How to find vintage bathroom sinks, tubs and toilets
If you are looking for mid-century bathroom fixtures — tubs, toilets, sinks, shower doors — the most likely places you are going to find them are onn (1) your local craigslist or (2) your local Re-Store / Habitat for Humanity or other local salvage shop. The easiest and cheapest route is going to be to BUY LOCAL. You can see the stuff first-hand, so you know what you are getting, and you won’t pay shipping — you will haul your treasure away in your own car. Be sure to practice smart safety habits when buying from craigslist — see their recommendations.
If you can’t find what you are looking for locally, there are other options as well. Retro Renovation’s Steel Kitchen Cabinet Forum also has a spot for “Other Stuff” including “Bathroom Stuff.” And, intrepid reader Scathing Jane posts there almost every single day.
Jane looks at Craigslist listings from all over the country and loads up some of the best. Case in point: Look at the vintage American Standard bathroom suite, above, with its swoonable sweet Cinderella tub. And the tile to the left – there’s 38 s.f. of it, posted by Jane last night. Hint: It’s easy to see what’s new on the Forum every day. Register. Then, after you log in each morning, just click the spot along the top Nav bar just above Mr. Cabinet Man that says “View New Posts.” The Forum remembers you and only shows you messages since you last logged in. Thank you, Jane, and others of you who post often to help out other readers.
The farther you get from home (craigslist, Re-Stores, or other local salvage places), the more expensive finding vintage bathroom fixtures is going to get. And that’s before you even have to think about shipping and crating. That’s because specialty places are likely to pick up only the best-of-the-best, and to do that, they also have overhead to cover. If you are on a serious search, though, you might also consider this list of potential sources, which I will add to over time. Two salvage places with online stock include:
- deabath.com
- historichouseparts.com
There are surely other salvage places that will deal with you online, but these are the two that I am most familiar with. Note: We have not heard positive things about reglazing.
Related posts:
- Vintage 40s and 50s kitchen drainboard sinks In response to Friday’s post on the patriotic 40s...
- Pink and gray bathroom: Jane’s retro renovation construction zone SCATHING JANE IS READER OF THE YEAR — not because...
- Vintage Villeroy and Boch pink bathroom Hi Pam, I saw this at my local architectural...
- How and where to sell your vintage metal kitchen cabinets Do you want to sell your old metal kitchen cabinets?...
- MIB 1963 Welbilt stove at the Re-Store in Alexandria, Va. Tina spotted a vintage Welbilt stove – mint in its...
My aunt has some 1978 bright pea green linoleum, similar to those tiles, on her floor in her dining room and kitchen, mint condition, I swear I’ve never seen linoleum in the superb condition it’s in after 31 years of daily use but she managed to pull it off (with 3 boys to top it off!)
Gerson’s, in Tucson, has a wide selection of vintage colored toilets, some sinks, and a few bathtubs. I bought an aqua toilet there five years ago; finally got a sink to match earlier this year.