I was just looking at the ADA approved higher toilets at Lowe's this weekend and the prices are very reasonable. One was $99.99 in fact. Costco has one for a little over a hundred. Just nice basic low flow dual flush toilets.

Sorry, I didn't read all the comments.

I would keep the pink toilet and convert it to low flow. It is pretty easy to do and you aren't adding to land fills.

Here is a link that might be useful: converting to low flow

Gerber does still make a pink toilet; I used the white version of this one in a recent renovation, and am quite pleased with how cleanly it flushes. It has a "compact elongated" shape that uses a longer elongated bowl and seat, but doesn't protrude into your bathroom any more than a smaller round-bowl toilet does, a feat made possible by a tank that is quite thin front-to-back. If this isn't the configuration you need, i think they have other models with different lengths, heights, or drain rough-ins that are also available in this color.

I'd go for the cheapest one possible to satisfy the man, then put the good one back in once they're gone.

Good to know about the upcoming increase in supply of cool colored toilets! We'll probably be unrenovating two of our bathrooms within the next year and a half and would like to go ming green in one / blue in the other.

The Gerber does seem like your best option here.

BTW, I love vintage tile. Love color, yes, even the brown. Don't know if our bath ever had color tile since many homes in the neighborhood did. But DH said if we ever put color tile back in that means we are not moving.

White would work since you have white cabinets. Bone would work since you have bone tiles but might be good idea to take a sample tile for more accurate matching. I've had to replace bone and not all bone color are the same

I'm glad to see Gerber still makes their vintage colors. I was really disappointed when Kohler dropped Innocent Blush and restricted Ice Grey earlier this year.

I think what Marcolo means by white being a bad idea is this, if I can put words in his mouth:

The white will clearly be a replacement
It will be the only white fixture in the room.
White doesn't necessarily "go with everything" if there is nothing else white in the room. Neutral just means that it would look better than a completely different actual color like green or yellow.

The white will only emphasize the other colors and probably not in the most flattering way. At least a toilet that matches or blends will look like the rest of the room.

i know this is off target but. if you want to increase your options for toilet colors,i'd paint the walls a complementary color. easy and cheap. a light lavender or light green wall will tie current colors together and you can expand your new toilet color options. break from traditional colors and explore.

Glad to see some people are interested in color. I consider myself fortunate that in renovating a powder room a few years ago, I was able to get Kohler Tea Green for a pedestal sink and toilet, and used white tiles with green glass borders for the floor. Very subtle and beautiful, I think--and I see that this color is off the radar now.
I also have another powder room with matte navy tile--and for sure, a navy toilet. I have never understood why putting in a white toilet against a dark ground was desirable--who wants the focus on the toilet! I've had that scheme for at least 20 years and it still looks great.

Quite so, palimpsest. I was especially thinking of the last point. Lots of people with vintage bathrooms try to use white paint or fixtures to "tone down" the old color schemes. It just emphasizes them. And it's less about looking good than about sending a message: don't blame me! See, I woulda used white!

Nope.

Based on your pictures, I believe your toilet and sink are Kohler's Mexican Sand. A color quite popular in the early 70's. You can still purchase toilets in this color and toilet seats also. Kohler also offers this color in high efficiency toilets.

With a new matching toilet, a much better seat, better paint than white for this room, you could have years of service in a quite charming bathroom. You might want to change out the lighting or the light bulbs if it's making your fixtures appear pink instead of Mexican Sand.

Top post said it's not Mexican Sand and that that color looked awful with the pinkish sink and tub. Mexican Sand is a current Kohler color and doesn't have any pink in it, it's sort of a light brown.

" And it's less about looking good than about sending a message: don't blame me! See, I woulda used white! "

I think that's part of it, yes. Kind of like "I'll make the One Part I do "correct" and maybe you'll forgive, or not notice the rest.

That's part of much larger discussion, but compensating for things you don't like in your existing décor schemes by trying to ignore it or do something completely different rarely helps and usually only serves to highlight the things you are trying to "cover up". It's usually better to go with it on some way and blend things together if you are not changing the basic things that you think are flawed.

Not related to the pink toilet, but here's info about the California law. Any remodeling, e.g. windows, will require installation of a low-flow toilet.

Here is a link that might be useful: CA law

Thanks!

