles and plenty in pink. ask for a couple different shades and see what works.

As a fellow pink-tiled bathroom owner, I sympathize. Showering makes me feel like i'm in Barbie's dream house. I really like the mural idea, however I do feel like you're going to have to take out the majority of that plaster board to install your faucet anyway. I'd spend the money for a tile guy if you're not inclined and get it fixed professionally.

Hi- had a similar situation in my son's bathroom when we ripped out existing hardware to replace the faucets and tub spot. We purchased the same color tile or as close as possible and had this cut (by a professional) into subway tiles and staggered them in the space. It looks great and is a quick fix.

Good luck.

The Parisapartment is right. Old/vintage tile is not too difficult to locate.

Also, Ask This Old House did a very similar thing and I think it was in last year's show. Check out their website.

I'm no handy person whatsoever....but in lieu of tile, could you get a single white marble (or some other white-stone) slab cut to size and cut to accomodate your fixtures?

JenPDX probably has the best and easiest solution. Plaster is going to rot and mold and fall apart. You should have that replaced right away.

When I first saw this, something about it struck me as familiar and I just realized that it looks like Rosie (the robot maid) from the Jetsons.

Ellen,

It is hard to comment fully without more information on your bathroom. However, I would suggest incorporating the area into a design that looks like it is meant to be there. (I.e. the simplest option-a full vertical line from bath to top of tiling). This allows any variation from the exiting tile to be part of the design. If you are interested in this approach look at the whole bathroom and analyse the impact of the visual, material/colour/texture selection. If you can incorporate a new graphic successfully, you may find the exercise may rehabilitate the entire space.

The other approaches are also workable, however you might want to consider the following:

Finding matching tiles
This would be a good option if the match is very good. If not, it will be always visible as a patch job. With the location at the taps, it will suggest to all that see it that there was a badly done repair.

Mosaic infill
Just from the image shown, this patch area is an awkward size proportion in a highly visible/dominant location. If the mosaic is poorly handled, it may result in an awkward visual and may only look like an "arty" bad patch.

Good luck, and if you want more focused comment, I would suggest adding more information on the bathroom space and where this area sits in relation to entry, mirrors and other fixtures.

Well, I think that you might as well just go ahead and replace those fixtures, and then, while you're at it -- wait -- DO you like the pink tile? If you like it, then once you replace those fixtures DO try to get some matching tile.

If you like it pretty well, but you're kind of liking the idea of changing it a LITTLE, then you might think about getting some tiles (vintage or not) that are a related-yet-slightly prefarable color, and then have THAT color put there. THEN.. go ahead and get enough of that new tile color to replace some of the other tiles in that shower area, so you create a mosaic all around it, albeit in THAT size tile, instead of smaller.

That's another thought.

OR... just rip them ALL out and get something that YOU like!