Uploader now closed. Thank you, readers, for all the photos of your bathrooms — 171 in all, and lots of fantastic references and ideas here!
Friday on the blog I showed you a video of my beige bathroom tile with white bullnose. My tile is new, but it replicated the look of old. Above: clg1977′s “recently refreshed” master bathroom, just uploaded — yum, I have vintage liner tile envy.
Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read my captions… move forward or back via arrows below the photo… you can start or stop at any image:
I just uploaded a few from our recently repainted and refreshed master bathroom. We LOVE the vintage blue tile and found a nice shower curtain and rug at West Elm that really complement the vintage tile. Unfortunately, we have one broken built in soap dish that we’re hoping to one day find a replacement for…
clg1977, I love your bathroom!!! What brand and color is the paint? Also, have you tried Chippy at World of Tile for the replacement soap dish?
Or Re-store, our local ones often have the ceramic ones. I’ve even seen them in the Salvation Army (canadian version of Goodwill) before!
Thanks! Actually all of our bathrooms (we have 1.5 more) have the original tile. Our first floor half bath has salt and pepper blue tile with coordinating baby blue sink and toilet.
The paint color is Behr Ultra “Toasted Cashew.” It’s a little warmer than boring old beige and, I think, looks very nice with the blue.
Thanks, clg1977 — great wall color!
I agree; it’s awesome!
Christa, I ADORE the olive tile! Adore!
Thanks, Pam. You have a rare ability to appreciate some pretty unique things, ahem
. Also, note, that isn’t a bad photo. The entire bathroom vibrates with an olive-y light.
And Kevin, you know I LOVE LOVE LOVE the orange tile. What a great peep at your house!
Thanks Pam…it is indeed a very special house! Lots of orange!!
Sometimes something is so overwhelming you just have to embrace it. That’s how I feel about my olive tile and sunlight yellow bath fixtures. I did quite a bit of repair to keep the tiles going for a few more years and painted the walls to match the yellow fixtures. I don’t know when the bathroom was redone this way but I am guessing the 70s.
This is perfect timing Pam, thanks!! During our recent reno we found out our original master bath is apparently “beyond repair”, even after chopping giant holes in the wall to trace the pipes the leak eluded the plumber
So, it’s great to have a mini database of appropriate designs to try and re-create the look in our new and improved shower.
Hey, Jim in Seattle with the green tub: would you recommend your tile guy? Someone went a little crazy with a bath “remuddle” in my 1942 Cape Cod in Ballard, and I’m contemplating a retro retrofit!
Kim,
He may be getting out of the business, but if you want to give me your e-mail address, I can check with him and let you know.
Jim
Tanya in Minneapolis, I love your mosaic tile floor! It presents so many different options for paint/decor.
I guess the word that comes to mind is “swoon” when looking at these photos! So many great colors and textures….My perpetual construction zone bathroom wouldn’t qualify, though my tub enclosure in mint green/brown trimmed tile with “sundown” flesh toned tub might qualify. Oh, and the double swan etched glass shower doors…..
Jeff, I think you’re referencing my shower door. Double glass etched – I assumed the second I saw them that they were flamingos, but Mr. Wonderful pointed out they were not, so did some research. They are Herons. I love the way the manufacture made it really ‘feel’ like you could sense the water they are standing in.
hooray! I’ve got pictures for this one!
Yummy. It’s all yummy.
I hope to upload mine later today, but my favorite so far is the renovation where they “added an electrical outlet.”
I have two bathrooms from 1954, one sea green, the other beige gold. The only electrical outlet in both is up in the light fixture!
I absolutely LOVE all of the bathroom photos! Our main bathroom is tiled in the little “chiclets” and I mean tiled, every inch of it, even the ceiling! I believe it was done in the seventies and I was amazed to find out that my cousin has one just like it. It is a lot of tile to take in and I am just glad that it is off-white so anything goes with it. Sadly, you cannot hang anything up on the walls. I do have a couple questions. Our tub is not rusty but is very worn and I like the old style of it with the curved front, as are some that are shown. Did anyone have their cast iron tub resurfaced? I am wondering how that works, if it lasts, and how it is cleaned. And I noticed an early photo has the original medicine cabinet with side lights just like mine, and just like mine, the plastic light covers have yellowed. Does anyone know if they can be lightened or restored to their original opaque color? Thank you all for posting the wonderful photos!
