I came to Kentucky two weeks ago to visit family, and about a week in, we decided to do a gut-renovation of Mom’s bathroom. The key goal was to replace the built-in tub with a walk-in shower.
I’m of a certain age, so that means Mom is, too. It was time to add grab bars and make it easier for her to navigate her small, 1974 bathroom. In addition, the plumbing had been leaking and the tile was shot — the bathroom had completed its life’s work. My blog is not about preserving Everything. When it comes to many kitchens and bathrooms of past eras, if they have seen hard wear, were of dubious quality, or are just not functional for your needs any more: Give thanks for their long, loving embrace… and let them go.
Mom was really excited about getting a new bathroom. She is the #1 fan of my blog and loves to tell me stories about growing up in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania… and then, as a young married in Southern California in the 1960s. Aside from some groovy original lighting fixtures in her 1974 house, there is not much else that screams “1970s” … and she didn’t want to do her bathroom in that mode anyway.
Mom was decisive: She wanted a black-and-white bathroom reminiscent of her 1940s youth. Was this choice foreshadowed by the vintage hat we played with when we went antiquing in Louisville two summers ago? Mom in hat, above. Tee hee.
I jumped at the chance to be her interior designer, and when I came back from Louisville Tile (thanks, Kirby and Travis) with American Olean 1″ hexagonal tile — white with black dot — paired with the 3″x6″ AO artic white subway tile, Mom was equally decisive in saying, “That’s exactly what I want.” I showed her 4″x4″ squares, too. But, she was gaga about the subway.
Oh. Did I mention: Our goal was to gut and renovate the bathroom in 7-10 days, max. Since this was a spur of the moment project, we were faced with two significant, extra degrees of difficulty: (1) I could not ORDER anything that required more than a few days of delivery time. Everything had to be stock. And (2), We had to make decisions FAST. No gathering of 372 possible combinations of this and that agonized over, for weeks that turn into months. We had to decide Everything and get it into our hot little hands in like, 3 days.
The AO tile shown above — was all in-stock. So this was our starting point. The hex tile would go on the floor and into the shower pan, with sanded grout. The subway tile, on the shower surround and walls. I will add, straight up: I would have preferred the Florida Tile subway tile, which was a bit creamier white. But we were concerned the delivery time required might have slowed us a day or two. Besides, I would have had to run to Louisville Tile to grab a sample just to Be Sure. So we said, “The Arctic is Just Fine.” The first agonizing decision averted, with only minor agony. This was a new experience for me.
Now — the rest of the stuff. We needed: Trim tile to jazz up the subway tile… a vanity… a countertop… sink… toilet… storage cabinet… lavatory faucet… shower fixtures… shower shelves…. grab bars… towel and TP holder and robe hooks… lighting… exhaust fan… paint… grout color… window treatments… towels, rugs… art and accessories. I am a design blogger, I better make it look good. Gulp. Fortunately, my Aunt Mary Anne is a design whiz and spent about 30 hours of the 72 helping me reason through the choices. We had a blast.
But, it was not easy to pull together everything so fast. This week, I will write about the 72-hour scavenger hunt through Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and online for Every Product required to coordinate and complete our 1940s-style Retro Renovation bathroom for my first and most important client ever: Mom. Then, the big reveal: The bathroom is supposed to be finished this Friday!
Hilariously, that is exactly the tile combo in our bathroom that we took our sweet, sweet time renoing here in our (le sigh) 1985 house. I love it! Maybe I’ll take photos today so your mom and I can compare notes.
I used that exact hex tile on the floor when I redid my bathroom. When my grandmother saw it, she gasped “IT’S BEAUTIFUL!” Then she went on to tell me how much she hated her modern vinyl-that’s-supposed-to-look-like-stone kitchen floor that my aunt picked out.
The resemblance is amazing!
Best wishes-but we all know you can do it!
Those are the exact tiles I’m using in my new-build cottage, along with vintage American Standard Regency Blue toilet and sink and a black trim. My new bathroom should be finished soon, but not Friday!
