Pink Tile: Remove, Redecorate or Paint?

Discover your options when you don’t like your pink bathroom tile. Learn how it’s possible to tile over tile, but it’s a big job — and how decorating to minimize or compliment the pink tile may be a better bet.

TOM IN NORTH CAROLINA: Yes. I recently purchased an older home and most of it was updated but it still has the pink tile in the main bathroom and I …

TOM: You just can’t stand that pink, huh, Tom?

TOM IN NORTH CAROLINA: No, I’m afraid not. (Tom chuckles) Is there anything I can do to update it, short of ripping the walls out and starting all over?

LESLIE: Would you recommend, Tom, putting tile over the existing tile or do you think that’s just not a good …

TOM: No, you could. You can tile on top of the old tile if you don’t want to do the tear-out but it’s a big job. But listen – and I know that we’re probably not going to be able to convince you of this, Tom, but sometimes – when was this tile installed? Is it a really old house?

TOM IN NORTH CAROLINA: Yes.

TOM: The tile is probably well installed. It may even be mud walls. Are they – is it a fairly thick tile coating?

TOM IN NORTH CAROLINA: Yes, it is.

TOM: You know, I’ve got to tell you – and you’re going to hate to hear this – but I would really think about some inventive ways to decorate around that color. You know, you could just change the – you could do something on the floor; you could put laminate flooring down on top of whatever tile floor is there.

LESLIE: Yeah, you can go with like a wood-look laminate or even a bamboo-look laminate, just to warm up the space and sort of …

TOM: Exactly.

LESLIE: … you know, contrast to that pink and make it actually work.

TOM: And if you don’t care what it looks like, give some thought to how you can decorate it in the meanwhile. What you might want to do is, you know, pick up some different colors of paint; go ahead and experiment with some paint colors. You know, if you don’t care the way it looks like while this process is going on, pick up some laminate flooring boards, lay those down to the base – you know, use your imagination. I really think that there’s a way to make this work.

LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And if your bathroom is well-ventilated, you can go with a vinyl wallpaper, like a wall covering and you can pick out something in like the beige/brown/gold tones; something neutral – something even in like a woven look that could work really nicely with the pink, because pink really warms up and looks super-friendly and attractive when you go with the browns and the golds.

TOM IN NORTH CAROLINA: OK. We’ll try some wallpaper and laminate flooring.

TOM: That’s right. It’ll match your bellbottom jeans too. (Leslie and Tom in North Carolina chuckle) Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.