Should this mid-century pink bathroom from the 1950s in Brighton be saved?

The bathtub in our rental home sprung a leak.

After sending a plumber over to fix the leaky valve for our tenants, I started to ponder whether the rest of the dated pink bathroom should go as well. After all, we are replacing the bathtub. It would make economical sense to redo the rest of the bathroom as long as we were already ripping a portion of it out.

Searching online for ideas on what do to with a 1950s pink bathroom, I stumbled upon a retro craze to save these relics.

Inspired by first lady Mamie Eisenhower who adored pink, the bathrooms were built by the millions in the 1950s and 1960s. They were found in the homes of that era: ranches, Capes and split-levels.

In the ensuing decades, home buyers took hammers to demolish them. But now pink bathrooms are experiencing a renaissance thanks to people who are drawn to other mid-century styles in architecture and design.

There's even an entire website and Facebook page dedicated to preserving the pink retro darlings. Pam Kueber started the websites savethepinkbathroom.com and retrorenovation.com after she bought a 1950s ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts.

According to the the website SavethePinkBathrooms.com, at least five million pink bathrooms were built into the 20 million plus homes built in the U.S. from 1946 to 1966.  The color was known as “Mamie Pink”  as Mamie Eisenhower was pivotal in popularizing the color.

Note that there is only a movement to save the pink bathrooms, not other classic 50s colors like turquoise, chartreuse and candy-apple red.

The rental home we own in Brighton is a two-bedroom ranch style built in the 1950s with the pink bathroom perfectly intact. Perhaps I've stumbled on a retro gold mine, I thought. Should it stay or should it go? I posed the question on my personal Facebook page and received over 200 responses. Apparently, pink incites much passion for and against its demise. I noted in my question that I don't have to live in it or look at it, I am only interested in return on investment whether we have to seek another tenant or sell the home down the road.  

"Let it live. Pink don't stink!" wrote Rochester developer Patrick Dutton.

"Many people love retro and value original finishes in houses," wrote Cindy Boyer of the Landmark Society. "You have one of the best tile sets out there. It has value to a future buyer. Update whatever fixtures you want so it doesn't look like the room has been ignored or neglected all these years. But keep the tiles. Once it's gone it can't be undone."

"Omg it’s ADORABLE!" wrote Brighton artist Kelly Cheatle.

But not all were enthused with retro pink. Most of the Realtors who commented suggested a more neutral approach.

"For re-sale value I say re-do this bathroom," said Jamie Seibold, of Howard Hanna. "Most buyers are not on board with the "save the pink" campaign. Since you've already re-done the kitchen in an updated modern way, it doesn't make sense to leave this retro bathroom, they don't go together."

"Definitely redo it for resale value!" wrote Alan Wood of ReMax Plus.

"The new color is gray," wrote Lou Alaimo of ReMax Hometown Choice. "It is now the fan favorite for buyers. Retro is a preference not always a great selling feature."

Should it stay or should it go? The opinions are evenly split, with both sides making good arguments.

Mary Chao is the real estate and retail reporter at Democrat and Chronicle Medai Group. Her weekly real estate columns appear Saturdays in Real Estate and Rental and online at DemocratandChronicle.com. Email her at mchao@Gannett.com