How to Update Pink and Rose
I’m a big fan of rose – when it has a french accent and is in my wine glass. However, when it comes to decorating, pink/rose can be a tough one to update.
When used as a decorative touch or accent, pink or dusty rose can look feminine, classic, and can easily be incorporated into almost any colour scheme. BUT, those itty-bitty pink parts are not what today’s blog post is about.
Today we’re talking about surfaces that are pink, proud, and too pricey to update!
- BATHROOM FIXTURES
- COUNTERTOP
- TILE
- CARPET
- BRICK
So what do you do if you are STUCK with a pink surface that is too expensive to replace? You keep reading.
Pink wallpaper, tile, vanity and countertop – it’s the perfect 1990’s storm!
Updating Pink or Dusty Rose Using Artwork
Artwork is an awesome way to update a room that has fixed pink surfaces (carpet, countertop, etc…). And while it might seem odd to accent a room with the colour that you’re trying to get rid of, EMBRACING the pink can help it feel more natural to the space. When you fight against it, you may end up accenting it, doing the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you originally intended.
The key is to find artwork that has pink or dusty rose in it, along with more modern colours and neutrals. This is a great way to transition pink into a more modern style, without alienating it.
- Mistana Rose Quartz 2. Summer Bliss 3. Pastel Pink Peony 4. Stone Abstract 5. Fading Flower 6. Into the Cherry Blossom * 7. Evergreens 8. Sylvie Succulent 9. Blush Buds
- #6 is no longer available, so the attachment is to a similar one.
- #7 is no longer available.
Updating Pink or Dusty Rose in the Bathroom
Pink and dusty rose can be found ALL OVER the bathroom, including fixtures (toilet, tub, sinks), tile, flooring and countertop. And while those items can be quite expensive to replace, choosing the right shower curtain can help to update your bathroom for under $50!
1. Sterling 2. Ornellas Ruffle 3. Nemeara 4. Hotel Cotton 5. Charlotte 6. Ivanna 7. Happy Peva 8. Foreside Paisley OR THIS cute one 9. Sanna
My fave of the bunch HAS to be #9. Navy blue, white and pink is a feminine, classic way to update an outdated pink bathroom.
- #2, #3 and #9 are no longer available, so I linked to new, even cuter ones!
Read more: The Best Paint Colours to Update a Pink Room
Embrace your Pink
(just not in public – wink wink)
There’s something about pink that brings out the fun in a room! Pink gives you an excuse to get girly and add some unexpected touches to a room in the form of accents and decor.
1. Within You 2. Flamingo Fever 3. Le Creuset 4. Silk Ranunculus 5. Pink and Teal Hand Towel 6. Canister Set 7. Diamond set 8. Serving Spoon 9. Flamingo Toss Cushion
- #1 is no longer available, I replaced it with a wicked cool abstract!
The Best or WORST thing to do with pink…
If you love pink and want to jack up its volume, then you’ll want to look at colours like teal, blue and green to contrast with your pink surface. These colours create a SUPER dynamic combo and look even MORE awesome when paired with white and black for a slightly more graphic approach.
HOWEVER…
If you are looking to downplay your pink, those colours will ONLY serve to accent it, making it look even stronger and you’ll want to lean toward the more neutral end of things.
The Best Paint Colours to Update Pink Countertop, Carpet or Tile
When it comes to ‘decorating’ a pink room, it’s good to accent with pink. However, when it comes to paint colours, you’ll want to avoid pink like the friggin’ plague!
And because paint colours are a creature unto themselves, I’ve dedicated an entire blog post to the topic, which you can check out here…
The Best Paint Colours to Update a Pink Room
Need HELP?
Check out my affordable E-Design and Online Color Consulting (E-décor) Packages!
