A vintage pink bathroom tile mural - incredible
Mid Mod Pam on Nov 04 2008 at 8:00 am | Filed under: pink bathrooms
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for this truly INTENSE decorative remnant from the 50s - in Evansville, Indiana. OMG.
Reader MidModMegg posted this photo from her mother-in-law’s bathroom on the Save The Pink Bathrooms flickr page. She says it’s vintage and that there are several more like it in the neighborhood. And…the bathroom itself is pink pink pink pink everywhere, floor to wall to countertop to fixtures to ceiling. Come on, guys, how can I NOT be obsessed with pink bathrooms. Every time I think I’ve seen the best - another one comes along! Thanks, MidModMegg!!! Now, though, it is your one true quest to go forth and get photos of all the other murals in all the neighbors’ bathrooms. A twist on the classic knock-on-the-door-to-borrow-a-cup-of-sugar, for sure!
Tile on the ceiling… Truly amazing!!!
Wow, a bathroom right here in southern Indiana that looks like it’s right out of Miami!
When you look at the slides in full-screen mode (something I just discovered you can do), you’ll see that the dark outlines are etched into the tiles…parrots AND three-dimensional!
I drool seeing panels like these still in situ. What a great bathroom. That tile panel is shown in the Mosaic Tile Company catalog as pattern 4256. I have had original cartoons for these designs and some of the panels in my collection and for sale, but it’s great to see an original installation. I hope she takes pictures of her neighbors bathrooms too!
That is just fantastic and a great inspiration for how we may spruce up our pink bath! Bungalow Bill - could you please clarify your comment - you refer to a Mosaic Tile Company catalog and pattern - is that something that is production today? (fyi..visited your great website…what a wonderful collection!)
Hey Megg - in what city is this fabulous mural located?
Never mind previous post - I just saw above that it’s in Evansville
sleepingbee,
The Mosaic Tile Company went out of business in 1972 and stopped making this type of panel by 1960. Surviving panels are pretty rare, and ones surviving removal are even more so. Back then tiles were set into thick cement mortar and meant to last forever in one place. There was no thin-set adhesive back then.
One client of mine purchased some pale cream vintage tiles, bought some low fired glazes and borrowed one of my cartoons ( a full sized and hand painted pattern the decorators would refer to when drawing and coloring the tiles) and made his own 144 tile panel of flying cranes. He copied each tile and baked his hand decorated and glazed tiles in the oven. The panel is now installed next to the whirlpool tub. The use of vintage tiles give the installation a built in patina of age, but new tiles could be used as well.
I want to recreate this mural. I can enlarge the posts of the cartoon. What do do I use? Low fired glazes? Do I need a kilm to bake them? Thanks! charlene
Wow! Now I see what all the fuss is about! Charlene, I am going to try painting on tiles too, since I have been collecting and selling vintage tiles on ebay and am getting an entire truckload in soon! Bungalow Bill… correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the use of low fired glazes would enable you to fire this in your home oven. Wow…I might be able to quit my day job sooner than I thought! (Hmmm… two days before Thanksgiving… shouldn’t I be cooking?!)
Obviously the mural is awesome! But I can’t stop thinking about the tiled ceiling and what the acoustics must be like - everyone and anyone would sound like a virtuoso!
Re Low Fire Glazes…
No, these can’t be done in your oven at home as the firing temperature is close to 1900 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, if you get serious about this project - obtaining some plain tile, then applying and firing on the graphics - check out http://www.bigceramicstore.com
Once there, find your way to the “kiln timesharing” section and you can likely find somewhere close by that will let you, for a fee, use their kiln.
If none available in your area, just go to a local ceramics place that has a kiln and ask. More likely than not they’ll be able to accommodate you. Likely lend you some good expertise as well!
Good Luck!