Olympia Tile - the colors are the best for retro bathroom renovations!
Mid Mod Pam on Oct 08 2007 at 1:01 pm | Filed under: bathroom, kitchen, tile
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Update April 2008: This “Maple Leaf” tile sold by Olympia has been discontinued. However, I am told there is still stock to be sold off. If you want any of this stuff: Get it now. If your nearest retailer tells you that there is none left or you can’t get it — try another location, as my experience is that you get a different story depending on who you reach. - Pam
I wanted to do a more complete posting on Olympia tile colors - and 50s tile colors in general - after reading something over the weekend.
On an eBay listing that I featured - the Manchu Yellow bathroom suite - the lister mentioned that Kohler had recently reissued some vintage colors. I went online to look, and must say I don’t think much of them at all, they are not true 50s hues. I also went and took a look at the American Olean site, to see if they had anything new to suit retro reno bathrooms; nope. I suspect that Waterworks has some great colors — that that is really expensive tile.
That brings me back to Olympia. I was fortunate enough to run into this company because I lived in metro Toronto a few years ago. When I was reno’ing my three bathrooms, I located a distributor nearby in the states. They sent me the board of colors - which I’ve photographed for you, above. Unfortunately, the company does not have any marketing materials — no brochures, no photos on their website, nothing. Seems like they really only market directly through independent tile stores.
It is well worth the hassle to pursue these tiles, in my experience. Our three bathrooms were originally plastic tile, which had rotted out the shower walls altogether. I had true 50s color schemes originally - pink/green, green/beige. Using different colors from the Olympia palette, I replicated the original design combining 4×4 field tile with contrasting white 2×6s, and by tiling up to the original height of 47″. Finally, the Olympia tile was very reasonably priced. This is not high end. But then, neither were these original 50s bathrooms!
Update: See my newest post — on a company with pink tile in just the right shade. We now have two sources!
And, be sure to see my posts about great shiny stainless soap dishes and other fixtures.
6 Responses to “Olympia Tile - the colors are the best for retro bathroom renovations!”
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[...] tile base built out along one side created for a glass shower door. Use 4-1/4″ tile. Look at Olympia Tiles for some great [...]
Hi - “Kim” left this comment on my former blog the other day. I am re-posting it here as it doesn’t transfer-Pa,:
Thank you SO much for taking the time to photograph the tile board. I was looking for the salmon colored tile to replace a few broken tiles in my shower, but I love the blue so much, I think I might use it instead! Again, thanks. Kim
[...] my 50s bathrooms, the tile went up the wall exactly 47″ — see my tile posts – then wallpapering above this line. A nice mix of textures and patterns and an oh-so-cheerful [...]
[...] supplements what’s available from my other favorite source for retro 50s and 60s style tiles, Olympia Tile (who has great blues etc., but not the right [...]
[...] tiles are fresh and timeless - I used the Olympia Tile Heron Blue in a bathroom, trimmed with white 2×6s. White floor, white fixtures and a wallpaper [...]
Hi, I just came accross this site, I work for Olympia tile and would just like to clarify: Maple leaf series manufactured in Canada as of now is still current, We have also added a new series of 4×4 tile called the color collection manufactured in the US. Olympiatile.com for locations.