You can’t see the tub in my photos, but we had the tub reglazed when we updated the fixtures. We used a local company/franchise. This was Jan 2007 and it has held up very well. You do have to be careful with using non-abrasive cleaners (we use Scrubbing Bubbles as they recommended), and they told me no hair dye. Definitely no suction cup mat either because that will pull up the surface. They put a clear nonskid pad in for us, which you can’t even see but definitely feel. We couldn’t use the tub for a day. SInce this is our only tub/shower that was a small inconvenience.
Thank you! I love the tub itself but the surface of it is another story! I am definitely thinking of having it resurfaced, and since we need to tear the walls down for tile replacement, it would be a good time for it. We would be without it for probably more than a few days; it is our only tub/shower. But it needs to be done!
I had the same problem you do gsciencechick. Loved the tub but the finish was shot. It was hard to justify tearing out the walls and tiling a new surround around the stained, dull tub. I looked into “reglazing” which is just painting basically. There are a few of different paints that people use and some are better than others. Acrylic urethane, polyester urethane, modified epoxy, and epoxy urethane are the most common. Of those the Acrylic urethane is supposed to be the best.
There’s one other refinish option available to you since you’re tearing out the walls, but it can’t be done “in place”. You can have the tub powder coated. This entails removing the tub, having the existing porcelain surface prepared either by sandblasting (lightly!) or acid etching, then having a new finish shot and baked on at a powder coating shop. When I looked into it the cost was comparable to the finish in place guys and you get a much thicker and more durable coating on the piece than you do with spray in place. The finish is also “most like” your original porcelain in that it’s baked on, albiet it’s a plastic resin that’s baked on at about 400 degrees whereas the original porcelain is glass baked on at a much higher temp.
The downside of this method of course is that you have to remove the tub in 1 piece, then get it back in. A cast iron tub weighs 300-400lbs? Here’s a tip: you can probably find a local moving company that will send 4 experienced guys out with all the gear to get the tub in or out for about $200.
Anyway, to wrap up my story, I opted to powder coat. The spray in place guys promise a 20 year lifespan but many people I talked to said 5-6 years was more common. I just couldn’t see tiling in a tub that might require a $500 repaint every 5-6 years. If I were not redoing the walls it makes sense but as a “generational” solution I don’t think it does.
Anyway, to wrap up my story, I got the tub out I sent it to be prepped at a sandblasting shop, but the minute I walked in there I knew they were screwups. Being in a hurry to drop the tub off before a 10 day trip I ignored that feeling and sure enough, those… (can I say asshats in this forum?) put “the new kid” on my job, and he blasted the tub beyond repair thus ruining it. The powder coater estimated that it would take him 50 hours to prep it back to a paintable state and it still might not look right, thus I’m now the proud owner of a brand new 66″ kohler dynametric tub.
Right, we were not taking down the tile surround or drywall. We will have to do that eventually, but the tub finish still really looks great considering this the only tub/shower and it’s been over 5 years. I just wish the tub were longer as I’m short and I can’t fully recline in it.
Many homes in our neighborhood have pink and other color tile baths since they were built from about 1959 to 1969, but either our home didn’t get one, or someone took it out.
Just get a new tub.
Could you use those Command Strips to put things on the wall. The ones I have used have held up well, though not in a wet environment.
As to restoring the plastic, maybe you could try the stuff that is used to restored plastic headlight lens covers. I would try a tiny bit on as inconspicuous spot as possible first.
http://www.autogeek.net/lenshowto.html
I second using the headlight lens cleaner. I used to use the Novus cleaning/polishing suppies, but on another discussion board someone showed catlin plastics cleaned up with the headlight lens cleaner. the results were incredible, and the cleaner was cheaper than Novus, and a little bit goes a loooooong way.
Try Brasso on the dingy plastic. I bought one of those headlight kits for $20, and right before I was going to do it, my brother in law said it would be way more abrasive than Brasso, which would do the job. Sure enough, he was right! The Brasso took the yellowing away, and did not damage the plastic as far as I can tell. Give it a shot before purchasing an expensive headlight kit.
I have a post on true reporcelaining.
Oh WOW! Everyone’s bathrooms are just lovely! The ones of you with original tiles, sinks, surrounds, are so lucky! I adore the pink and black bathroom (someone’s grandmothers), AND most especially enjoyed viewing the corner sink, with ‘flesh’ pink tile and mint green! Lovin’ it all!!
Working to get pics of mine as I type!