Hi Pam, I just went through a full bathroom remodel when we bought our 1942 Bungalow and it sounds very similar to what you are doing! Black and white hex floor tile, white subway tile with black trims all around the whole bathroom and tub. I’m excited to see what yours will look like! Let me know if you are interested in seeing pictures of mine.
Good luck!! I know you can do it and will be waiting anxiously all week for the big reveal! By the way, I love that part of Kentucky. We like to go down there to hit the bourbon trail and stay in some of those sublime b&b’s. I also found one of my greatest treasures in a thrift shop in Elizabethtown. It was a lovely framed copy of the famous “Chinese Girl” painting by Vladimir Tretchikoff, better known as the “Green Lady” or “Blue Lady”. It was only $13.00 (!!!!!) and hangs proudly over our fireplace. Have a great (busy) week in KY!
That is awesome! Can’t wait to see the progress pix. We are getting a completely new bathroom in our new-to-us house, and have to decide what all we want in it next week. This will be a lesson to us. They took out two and a half baths in rental units in the garage that I wish could have been just moved to the place I want the new bathroom, but sadly, they could not be saved, all tiled in showers and 60s fixtures. We did save the fixtures, but not the tile.
You and your mom are a team who cannot be beat! I can’t wait to see the results.
That’s the same wall tile and floor tile we used in our 1947 bungalow. We went with a grey grout – Delorean Grey. I absolutely love it! We gutted and remodeled in 10 days, so it can be done. Looking forward to seeing the completed job!
Crystal, do you find the gray grout helps the floor feel cleaner looking? I love and want to use the black/white hex, but I worry that it will look dirty so quickly with just the smallest particles of grass, hair, smudge, etc on it. Any words of wisdom?
Anyone else that has used it care to comment pro/con?
I’m so glad we went with the grey grout, it doesn’t show the grime at all. It’s a nice complement to the black and white.
Wel….at least I’m getting my FLOOR finished this week! LOL How many months have we been without our main floor bathroom?
You could get 162 more bathrooms done in the time it’s taken me to do ONE!
We are in month four of our 2nd bathroom gut and remodel (in pink, white and black) so to hear someone can do it in 7 – 10 days seems remarkable. Can’t wait to hear all the stories that come out of this project and see the finished bath…which I know will be awesome! Good luck! Sounds like you’re working hard, but having a ball at the same time.
We’re finishing a 1928 bathroom using that exact same black and white hexagon tile on the walls of a bathtub shower combo, but punched out 150 of the black tiles and replaced them with gray and white tiles of the same brand so the design wouldn’t look so ‘dizzy’ on the wall…..
what *lovely* tile! it would certainly be my second choice (right behind my dream penny-round bathroom floor).
looking forward to hearing more about how this goes – when we redo our bathroom it’s going to have to be quick like that as it’s the only one we have! and, oh, how it needs a good gutting…
Pam, you’re just amazing! I devoutly hope you’re calling in help for the actual labor.
I love the tile and I’m sure your other design decisions made along with your aunt and mom, will be equally sure.
Can’t wait for more info – and the reveal!
please take lots of pictures. we are redoing our downstairs in a similar style and its a little daunting.
We gutted our bathroom–all the way down to the studs–in August 2009 and redid it in black and white. It is our only bathroom, so the project had to be completed quickly. Decisions that had been made over the years by previous owners, as well as wear and tear, necessitated starting completely over. We managed to get everything done, minus the painting, in 7 days. My husband and I worked 12 hours a day most days to accomplish this. But, it was worth it!
We went with white 4×4 tiles for the walls and shower, and the floor is a tiny black and white tile mosaic. We actually considered the hexagon type like you are using but wanted something a bit more modern. We didn’t order much of anything; almost all could be found locally. We used grey grout; it looks terrific. One thing we did alter is that instead of using the built in spacers on the wall tiles we used tile spacers for a wider band of grout. I ended up painting the walls Paris pink. We kept the original medicine cabinet. We spray painted the frame black to match the black tiles. We did order the light fixtures online, but they arrived within just a few days. Oh, and I bought a discontinued style of towel racks on eBay and saved about $150 this way. I love our bathroom; it has a vintage flavor, but still looks updated.
