The most consistent comment I’ve gotten about this bathroom is…”WOW, THAT’S YELLOW.” And yes, it is indeed a very yellow space. It’s also cheerful, retro, energizing, and absolutely adorable. I’ve written before about why I love the idea of embracing bold bathroom tile, and I’m so glad we decided to do that here.

When looking at ways to make this very 1950s tile feel at home in a rambler that at times haphazardly mixes traditional and midcentury designs, we went with a starkly traditional wallpaper pattern to carry on the history of saying WHATEVER to staying period-appropriate.

Read on to learn more about our design decisions in our yellow bathroom.

Before we get to the current photos, let’s take a walk down memory lane…

This was the photo of the bathroom from the listing, in all its paisley glory.

We lived with this space for nearly a year before updating the wallpaper, hanging up samples on the wall as we went to test out what we thought would work well in the small space.

Then, finally, at the beginning of April, the new wallpaper was installed! Hello from me in the bathroom mirror.

This leads us to today. Below, you’ll find photos and details on our finished yellow bathroom. Without further ado, let’s take a tour.

Here’s what we changed…

Wallpaper

You won’t find yellow in our wallpaper selection, but you will find complementary colors that tone down the bright yellow. I think the pattern provides a bit of a sophisticated twist, something Sanderson wallpapers are known for. You can read more about my wallpaper selection process in this post.

Decor

With the addition of a traditional pattern, we kept the accessories whimsical and on the modern side, like the striped rug and the shower curtain from Schoolhouse. I love how the scale of the patterns complement each other. I also added a couple of thrifted pieces, like the coral decor atop the toilet and the blue Matisse print. I think the playfulness of the blue frame helps pull out the blue of the wallpaper a bit more.

Door Molding

We added molding to all of the doors on the main floor, including the closet and entry door in the adjacent kids’ bedroom. When we moved in the doors were basic and blank, which felt a little unfinished to me, especially given the traditional details throughout the home. Adding the molding helped tie together the architectural details and made the overall design of the house feel a bit more cohesive.

Here’s what we kept the same…

Yellow Ceiling and Door

Honestly, it was purely out of convenience. We know we can change this if and when we address the rest of the trim in the house in the future (more on that below)!

Fixtures

We initially wanted to add a midcentury light fixture to replace the current one, but once it arrived we found it actually worked best in our pink bathroom. We may decide to swap the light and the shower fixtures eventually, but for now, they are not “offensive” to us! And, most importantly, they are in great condition. 

Wall and Floor Tile

Obviously, we kept the wall and floor tile in this space. The flooring is not my favorite part of this room, but since it is the same color as the wall tile, it sort of just blends in and isn’t as noticeable to me. 

Do we have future plans for a phase two update?

Eventually, we may paint this room blue—something that would work well with the existing tile and wallpaper. At some point in the future, we may update the trim throughout the house to help create a more cohesive visual flow, which is when a new paint color would be considered for this room.

This room won’t undergo any intensive updates unless we make bigger changes to the layout of the entire home. This would only happen if we decided to add a second story… a small possibility that would be years down the road!

Product Sources

Wallpaper: Sanderson
Shower Curtain: Schoolhouse

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Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.