The Trick to Surviving a Colorful Vintage Tiled Bathroom

published Oct 25, 2016
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(Image credit: Marisa Vitale)

Whether you rent and can’t make any changes or just don’t have the funds to remodel, moving into a home with a vintage bathroom can be a challenge. When that bathroom sports vintage tiles in intense colors, it can be especially puzzling to figure out how to decorate. If the tiles have to stay — and the color palette’s been forced on you, for better or worse — try a trick to making vintage bathrooms work. These 14 bathrooms embrace their wildly colorful tiles and work with them.

(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux)

Mint green, then peach, the mint green again? Emily and Ian deserve an Emmy for their work adding a perfectly colored piece of art into their vintage bathroom and making them both act together beautifully.

(Image credit: Natalie Jeffcott)

Neryl and Tim’s vintage bathroom — and how they decorated it — is the equivalent of walking into a party and acting like you belong there.

(Image credit: Monica Wang)

Approaching your vintage bathroom’s color combo cautiously, gently — even subtly — can allow the tiles to shine in their own right. Add in some greenery and let natural light flood the space, and your vintage bathroom will feel positively fresh.

(Image credit: Selena Kirchhoff)

Black and green seem to flow together quite nicely thanks to Julie keeping the rest of the decor neutral and grounding. The existing details — the small strip of black and white tile, the original bathroom mirror — give off 1940s vibes, so adding a black and white photograph complements, while the art’s subtle humor helps bring the space back to the present.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

There’s quite the variety of pattern and color in Vanessa’s small space. Rather than try to cover the floor up with rugs or find a wall paint color to match, she went about her business as if there weren’t five+ different colors represented here. Her indifference actually spells success.

(Image credit: Bethany Nauert)

What do you do when your mustard-yellow tiles also have a border with a pattern that looks like fancy little Christmas trees? Match he Old World-meets-Versailles charm by incorporating gilded accessories and one-of-a-kind containers, elevating utilitarian objects like soap bottles.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

When Barbie pink meets barely-there mint green (making your bathroom feel like a nursery) elevate the style with some well-framed, grown-up art. The dichotomy between decor styles will feel like a modern art installation.

(Image credit: Abe Martinez)

It’s not easy being green, particularly when that green is on the walls, shower surround and tub. You can’t fight this kind of total color coverage. So let go and let green. Embrace your vintage bathroom’s emerald hues by adding more green (this time from nature) and keeping the rest of the decor super simple.

(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux)

When a vintage bathroom’s pale blush pink tile is topped with a dramatic black tile, respect the contrast.

(Image credit: Heather Keeling)

When you’ve got not just one green hue on your vintage tiles, but two, keep the space from feeling like the inside of an avocado by adding modern design elements.

(Image credit: Erin Galvin)

The tongue-in-cheek inclusion of a pup portrait sporting the two colors of this vintage bathroom — with the saturation turned way up — is the truly inspirational colorful tile homage that makes Brandon and Amanda’s bathroom a thing of beauty.


Don’t fight your vintage kitchen, either → Rooms That Get It Right: Embracing a Vintage Kitchen