She Created a “Pink Paradise” Bathroom Using Her 1915 Home’s Original Tiles
Laura Trexler and her husband’s 1915 historic house had a few quirks after being renovated in the ’80s to run as a bed and breakfast. One of them was that the guest bathroom was built directly into the room’s closet.
The couple decided to renovate the entire house all at once, and ended up rewiring and basically replumbing every room — specifically the guest bathroom, because of “a decades-long leak that ruined the subfloor” and a leaking vanity sink. But it had “the most amazing pink tiles,” and Laura was on a mission to save them.
Her Dream “Pink Paradise” Bathroom Included the Original Pink Tiles
While the home was being updated to be structurally sound, Laura “had the bandwidth to dream up the pink paradise that this bathroom now embodies,” she shares. The toilet and shower in the main bathroom had the original pink tile, but the closet vanity didn’t and had “no personality.” So the couple removed everything from that space, and Laura drew up plans to carry the pink theme into the vanity closet.
They Had to Replace the Subfloor and Almost All of the Plumbing
With the water damage, Laura and her husband had to be careful with their remodel to preserve the original wall tile. This meant they “had to open up the opposite side of the wall, which was plaster,” Laura writes. “And tearing up plaster walls will always be a HUGE mess.”
But what really delayed their renovation timeline was discovering that the entire subfloor was not just damaged, but rotted, and that “every piece of plumbing” was leaking. But as Laura shares, “renovating a historic house is all about rolling with the punches.”
The couple learned to be flexible and modify their vision for the bathroom. After the necessary upgrades, Laura was finally able to add a custom vanity, tile flooring, and paint.
“My favorite part is definitely the new mosaic hex tile,” Laura shares. “It leans into the pink color scheme so well and adds just enough pattern and movement to the flooring to boost the ‘wow’ factor.”
She “Pushed the Envelope with Color” in the Small Space
However, selecting the right shade of pink paint was the trickiest part of the entire process. “I wanted to lean more pink than mauve, so finding a color that looked extremely similar [to the original tiles] but with slightly more vibrancy was a long trial-and-error process,” Laura explains.
In the end, though, Laura selected Benjamin Moore’s “Rose Blush” and painted both the water closet vanity (with a custom profile edge) and the bathroom’s walls and ceiling. She knew they could “push the envelope with color” and really lean into the all-pink idea since it’s such a small space. Laura found a pink sink on eBay and also sourced a vintage wall sconce and a wall-mounted accordion mirror.
“All the quirks of this being a historic home and modifications made by it running as a bed and breakfast just made the design challenge more fun,” Laura shares. Instead of a shower door, she sewed her own pleated shower curtain and used the extra material to create a matching sink skirt with a $10 tension rod.
Laura and her husband saved money by foregoing custom vanity drawers, and instead, Laura was able to add texture and softness to both spaces with the matching sink skirt and custom profile edge.
Now the Bathroom Has the “Wow-Factor” Laura Was Dreaming Of
While Laura received pushback at the beginning of their renovation because she was keeping the ‘sink in a closet,’ it’s now “the most loved bathroom in the house.”
“Why not lean into the eccentricities of a home like this?” Laura asks. Plus, if they have a couple staying in the guest room, “one can shower, and the other can brush their teeth with the privacy of being in separate spaces,” she explains.
Not only does the bathroom have the “wow-factor” for guests that Laura wanted, but it’s now a happy space that “makes you find the whimsy in your everyday life,” she describes.
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Shop This Before & After
- Paint
- Products
- Diamond Rosette Hexagon Tiles in “Cherry Blossom/Turkish Rose on Satin White” from Mosaic Tiles
- Victorian Double-Handle Shower Faucet in “Brushed Brass” from Kingston Brass Plumbing
- Delancey Single Handle Bathroom Faucet in “Brushed Gold” from The Home Depot
- Sophisticated Sophie Small Chandelier in “Antique Gold/Clear Crystal” from Shades of Light