Chat soon,
This was great, thank you! Do you think the same neutralizing colors could work with neutralizing mauve? We painted our dining room Benjamin Moore’s Sea Froth. Which is a light mauve at best, purple at worst. Now we’re painting a huge dining hutch and I’d like to pick a color like a dark grey to “hide” the walls a bit…. 🙂
Hi Mavis, thanks for asking! I know, pink and purple can be difficult, but purple is definitely easier than pink so you’re lucky 😉 Some of them could definitely work…Middlebury brown and Whitall brown would work great as they are definitely more ‘neutral’ browns. Deer granite would be great if you’re looking for something lighter as it does have a touch of purple in it already (whereas Capilano Bridge would not be great, although it is good with pink). If I had Sea Froth, I’d be looking at a Charcoal Grey like Kendall Charcoal as it’s a nice solid, dark coloured grey (loooove this grey). Check out these 2 posts to see some dark greys on cabinets….This one is Chelsea Gray, which is gorgeous, but not as rich as Kendall Charcoal https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/?p=3462 This one is Kendall Charcoal on the lower cabinets… https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/?p=16 As for accents, a nice off-white like Cloud White would look great and don’t be afraid ot accent with some darker purple accents with regards to vases/table centers/artwork. If you bring the purple in to the room in 2-3 accents you might find it actually becomes part of the scheme! Also, for Hutch hardware, stick to Nickel or black 🙂 Please let me know if you get this reply so I know that you got it (as some people haven’t gotten the replies…) Have fun 😉
Thank you so much! I’m going to check out the posts immediately. I’m so happy you say a dark gray will work. We were going to paint the thing white, but even while priming it white, the room started to look like a girlie candy store. So we thought a gray would look modern and still be neutral. It’s hard trying to find a totally neutral gray with no undertones…I’m so afraid of strengthening the purple in the room now. Thanks so much for the color suggestions! 😀
Great blog article. I love checking out your website for inspiration.
I have a fabulous pink countertop in the kitchen that I just love, and I am thinking of accenting it with Soleil by Benjamin Moore ( I saw the palette you did for a girls room with waterfall as the main colour and I just love all of those colours, except that I would choose the yellow, soleil, as the main colour). We are also re-doing the railing in the entrance in waterfall so I am hoping it will go with our 1950’s era home. What do you think? 🙂
Hey Jaclyn!!!!
Okay, so Soleil is a wicked colour. Normally I’d say that you totally can’t do pink and yellow for a room like that as in ‘adult’ spaces it can get a bit nauseating, however, you happened to choose ‘just’ the right yellow! (you’ll also notice that it’s VERY similar to Buttermilk which is another great yellow)
I also want you to consider Wheat Sheaf and Antiquity. Might seem pretty mild when compared to Soleil, but what those colours will do is let your pink still maintain authority and allow you to accent with lively pinks, yellow, blue/greens, etc… – without the space just getting too overwhelmed by ‘colour’.
I also looove Waterfall and at first I thought that maybe you could lighten Waterfall a bunch, but then it might kind of look ‘hospitalish’.
Let me know what you think!
Hugs, Ky
Hi Kylie 🙂
I’m just going to have to have you in for a consultation at some point – you are so good and picking colours (And I am so bad at it).
I LOVE vibrant and funky, and I want the house to stay true to it’s 1950’s roots. The colours in here now seem so dull to me (and too dark as well). I like your suggestions, and I will get some samples of them to check out. I also like Weston Flax too (yellow and pretty without being super yellow). And, since we are looking at doing new flooring in the new few years, I am not tied to my present carpet (which I loathe).
The railing is in the entrance way (what we want to paint Waterfall) and the area is pretty neutral right now. The bathroom is off the entrance way down the hall and I thought that we could paint it waterfall too, to tie in to the railing (which Rob is constructing as I type this).
Thoughts? I am thinking of doing a cream yellow in the living / dining / kitchen area since eventually it will be all one room (just one wall that needs to come down…), keeping the entrance neutral with the waterfall railing and bathroom in waterfall too. I think I am afraid of it looking too clownish but I am looking for bright, bright, bright.