Yeah! Glad to see other blue bathrooms! I just uploaded my pics of my beautiful blue bathroom – aka Coco’s drinking fountain. My accessories are fish/bubbles chalkware, lefton pixie trinket dish, and my prized tissue holder with the cigarette burn on it. I loved all the pictures.
I could look at these beautiful bathrooms forever. Who decided colored tiles were a bad thing?! I especially love the multicolored bathrooms – colorblocking before the fashion world had a name for it. Good jobs done by all!
Wow, the white MCM apartment bathroom is spectacular! Huge!
I love everyone’s bathrooms!
Glad you like it. I’m afraid my pictures don’t do it justice. It’s definitely what sold me on the apartment. Were I the owner rather than just a renter, I’d add some color to the walls. The only change I requested was an ADA-height stool since the original was very low to the ground and presented a risk to my elderly mother. I, too, love seeing all the photos of these beautiful baths and am so glad that people choose to live with history rather than remuddle.
Pam,
I just uploaded 4 pictures of my gray and mint green bath. I am looking for a mint green sink but haven’t been successful in my quest yet. I am also trying to decide what style tile to put on the floor as i have linoleum now. I had to replace the soap and tile bar due to they ripped the original ones out to put up the hideous plastic wall liner (in olive!). All in all I think I did a great job considering I had no tiling skills to speak of.
Just wanted to add that my mom has a 1949 ranch with a blue and black tile bathroom. Her bathroom floor had the same 4 in tile on the floor!
I loved looking at all the pictures of everyone’s bathrooms!
Jacque
The first idea that comes to mind for your bathroom floor, Jackie, would be a random mosaic with gray speckles. I’ll have to hunt around to find a link for you to consider. Daltile may have just what I’m thinking of.
Pam,
I love mosaic tile and can’t wait to see what you have in mind! I really h*** [edited] the linoleum! I tried to pull up the edge of it to see if they might have left the original floor but the glue they used would not budge!
Jacque
be careful when you pull up old floors — there can be vintage nastiness in the tiles themselves and maybe even the adhesive. consult with a properly licensed professional to get your layers tested before you decide how to handle.
Pam, three of the photos won’t come up for me, #38, #67, and #98. I don’t know if it is me or they didn’t upload correctly. I just love looking at all these bathrooms. I noticed #55, Erin’s blue bathroom, has the same floor tile as WAS in the 1950′s motel that we stay at up in Bucksport, Maine. Our room had pink and black tile and this same pink floor, but after a few stays, we arrived to find that the floor had been replaced. The owner said no matter what they used, it just did not LOOK clean so they decided to replace all the bathroom floors in all the rooms. All the rooms have different colored bathrooms in mint green, yellow, pale blue, and pink and I was glad they kept the black and pastel tile but I can understand the need to have the floor look clean. It just made me so sad. They have also been replacing the original beautiful sinks and I am hoping to snag one on our next visit!
the files are probably too big. this is why i ask readers to set their cameras on medium, max. too many photos for me to go in and fix any…
Forgive me for posting off topic but WHERE’S HANNAH? I noticed the beautiful flamingo shower door and when I was going through craigslist yesterday, I found a pair of flamingo pictures up for sale. Elena had posted photos of hers and Hannah said she loved them and wanted some like it and there they were! I did post a link to the listing in the OTHER VINTAGE STUFF forum. Hope it is OK to mention it here and that Hannah doesn’t miss this. Someone should grab them up; they are in Mckeesport PA and maybe the seller will ship them elsewhere.
Hi Janet! I DID see your post yesterday AND I replied – I don’t see it now. Must’ve been eaten by the intra-net. I’d also shared a link to a neat flamingo paint-by-number on Etsy.
I thank you for thinking of me, and those pictures ARE fabulous! But, not in the market at this very moment. That’s a great price for the pair too – but trying to sit on my ‘buy now’ hand for a couple of weeks – not sure how that’s going to pan out though.
Thanks again, Janet…
Good! I am glad you saw them and I know exactly what you mean about avoiding the BIN! Maybe someone else will snap them up!
Janet, and Hannah—THANK YOU, I have just “snapped up” those Flamingo prints! I’ve been searching for months after seeing similar prints in one of the time-capsule houses featured on RetroRenovation, and couldn’t resist checking these out after seeing that neither of you were going to get them.
They are a 3-hour drive away, but we are going to make a 2-day mini-vacation out of the trip this weekend, as they are very near Pittsburgh, a city I enjoy visiting.