It's not Mexican Sand, but I really had hoped that would work. It looks great until you put the two together. I think the photos look a little browner than in person. The toilet is American Standard; the tub and sink are about the same color but may be a different brand. They were installed in 1955. I forgot that there is yet another shade of off-pink in there: the tub surround. So maybe I don't need to be that particular with the precise shade of pink, but a classic clean pink might not go. Betcha there's a heck of a restocking fee on a pink toilet. :P

To clarify, the bathroom is in great condition except for the painted surfaces. I won't be redoing the tile or tub. The walls and vanity paint (and light fixture and faucets and grout) are the parts I haven't gotten around to redoing. And even though it's not my first choice of colors in a retro bathroom, I love the style and don't want to modernize it anymore than is necessary.

Right now the room looks sad because of the wall color but because that DOES need to be changed, I can try to minimize the impact of an incorrect toilet.

Good to see Gerber does still have the pink in some styles! I had probably seen the round-front models being white only and not looked at the elongated. Still looking for samples though! (Also have to see if I can get away with a straight 1.6 gpf or if I'm limited to the 1.28 HET models.)

I think its going to be really difficult to match that pink. I think I'd do white, and then put up a nice shower curtain to tie the colors together.

P.S. We also live in California and had to do some crazy things in our remodel, but replace the toilet wasn't one of them. I think because there are no HETs that could simply be inserted in place of the existing one, which has the stack coming out of the wall behind the toilet. We did have to replace every single electrical outlet under 52" with tamper-proof outlets.

With one that isn't pink.

The existing pinks already don't "match" so I think that doesn't matter.

In the actual time these bathrooms were installed there seemed to be a fair amount "acceptable mismatch" or leeway.

I'm wondering if, with the right lighting a brown wall color would look nice.

Agree with Lilylore, convert the existing toilet to low flow if it really is that simple. It goes with the rest of your bath. If you do want to redo the bath at some point, I think it would be best to figure out that whole plan before you start making other changes.

(Yep, California is like this but enforcement can vary depending on location. Do any kind of permitted work and the inspector might be through the house checking your CO detectors, etc.)

On the bright side, the pink Viper is available in an HET model. On the down side, I've already trained my kids to avoid rattlesnakes before squatting (what kind of a name for a toilet is that!!?????).

SJ, that's weird about the outlets. Must be a local thing? Sheesh don't give my city any ideas. The building department surprised everyone on my project by requiring a soil test (for a one story addition in a suburb that hasn't shifted since it was built in the 1950s). They'd love the outlet thing!

The toilet requirement is new for 2014 so maybe you missed it?

Oaktown, my city is the worst ever (or best). They won't miss it. And they won't allow the retrofit kit. We already had to do the CO detectors when we replaced the roof. Not that it's a bad thing, but still! They looked for them again when we replastered the pool. They do not check the batteries.

I don't want to redo the bath until it is unfixable so I'm willing to spend some to get the potty right. I think it has another 50 years in it. Right now it is ugly because of relatively easy things to fix, like walls. I'll look into browns for the walls. One reason I didn't get them painted already is that I can't come up with a good color. Or good wallpaper. :)

fori-
One thing missing in this whole discussion of toilet color is toilet performance...especially with low flow toilets. For example, one of the first things I did after I bought my current house was to replace all the Gerber toilets that had to be plunged about once a week. If you end up replacing your pink toilet, do some research on how well the new candidates are reported to perform.

How about one of these Thibaut papers?

This first is Tea House, this is Coco

Consider this option: There are businesses that paint/refinish your tile. You can find them on line. Lowe's sells a do it yourself kit. The professional will do a better job. I've used the do it yourself kit, it's okay.

I have changed this color in one of our baths to white with the porcelain paint. We did the wall tiles and tub surround. I bought a new white toilet. Voila. It was a cheap, easy update to an extra bathroom.

The tub is beautiful, does the sink match it?

If this were my house, and the tiles were in good shape and I was not willing to replace them I would look into painting the tile. Ideal would be to redo the tile in something else but if you aren't willing to do that then look into painting the tile.

The tile doesn't match the sink and tub and those are the charmers in that bath. Go with painted tile to match the toilet, so pick a toilet color you like, bone or white and match the tile to that.

Then the walls can be something that coordinates with that.

