Palm Springs Stephan finished his bathroom – it looks great! – and sends us this complete report, which includes a couple of new sources that I for one need to check out:
Dear Pam,
Your posting regarding sink legs reminded me that I needed to send to you some photos of my bathroom, now that the remodel of it is complete and the wonderful sink legs you sent to me are installed.
I am including a few “before” photos as well as a few “during” photos, in addition to the “after” photos. I will split them up into several emails.
The bathroom started out with a hideous mottled green tile and green fixtures in a shade that reminded me of a hospital from the past … in a bad way. It was sickening. And much as I love metal cabinetry, the existing “Vani-Lav” made the room feel smaller and more cramped than it already was. And the 1970s acryclic countertop with molded-in sink was awful. It all had to go.
So I gutted the entire thing, to the wall studs and sub-flooring. And I did this while already living in the condo! I do not recommend that, as one must then rely on the kindness of neighbors for showering and serious toilet matters and empty paint cans for less serious relief. And if one is as unlucky as I was and the contractor suffers a stroke during the project … actually keeling over IN the bathroom while installing concrete backer-board! … the whole process can get delayed far longer than expected. I was without a functioning bathroom for over a month.
I wanted desperately to do the bathroom in classic 1950s true pink, not “rose blush” or one of those beigey-pinks that were common in the 1970s. I searched for about three months without finding fixtures in a true pink, however. So I instead settled on a great matched American Standard set in blue posted on eBay by City-Girl-In-The-Country, a wonderful dealer in Antrim, New Hampshire (citygirlinthecountry.com). The set was date stamped: the toilet was manufactured on 11 June 1958, and the cast iron tub on 25 March 1958. Since my condo building was constructed in the summer of 1958 and I was keen to do an authentic restoration, the dates were perfect. The set cost $400, with an additional $800 to ship it in two wooden crates from New Hampshire to Palm Springs.
Removing the existing tub and installing the new one in such a small space was a MAJOR chore, one that I do not recommend to any but the most adventurous. But while removing the old one, we found newspapers from 1958 that had been stuffed into the wall for some unknown reason. That was entertaining!
The tile is a combination of two brands. The walls are Dal-Tile 4×4-inch high-gloss glazed porcelain in Arctic White with 6-inch black trim pieces. The floor is in a pattern that one of your contributors had in her all-original 1950s bathroom, and she had sent in photos just in time for me to duplicate the pattern in my own bath. The Ocean Blue and Black tiles are 1×1-inch Dal-Tile Keystone Color-Body porcelain, while the white ones are 4×4-inch Interceramic matte glazed ceramic tiles. The floor grout is Polyblend Sanded in a color that I mixed myself from two standard colors, Captain’s Blue and White, to match the fixtures.
The ceramic accessories, including the three soap dishes, toothbrush holder, and toilet roll holder, all came from Eclectic-Ware.com. They matched the Dal-Tile Arctic White perfectly and are authentic 1950s shapes.
You were kind enough to locate a set of sink legs and attached towel bars at a local Re-Store for under $20 and send them to me. I had them re-chromed at Palm Springs Plating for about $400. And while that may seem pricey, they did an outstanding job of removing the pitting and restoring them to “like-new” condition. I was and am very pleased with them, and they generate lots of comments, mostly gasps and dropped jaws and “OMG, I remember those from when I was a kid!”
The other hardware … tub/shower faucet and handles, shower head, and hand-held shower attachment … are Kohler’s Memoirs Classic line. Solid, heavy, and well made, but far more expensive than I would have liked. But the line has matching accessories … for a price! … so I was able to get a matching wall-mounted towel bar and glass shelf for above the toilet. Caution when buying Kohler hardware: the stems will not adapt to non-Kohler valves. I had to replace the tub/shower valve within the wall before I could install the Memoirs hardware, at a total cost of over $800 for just the valves and new copper piping. The actual Memoirs hardware, includuing matching towel bar and glass shelf, came to over $1600.
The mirrored cabinet above the sink is another eBay “find.” It was in mint condition and did not require any restoration, and it was inexpensive. The shelves along each side provided a great display space for some of my 1950s toiletries, all purchased on eBay, of course.
The light fixture above the mirror came out of the apartment I had just moved out of. The landlord there wanted to remodel and modernize the bath, removing all traces of 1950s design and replacing it with modern beige cultured stone (sacrilege!). So I “appropriated” the light fixture when I moved out, with his permission.