Thanks so much for mentioning them!!!
There are some real beauties here, but Tanya, I dig your 1961 mosaic tile floor absolutely the best!!!
Picture #20, from Jeanne –
What do you suppose the thinking was back in the day that towel bars were hung INSIDE the shower? Ours had two, we removed them both (as they were added later with a different tile) and just use the pieces (that are adhered to the original tiles) that held the bar to hang my scrubby loofa things on. *shrugs*
Hannah, maybe the shower bars were for hanging wet washcloths or to drip-dry clothes (remember those?). We could use them today for my husband’s swim trunks and towels several times a week.
Hi Jane,
Yes, I surely remember drip-dry clothing but I don’t recall it being hung out in the bathroom. More likely outside? Baby boomer here, so I think I’d recall if that was the function.
I’m thinking this is more of a 30′s/40′s/50′s throw back for some reason?
Hi Hannah. I’m thinking people took more baths than showers? So the towels didn’t get wet? The house I grew up in (1952/pink & black bath) also had a towel bar in the shower area. I use mine to set my bottles of shampoo and conditioner on it. The balance perfectly.
Hi Jeanne -
Well, when I think about it, when the option to shower came along over a tub bath, it was a welcomed change. A quick and easy way to wash off the days work. The water from the shower would totally wet any towel. And, if it’s just for “wursh rags” (as my grandmother would say), then it’s a bit of wasted space. Yes? No?
Maybe Pam can do some research on this oddity of the 50s/60s bathroom design feature. I know our 70s bathroom (house built in southern CA in the mid 60s) didn’t have this feature.
We have towel bars in the bathroom in both our houses, 1964 colonial and 1963 time capsule.
There is too much beautiful stuff here to remember but I love, love, love that blue tile with the pinecones on it.
Which pic is it? I scoured them all and nothing jumps out that has pine cones. Off to look again.
Hannah: Right now, the picture is about #76. It’s not a full room shot but a close-up of blue tile. It’s sweeeeet.
Thanks! That is the master bath in my soon-to-own house. We close next week.
I’m not sure how I want to decorate this one. I almost want to do a rustic-y 1950s camp feel with gingham curtains. The other bath is pink and I found a vintage looking tablecloth with cowboys and cactus that I want to make into curtains..
Lynn.
I think that sounds like an awesome plan! Your new home sounds just wonderful!
Wow Pam you really set yourself up for a working weekend – having to edit and size all of these wonderful pictures but I hope you realize how helpful this is. Not knowing what to do with my peach & blue tiled bathroom (#s 31 & 32) is what brought me to your site in the first place. You’ve helped educate me that peach tile is not a bad thing and in fact is part of the integrity of my house. I even when ahead and wallpapered one wall in the bathroom. Thanks for the education and entertainment!
I don’t size any of them!
Never mind – found it! Totally cute.
I love these photos and am so thankful to have references! Just 2 weeks ago, I decided to remodel my small powder room in the vintage theme. The hunt has been on!
I decided on Daltile Aqua Glow (a five week wait), white and black tiles and just cannot wait to get this started!
Thank you for posting my bathroom photos, Pam! (Bird & Ernie’s 1948 yellow and black). It took me a while to love this bathroom– a minor remodel helped. Ernie hates it. If I gave him a green light, he would take a crowbar to that tile.
When we bought the house, this bathroom was a true time capsule, and even I (a vintage lover) couldn’t live with certain elements. So we updated a few things, including the new black quartz countertop. Although the black quartz looks good with the tile, it shows every soapy water spot…oops. Strangely, the hardest thing to find was the right shower curtain! I tried several and finally hit upon the right one: an open mesh of black and gold metallic thread, which lets light into the tub area. The decorative vintage items are a Turner cockatoo airbrush (in cheap plastic frame!), a plaster cat head from Miller Studio, two MIJ wall pockets and, sitting on the toilet tank, a Sascha Brastoff bowl in the “surf ballet” pattern.
Great bathroom and I really like the sconces.
I really liked your bathroom colors and think that the new countertop is a nice way of integrating new with old.
