<p>One of our apartments is in the process of being vacated. It was constructed in 1961 and still has much of the original decor (translation: needs lots of work). </p>
<p>One of the bathrooms has tub, sink, and toilet which are an intense aqua/teal color. The room is tiled in off-white to about 4 feet, and the wallpaper above that will be painted over. The fixtures are in fine condition (little old lady has lived there for decades). H and BIL are adamant that the bathroom needs a new white toilet. Contractor (an architect) and I say there is nothing wrong with the one that is there - embrace the retro, especially since the tub and sink have to stay.</p>
<p>I would leave them all the same color. I think a toilet that is a different color will stick out like a sore thumb. The only other consideration is that the white one would probably use less water. But color wise…I vote for the SAME color.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t paint over the wallpaper. Take it out before you paint, or it will start to peel and look horrible in a couple of years, especially with the moisture in a bath.</p>
<p>If the wallpaper is VERY well attached (no peeling anywhere) you might get away with 3 coats of Kilz and then painting. (Yes, I have done this)
Stick with the original colors - someone will love the “retro” look.
There are places that re-glaze (ie: repaint) bathtubs. It can work if you are careful with the tub after that. No harsh abrasives, no suction-cup bath mats, etc. Not something that is likely in a rental.
Go to the gardenweb.com website and ask these questions in the bathrooms forum.</p>
<p>i would take down the wallpaper - it is going to require a lot of work to paint over it and will look much nicer without (if you are able to get it down). keep the original toilet unless something is wrong with it. if you have to replace it, white wont look too bad. My parents replaced a yellow toilet with a white toilet and you don’t even notice it. Now they replaced their yellow sink with a white sink and some day they plan to replace their yellow tub with a white tub.</p>
<p>Remove the wallpaper, embrace the retro. I wish I could see the color! Maybe paper again picking up the fixture colors and accenting with something contrasting, maybe mostly white with some red. Glossy red in a funky pattern?</p>
<p>I once bought a house that had dusty rose/pink bath, sink and toilet. I loved it. It also had turquoise formica or something halfway up the walls which I replaced with off-white tile. Since it is a bathroom, I, too, would remove the wallpaper, but if you don’t want to, I have painted over it with Zinser B-I-N primer (shellac based) and painted with good results. If there is nothing wrong with your toilet, I would not replace it. Sounds awesome!</p>
<p>Depends on the toilet’s condition. If it needs to be replaced – they do wear out – don’t try to match the blue. If it’s fine, leave it. Why go to the expense? </p>
<p>If you do take down the wallpaper (I know you didn’t ask but since everyone else is putting in their 2 cents…), be careful. There probably isn’t the right kind of backerboard behind it so you could be looking at years’ worth of mold. It could turn into a job that you need a pro to fix. Over on the ‘taking first steps to sell house’ forum, someone took down really stuck wallpaper and had to call in somebody to re-drywall.</p>
<p>The first house we owned (built in 1951) had all pink appliances in the kitchen. I spent so much money keeping that vintage pink refrigerator running, and finally had to let it go.</p>
<p>disclaimer: My wife never likes my volunteered opinions. She also never like my opinions even when she asks me. :(</p>
<p>When we redid the bathrooms: Contracter said it would be easier and cheaper to place wallboard over the vinyl bath wallpaper. Painting over textured coated wallpaper doesn’t work either. </p>
<p>Our old 5 and 3.5 gal toilets were not very good. 2.5"tank trapway, 1.5" toilet flush (water swirls around and around in the bowl) and had poor glazing (got unsightly marks- you know the kind). The new 1.2 gal flush does a much better job-and we don’t clean them as often.</p>
<p>I would replace the toilet. While the sink and tub can look retro, an old toilet just looks old. There is something rather gross about a very old toilet - this particular fixture should be clean and sparkling. A new toilet will brighten up the bathroom, and the increased efficiency will also save water. Painting over the wallpaper may not be a good idea - it should be stripped first, especially in a humid environment such as a bathroom.</p>
<p>I agree with others who suggest taking the wall paper off. It is a terrible job to remove wallpaper that has one or two coats of paint on it. Re worries about mold, you could carefully lift a corner and peer under the paper to see what you have. If some of the sheetrock paper comes off when you remove the wallpaper, you could use an initial base that is extra thick to cover imperfections. I’d also leave the toilet. I find the new lower gallon toilets tend to block up.</p>
<p>well I am biased, I have that same aqua/teal/blue tub, shower, toilet and sink in my bathroom. I replaced everything, walls, counters, flooring in a variety of clean crisp white options. I love the combo, looks very retro and spa like. With some wood and textures(basket, plants, etc) it warms up. Pile of fresh white towels… Embrace that retro!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I think I am going to try and get some photos of the room when the tenant lets us back in, and pm them to some of you if that’s ok :). </p>
<p>H and BIL are the types that think everything should be neutral, neutral, neutral. They paint everything in sight bone white, and put in neutral carpets. Any anomaly is dealt with harshly, as they have the philosophy that no one would rent a place with a non-bone white surface. Bad news for aqua green toilets :(, but I’m working on it. Love the “spa” image - something to shoot for.</p>
<p>I agree with the poster that said that a colored toilet doesn’t look as clean as a white or bone one. We have had pink, blue and gray toilets over the years and non of them ever looked as nice a our white or off-white ones. I would find a toilet that matches the tile and leave the sink and tub. And I would definitely either remove the wallpaper of cover with backerboaord. A previous owner had painted wallpaper in one of our bathrooms. I didn’t know and our painters painted right over it again, without telling me it was there I might add. Within a couple of weeks, the paint started to peel. It was a mess and I had to strip the wallpaper and have the room repainted.</p>
<p>To me, a lot would depend on how repairable it is. If you can’t get parts or another mechanism to replace the innards, I would replace the toilet now while the place is empty, because the Law Of New Tenants states that at least one thing that worked perfectly for years will break within a week of a new tenant moving in. Especially if it’s been babied by a little old lady.</p>
<p>If you have to replace it when the new tenants are there, it will be a much bigger hassle and probably cost you more because you have to get it done <em>right away</em>, especially if other problems are uncovered during the removal of the old one.</p>
<p>Plus, in my experience, tenants like new things, it shows the landlords care about the place and aren’t slum-lords. Even if it means the color doesn’t match, new is better.</p>
<p>Finally, if the old one is not a low water toilet, the new one will eventually pay for itself in water savings. If the mechanism is old it is a lot more likely to leak, which can cost you a <em>lot</em> of money. Tenants tend not to complain about a toilet that runs, and it can cost you hundreds per <em>year</em>, and years can go by before you find out. Been there, done that.</p>
<p>Retro blue toilet and shower in our master bath. It will probably go…eventually.</p>
<p>I am (at least) one of the folks from that other thread who is peeling bathroom wallpaper. With my fingernails. Literally. The scrapers gouge the walls, even with proper prep. Original owners did not prime the walls before putting up the wallpaper, so the wallpaper is glued to the paper surface of the sheetrock/drywall. Will be getting someone to skim coat the walls when I am done, as there are lots of places where the drywall/sheetrock covering has ripped.</p>