The other decorations and accessories, including the pink Detecto bath scale and chenille bath rug and toilet lid cover set are from eBay, of course. The Irmi children’s step-stool is from my own childhood. “Wash Hands And Face And Do It Well, When You Step On This Carousel.” The Palm Springs poster is a modern reproduction that is sold here in PS, giclee on tin, of a poster from the 1950s. It features tourists in and around a swimming pool with the legend “California’s Hot Spot! Palm Springs. Discover a new life … vibrant, gay, relaxed … Plan to visit California’s Desert Shangri-La!” Because I ended up with blue fixtures, I decided to design the bath around the poster. The photo above the toilet, another eBay treasure, is an original 1950s American Models Guild black-and-white of two physique models perched on the side of a swimming pool with aluminum lawn furniture visible in the background. I’m still looking for more poolside photos from the 1950s, but they are rare and unexpectedly expensive when they do appear on eBay.
The project took longer than I expected and cost far more than I had anticipated and budgeted, but the end result is much better than I could have imagined. I am really very happy with my little 1958 bathroom.
Stephan
So I also quizzed Stephan on the hunks in the photo above the toilette. Could those be naked-nudies? Stephan advises:
Yes, they are naked men, posed without the “boy bits” showing. The photo is an original from the late 1950s or very early 1960s, back when physique magazines served prurient interests under the guise of “art” or “physical culture.” The legal catch was that no genitalia could be shown. If you want to get some idea of the variety of such photos and magazines available in the 1950s, do an eBay search under the keywords “vintage beefcake photo” or “vintage physique.”
Oh how I love retro renovation, there is always more to learn around every corner… or in this case, behind every bathroom door. Thanks, PSS, you are the best!
Maryanna says
The tile work you did on the floor leaves me utterly speechless. It’s amazing.
Felicitations! 😀
Cassidy says
Any way you would sell that step stool carousel?
chriss says
Wow, Stephan! Great job. It’s so nice to know I’m not alone in this great big crazy world in wanting to “retro-grade” the bathroom, and really the whole house! You are considerably further ahead of me in the project but I bet I’ll end up spending less! I am SSSOOOOOO cheap!
kristinski says
That is fantabulous! I hope Palm Springs Stephan believes the old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, because I am stealing that entire bathroom! As soon as I find a sink and toilet in a color I can live with (aqua, pink, or yellow) I’m copying it all! I have been looking everywhere for inspiration and this is it. It’s perfect. So, someday Palm Springs Stephan’s bathroom will have a “sister bathroom” in the heart of the Midwest. Thank you so much for giving all of the details for copycats like me.
p.s. I agree on the “no wallpaper” choice.
elvis says
Wonderful! That floor is absolutely perfect. I so appreciate your color choices: keeping with the shades of 50’s colors, but also combining the pink, blue black and white to make everything snap!
Palm Springs Stephan says
I know I’m the odd man out in saying this, but I am not a huge fan of wallpaper, especially not in a small bathroom. Nonetheless, my original design, Pam, included a great bathroom wallpaper from Second Hand Rose in New York. On their website, it is catalogued as “Bath F-130.” But when I called to order it, they told me that it was $225 per roll !!! Cancel the wallpaper! Instead, I may try to hand-paint the same design onto the walls someday, after I’ve finished remodeling the rest of the place.
Sleeping Bee, the next major project is the kitchen. Powder coating the original metal Columbia cabinets, replacing the Formica on the countertops, pulling up the modern sheet vinyl floor and putting down squares, restoring the remaining original appliances and replacing the new refrigerator with a restored ca 1958 model. I will send photos to Pam when it is done, but that will be next spring sometime.
And thanks for the compliments, guys!
Bob says
Definitely not the odd man out on wallpaper. I can’t stand the stuff. The little old lady who owned the house before me (an Oak Ridge flat top built for the Manhattan Project) must have had a deal with the local dealer – there were layers of it throughout the house. I’ve owned the place for close to five years, and I’m still peeling it off. I’ll never put the stuff up myself.
pam kueber says
Be careful what you say, this is wallpaper-lovin’ territory.
sleepingbee says
Nicely done Stephan! I’m so proud that my bathroom floor helped you create this masterpiece. FYI – one of the wallpaper vendors that Pam has sent us has an adorable wallpaper with flamingos. What’s your next reno project??
Mid Mod Pam says
Hey Stephan,
I also meant to ask: Do you think you will add wallpaper?
MidCent Keith says
So fresh and clean looking – no longer any need for the little air freshener thingy next to the comode in the “before” shot (hilarious). Great job on getting everything to work well together and having a little fun with the accessories too!
nancyb says
Gorgeous!!! Very sleek, and totally vintage looking. I can’t believe all the work you did! You are so talented! Seeing the one “after” picture before reading the article, I figured that the fixtures and flooring were original, and you had just spruced things up. Great workmanship and aesthetic… Congratulations!