I posted this under Pam’s video so it may be showing up twice if Pam doesn’t delete the other one. Duh, gotta wake up. Anyhow, here it is:
Lots of great new pictures this morning to moon over! I love the multi-colored floor tile in the bathroom Chaz has. Do you happen to have found any extra tile, any color? And whoever has the step up shower they are thinking to remove, let me tell you that you can’t find that tile. My bathroom that is tiled wall to ceiling has that bad back wall and we can’t find that anywhere. So if you rip yours out, we need that off-white tile to fix it. Our only other option is to fix it with other color tile we can find and make it multi-colored. In the meantime, we are living with plastic taped over the two huge holes. We have the same cast iron contoured bathtub as is shown in the Ming Green bath. Again, we don’t know if we have enough of the tile to repair the floor if we replace the tub. We did find some white and some of the black floor tile in the attic, but it isn’t enough for major repairs. I am not averse to mixing the colors; I think it is a wonderful look and fortunately the bath and fixtures are entirely white so anything goes. So if anyone has any of those little “chicklet” tiles, I need some! Once that is done, I need to figure out what to do with the ugly oak vanity replaced in the seventies.
Hi Janet – If you are referring to the step-in “roman tub” with the 1 inch tiles, then I will say that you are welcome to them if we decide to take them out. I just don’t know what to do with it. It’s not really functional as a tub, since it’s uncomfortable and doesn’t hold heat. It works fine as a shower, but IMO it is “aesthetically challenged”. Then there is the “brick” floor and the “acorn” tile counter…
Kae, that’s the one! If you do rip it out, keep in touch! Since we don’t know what to do with our tub walls yet, it may be some time before we fix it! I am thinking of doing the multi-color thing with a few different colors here and there, but I don’t know where to get those either, unless someone who does tile work has a stash of them! Always so much to think about!
Shane, I love the cube windows in your shower wall! Beautifully done! I am getting so eager to fix my bath now. It has been in limbo for years and I am getting so many ideas. It is so bad, I wouldn’t even consider sending in a photo even though the fully tiled room is so unusual. I do have the towel bar in the tub area too but it doesn’t bother me, being on the wall opposite from the faucets. I will have to say that one on the long back wall probably wouldn’t matter because our water pressure is so low, it practically only dribbles from the shower head anyhow! And I have to say how I laughed over the short walls hiding the toilets. When we were looking for our first house, my mother’s main concern was that you couldn’t see, or hear, the toilet while in the kitchen or dining area. That was a big turn-off for her so I see the point of the little walls; she most definitely would have approved! That little wall is so old fashioned for sure. Once again, thank you all for the great photos.
Thrifty gal, love your sink and the soap holders with the angels in them! I have been curious about something since we rented a house in 1991 while building our last house. One bathroom in that house and quite a few of the bathrooms shown here have a large empty space under the counter next to the vanity. One photo shows a scale in there. What was really the purpose of this space? For a wastebasket or laundry basket and the scale or maybe a short vanity stool? I have always wondered about that; it seems to show up quite frequently in bathrooms of this era.
I think they were dressing table space. The Mrs. would have a vanity stool that tucked underneath … pull it out … and do her hair and makeup.
Pam, that is what I thought too! Yesterday at the chiropractor’s, I saw the perfect short little stool to roll right under there! I can just see a cute little tilting mirror on the countertop!
Yup, I have vivid memories of my grandmother sitting on her little gold pull-out stool in the pink bathroom of her 1955 ranch in Wauwatosa, WI, doing her hair and makeup with a mirror that sat on the countertop. The memories are made much easier by the fact that the house was purchased a few years ago by a dear friend of the family. So it is still “in the family” and is the house we stay in when we go to Wisc. Our friend does not have a stool there, but every time I go in the bathroom, I can still picture my grandmother sitting there…
Thanks Janet! Those little Christmas angels get replaced by cute fish during the rest of the year
I love the shade of the aqua tile in the mackay bathroom…wish I had that shade blue, but they didn’t have it at b&w.
The bathroom sink in our 60′s home is cracked. We need to find a source for 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 pink cap tiles and field tiles so we can remove the sink and redo the counter top.
Michael, see my category Bathrooms/Tile — I have numerous stories and resources on where to find this. Good luck.
Many sincere thanks to Kate H. who posted the picture of the enclosed master bath shower (image 118).
We had this (almost) exact shower in our late 60′s home in Ft Smith, Arkansas. I have been scouring the net for a picture of an enclosed shower of this design.
The great thing about this shower design is not just its looks, but the function. Essentially, the shower, because of its enclosed design, functions as a sort of steam bath as well as a shower. So it is the best shower design I’ve ever encountered.
I don’t see this design today…yes, we have forgotten more than we have learned.