Pretty in Pink?

For the record I have never liked the color pink.  Never!  Even when I was a little girl, I never remember going through the typical pink little girl phase.  When I think of pink now, it reminds me of a good friend (LM) who does pink well in a beautiful Barbie kind of way.  Pink just seems to suit her and although in many ways we are much alike - we are not when it comes to the color pink.  She loves it - I loathe it.

So when I was faced with a pink tiled bath here at TUD, I sort of thought OMG, it's really pink!  Further, I sort of cringed when I understood that budget limitations would prohibit any sort of gut/reno to this room anytime soon. I knew that the pink bath was here to stay for awhile because other rooms are just way ahead on the priority list.

The question then became, how in the hell can I make the pink bath at least a bath we could live with and not totally cringe every time I walked in??? Hmmmm.....a challenge for sure.  First step, find a fabric that could bring some tones in that I at least liked: taupes, browns, etc. and incorpate not one 1 but 2 different shades of pink tile.  Easier said than done.  I searched for some time before I came upon a fabric that I thought might do the trick, but finally found one.  The rest unfolds below - before shots remind me of how bad it looked:

oh BTW, I forgot to mention there was also a lovely fake marble laminate countertop

and a 2-tone pink tiled floor.  The room basically screamed PINK when you walked in.

Also an old cabinet and wonky sink.

It was a toss up as to which looked worse, the counter top or the tile.

On second thought, all that pink tile was far worse!

At least the tub and toilet were white.

The last before shot - I promise.

For a woman who hates pink and also has had some pretty fabulous baths in my former lives, I wanted to first show you the true before shots, so you can understand my angst with how can I transform this bathroom, with say under $500.  No gutting for that price, no big change outs for that price....so let the budget transformation begin.

By far the most expensive investment was the fabric for the custom shower curtain.  I figured it was worth the price of about $200 (fabric and labor) to cover as much of the pink as possible?  While the fabric is a bit wild for my normal style, it had all the colors that I thought might just work.  Then I went to my go-to light beige for the walls, to tone down the pink a bit more.  So without further explantation, I give you my after shots.

Do you think the wild fabric is wild enough to divert your eyes from noticing the pink?

Hey, the "wonky" sink is growing on me.

The ugly counter top got a new look with Rustoleum's counter top paint.

Warning: if you use this stinky product be prepared to have the fumes

force you to leave the house for at least a day.

A close up of some "pretties", aka further diverting the eye from the pink tile.

Since this does serve as the children's bath area, a helpful lesson for life is on display.

Note: to the 3 tween/teen girls who will be in residence this summer.....

the "P" is especially for you.  remember the "lighter" you come

to the States, the more shopping you can do while here!

Finally, a shot of the floor.  Per the suggestion of our much loved

Nate Berkus, when you have an ugly floor and can't spend big

bucks, try the new peel and stick vinyl.  I have to agree with

Nate of this one....for $60. and some patience - you can rid

yourself of a really ugly tile.  It made a tremendous difference.



So there you have it.....it's still pink, but a little prettier in pink.  Since 3 girls will be using the bath this summer, I thought to myself, well maybe they won't think pink is as bad as I do.

What do you think????