Hey Jaclyn! Okay, so I’ve given it some thought and I desperately want you to not paint your railing waterfall. I think we can get waaaay more impact through wall colour AND by painting the interior of your front door – without having to do the railings. Doing the railings I think would look too clownish for sure. We can DEFINITELY make it vibrant and fun and spunky like you – without looking goofy (not that you ever look goofy) You know what I mean.
The beginning of this week is craaazy for me, but I’d be happy to pop by for coffee Thurs/Friday??????
Hi Kylie,
You’re awesome, thanks for being so honest.
Would love to see you when you can. Let me know when you are available and we’ll make it work.
Thanks again. This is why you are the expert 🙂
Love your blog… Sure hope you can help me!! Karen Sparks
Love your blog and have passed it on to quite a few friends. Have learned so much from you. I have those lovely mid- 1990’s cabinets, just like in the first bathroom picture, in my kitchen with black granite countertops. We have an eastern exposure with an overhang porch so the open floor plan kitchen, dining room, living room only gets a heavy dose of natural light in the morning. Would you recommend Sherwin Williams Requisite Gray or Mindful Gray for the walls in this open living area? Both have about the same LRV. I am leaning toward Mindful Gray, but am worried that it might cast green in the late afternoon/evening…. or am I crazy. My family would say yes to the crazy part!!! Thanks so much.
Hi Janice! I’m always hesitant to answer questions without seeing photos, but from the ‘sounds’ of it, you should be okay! You’ll find that Mindful Gray will act a bit more ‘gray’ whereas Requisite has a soft almost purple/taupe look in comparison. If you want me to look at photos and do a proper consultation, it’s fun and affordable! You can check out my packages here if you’re interested 🙂 https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/online-decorating-design-services/
Chat soon,
~Kylie
Hi there,
We recently bought a home that is taupe with a pink undertone. It’s not quite in the budget to repaint the entire house. What would be a good choice for the trim to bring it back down to a more neutral appearance?
Thanks.
Hi Amber! Check out BM White Dove. This is a warm white, but it has a GREAT neutral base. It’s not as warm/creamy as the ever-popular Cloud White – which could look a bit funky with your taupe walls. White Dove might help to shift things without clashing 🙂
Hi Kylie,
Thanks for this post – it was super helpful! My daughters new home has two ’70’s bathroom. A total redo is not in the budget. She will paint the ‘pink tile’ bathroom Light French Gray. Would the same paint color work in a ‘teal tile’ bathroom? Thanks so much!!!
Author
Hi Karen! Light French Gray might be a touch too purple undertone for a teal tile bathroom 🙂
Hi Kylie,
Thank you for your reply! I just purchased your one room package for help with the ‘teal’ bathroom. A quick question regarding the ‘pink bathroom’ – my daughter plans to paint the master bedroom SW Silvermist. Again, the (very small) master bath has pink/mauve tile (shower & halfway up walls). Would the Light French Gray be a good choice or would Agreeable Gray be a better transition color to Silvermist? Thanks so much!!! Love your blog!!!
Author
Awesome, thank you for purchasing a package! Now I wouldn’t do Agreeable Gray as i think it will be too muddy. Light French Gray will be more safe, maybe just lighten it by 25% (or even 50% really). NOw I am just GUESSING as I haven’t seen photos, but it should get you on the right path!
~Kylie
I have what I think is “fawn beige”. Sort of a pinky beige. I painted above the tiles “Lauren Lace” from Olymipic (a very light – ALMOST while lilac toward the pink side) which does look good with the tile. I have no idea what to paint the vanity. I had Willow by BM and I have Manchester Tan now by BM. I embrace the pink and accessorized with a pink and cream shower curtain which I love. North facing room. But that darned vanity…..
Author
Hi Julie! That’s funny, you’re the 2nd question I’ve had about that colour! When it comes to particular tones, sometimes it’s easier to use my E-design, service. This way I can spend some time with your room and see exactly what you’re working with, otherwise, I’m just imagining it! If that interests you, it is affordable and fun! https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/online-decorating-design-services/
~Kylie