This eliminates the need to match the toilet to the existing pink fixtures and allows you to blend it with the tile. Gives you flexibility in wall color. Preserves the beautiful pink tub.

As a counterpoint to this, though, I had the professional refinishing done by a well known company and it failed almost immediately. And the tub was in worse shape because after I stripped the coating off with paint stripper (it came right off) the porcelain was etched as a part of the process and was no longer shiny. I have used a couple of bathrooms with the refinished tubs that have held up but I felt like I was standing or sitting in a painted tub, not on a porcelain finish. I did not like the way it felt.

Personally, I would rather use a tub in good condition that felt like real porcelain in a color that was unusual than I would something that looked or felt like paint or a plastic liner.

The pinkish Gerber toilet Lee676 posted looks like a good match. Still, if you can't find a pink-brown to match, I'd paint the cabinetry a soft off-white with brown/red/pink undertones to go-with the tile and fixtures, then find an off-white toilet that somewhat matches the paint. The trick is finding an off-white/bone toilet that has the correct color base -- if the color is wrong (with a greenish or yellowish base to the color, for example), then, I can see the same thing happening as with the Mexican Sand, ie, no match. And, if that happens, you're probably better-off going with white cabinetry and toilet.

I grew-up in a home that featured similar fixtures -- one bath had pink fixtures along with black and grey tile, and another bathroom had pinkish-brown fixtures and tile. In both cases, especially the pink, black and grey room, the wall paper pulled it all together. I LOVE Palimpsest's paper suggestions!

Also, somewhere along the line, my parents replaced both original toilet seats with newer seats that never quite matched their respective toilets. Having the seat match the rest of the toilet -- whatever color it is -- will help "blend" the fixture into it's surroundings.

I guess, this is the long way of saying: match the new toilet to either the existing fixtures or the painted wall/cabinetry color, being sure to keep it all within the same color family (in this case, brown, red, pink)

Thanks for the suggestions. The current toilet actually isn't a great flusher, although that may in part be due to user error (or negligence).

I love those papers, Pal! They'd probably look really good. They also look too nice to be scrubable. Did I mention this is a kid bathroom and there will be toothpaste flying? I haven't looked at papers with a brown background for some reason but now I will.

If the pink toilet doesn't work out, I'll try to blend in one and wild wallpaper would make that easier. So the toilet seat should match the toilet? I did notice that seats are still made to match my pinkish toilet. I guess plopping a pink seat on a bone toilet won't quite do it huh?

On the bright side, I discovered that the "new" toilet in the house is only a 1.6 gpf so I can flush my Toto goodbye without guilt. I loathe that thing, and considering I have an orange portapotty in my driveway, that's saying something.

No need to paint the tile. If I didn't like it, I'd replace it. I'm not keeping it to be cheap or even "green". I like it even if it is a tiny bit icky.

The fact that it is a kid bathroom opens the door to all sorts of fun possibilities!

They are vinyl coated and wipeable.

I've installed two toilets myself. It's easy.

So I would would buy the cheapest code-meeting toilet I could find at Lowes, and my bathroom would pass building inspection.

After that, my bathroom might reacquire the original fixture.

And when I was selling, everything would meet code again.

And the original fixture would be left in the garage for the new owners.

Just saying.

Palimpsest nailed it. Great job.

Wow that's one amazing bathroom!

Re: Gerber samples - if you can't obtain one through nearby vendors or distributors (or directly from the company), you could always buy a set of Bahama Pink bolt caps for $8.90 including shipping; these are genuine Gerber OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts so the color should be the same.

You can also do a Google image search on gerber bahama pink to see photos of other installations, which are inconclusive as some look pure pink and others the pink/beige you're looking for.

I hope you are able to embrace the colors you have, and I agree that a white toilet would stick out like a sore thumb. Lee676's suggestion would look great, in my opinion. In another house, I had very similar tile colors, and used wallpaper to tie it all together. I love that Teahouse wallpaper, and I've used Thibaut paper many times. It always wipes clean.

I might do that, Birdgardner. I just might...

I'll have to get some wallpaper samples and see if there's enough vinyl in them. Thanks for the suggestions. I remember when there were wallpaper stores all over...

Very nice, Coll! The before wall color in that bath wasn't helping, although it was cheery enough.