I can’t wait to see the pictures. That’s going to be a pretty darn fast redo!
Oh, and I love that hat your mom is wearing!
That hex tile is popular around here, isn’t it?
We used it on the floor of our master bath in our recent addition to our 1958 tri-level. On the shower and tub walls are white, coral, and gray 4×4 and subway tile in a diamond pattern. Our vanity, sinks, tub, and medicine cabinets were all 1940s/1950s salvage (off craigslist), so the effect is — hopefully — a brand-new bathroom that (in the words of one of my neighbors) “looks old, but perfectly-maintained.” Well, that was the idea. Someday I will send Pam some pics!
Oh, and we used a light gray grout, too, on the floor…I find it’s fairly easy to keep clean…
I can’t wait to see the reveal!
Pictures! Before, During & After.
I have found that your first choice is almost always the best. If you stress too much over a decision it’s usually not the best choice.
I’m sure it will turn out perfect!
Pam, i love your blog and this week especially have really looked to it as inspiration as we just gutted and redid our bathroom last week in a whopping 5 days, it was day 2 I started having a meltdown after we found out we had to do major repair work on the subfloor under the tub which was totally rotten,and then replace the window which also had about fifty years of horrible water damage! We also went with a similar black and white pattern with the subway tile and it has turned out be just wonderful but the whole time I just kept looking at the blog and reminding myself it would be awesome when it was done, the only thing left is wallpaper, and we found that on your blog too, the awesome Sanderson mobile patten! Thanks so much for having such a wonderful wealth of info and ideas!
Oh, Bridget, that wallpaper had me “thisclose” to going that route. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I’d love to see photos!
Though I’ve just started commenting I’ve been reading this blog for years and like everyone else I think the choices are excellent and suspect Pam will wrap this up early.
Good luck Pam – we’re almost temporary neighbors while you’re in Etown, only 100 miles or so, I’m in Evansville, Indiana, howdy neighbor!
Wow, that’s quick! But it’s inspiring – we’ll be building an entire house next year, and if I took weeks to make each decision, we would be building for years…
Pam, you can get it done! I have faith. My best friend and I gutted and redid my bathroom in 8 days with me working full time and then working until 2am each night. We would start as soon as I got home and we replaced a window with a smaller one, did some smart tiling with the subway tiles, did gridded floor tiles, redid plumbing and wiring. I shall send some pictures for you. I didn’t know before this project that all the cool tiles are special order and not available at your fingertips. I live in Portland no less and they don’t stock the Daltile in the huge warehouse! I finally finished off the bathroom with a Crane Drexel sink most recently.
GO PAM!
I love the hexagon tiles.
I also used those same tiles for the floor and the subway tiles for the shower/tub walls, I found some georgeous ‘Sea-glass’ green glass tiles to add to the border in the shower and painted one wall the same light green but carried the black throughout with accessories. I was told at my tile store that that was a very outdated floor style and that I would hate it very soon, I am so glad to see that not only was he wrong but that there are many more people out here who love this besides me.
The only thing I didn’t like about this floor tile was that it did not lend itself to adding a roll of radiant heating under it, but other than that I absolutely love it.
Good job Pam, if anybody could do this in the time aloted its you.
@Traci- when I went to the tile store, I was told the exact same thing!
I love hex tile. My mom has a house she bought with a bathroom floor in yellow hex tile with green hex tile “flowers” (like clusters of six green tiles on yellow tile background) and she hates it – it’s old, you see – but I adore it.
Now I want my “flowers” but in black and white! Damn! That looks really good.
Welcome, Josie. We considered making some “flowers” but because of time constraints, I choked. TOTALLY do-able with this tile: All you need are extra black hexes! You can also play around and make a “rug” in front of the vanity or wherever, out of the dark hexes.
Your mom’s remodel sounds very much like the one that we are getting ready to do–I have more time than you and wondered how happy you are with your tile choices? Anything you would change?
Hi Cathy, I did several other stories on my mom’s bathroom, including things I’d change: http://retrorenovation.com/?s=mom%27s+bathroom