That's a great idea, Lee. I can even try them out on the current toilet, because it's missing them!

coll 123, STUNNING wall treatment and bathroom! And, I stand corrected about matching toilet seats to fixtures -- the black seat that matches the new legs on the sink in your room works. lee676, buying the bolt caps to test for color is a great suggestion.

I looked at the bolt caps on the Gerber Viper commode I have; they're plastic, but they match the porcelain color reasonably well given the material and gloss difference.

By coincidence, the circa-1950 pink sink in our soon-to-be-remodeled bathroom is made by American Standard and i think is tne same color as yours. Your tub is also from American Standard - I recognise that style from several bathrooms I've worked on. Here's the corner tub version:

This photo I found online shows the difference between Peerless and Gerber pink - they're similar, but not identical.

Another color matching route - you can order chips, $5 per color, from Bemis, a company that seems to have a monopoly on toilet seats (they also own the Church, Mayfair, Westport and Olsonite brands, one of which is sold at HD, Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ace, and just about every other home store. I had no idea these were all the same company). The colors are matched to fixtures from most of the plumbing fixture manufacturers

Here is a link that might be useful: 98 seat colors

If you need to buy the seat separately anyway, perhaps a Bemis seat in Swiss chocolate to match the other tiles.

Thanks, trinkette. The original plastic seat was a slightly different shade of lavender, so we went with dark walut and tied that in with the sink stand and a few other things.

Yay! Another pink toilet saved from destruction! There's a thread over in the old house forum about someone trying to GET BACK her pink fixtures that were sprayed white ... just because the seller's realtor thought she should. And that's all refinishing is really - scuffing the surface and spraying on an epoxy paint.

Anyway you're on the right track - color is all about what other colors are around it and reflecting off of it. What looks like a pukey fleshy pink with the right colors around it will look like a beautiful coral-ish pinky brown. Can't wait to see your after pics.

Thanks for the encouragement! This bathroom should be fun to do. I don't know why I keep finding other things to do first.

Technically, this pink toilet is slated for destruction. It can't be legally installed in the state and I'm not willing to truck it away. Or plant anything in it. :D

This color might actually be "Bermuda Coral" and not old-school Crayola "Flesh".

Want to have everyone in the hardware store laugh at you? Go in and tell them you need a pink toilet.

I ordered the Gerber. It was expensive. And they wanted payment up front so they wouldn't be stuck with it. Can't blame them.

The new bathroom will have the same tile pattern as that pink one, but in different colors. The sink and potty will be white.

That's kind of awesome. My dd would love your pink potty.

My son & DIL bought a house recently with pinky beige bathroom fixtures. My DIL painted her bath a muddy greige color with subtle green undertones (sometimes looks grayish, depends on the lighting). I'm surprised how great the fixtures look with with the wall color. She added chocolate brown towels & brown shower curtain, and they work well too. We were both leery of the color when the sample went up, thinking it might be muddy & blah, but for lack of alternative, she used it anyway. It's turned out to be a great neutral: calm, contemporary, and very clean looking. Greige with green undertone sure rejuvenated those old pinky beige fixtures. (The next time my DIL speaks about color, I'm listening -- this gal is GOOD!)

I hope you post photos when your new toilet is installed - I think it is a great choice and agree that a while toilet would really stick out.

I had the same tile in my kitchen in Venice (CA) that your vanity has, and that house was built in 1953. The sink was white, but then there was no tub or toilet to match to, and the cabinets were white. I had a vintage white stove originally from the 1950s that I had to replace because it was not fixable, and I replaced it with a SS stove because I was tired of white.

Lars

You must mean this, Lars! :)

This is an almost original kitchen in my subdivision. Apparently they didn't make pink kitchen sinks! (This is east SF Bay area.) The tile team for this builder were excellent.

If anyone wants my pink toilet, it's free. I won't ship it and I won't clean it but it would be nice for it to have a home.

Your pink toilet cannot be legally installed in the state? Well, sometimes one must commit acts of civil disobedience for the greater good of humanity. I'm only being half- facetious here!

Yes, that is exactly how my kitchen counter looked, with the diamond pattern square tiles (same color as shown) and the brown trim. I was never exactly sure what color the trim was and made a color sample of it when I went to choose flooring. It's not a common shade of brown as it appears to have very slight purple tones to it.

My cabinets looked like that too, except that they had been painted white.

Lars