“It took five years of collecting vintage parts,
saving money and working on a design plan,
but in the end it was SO worth the wait.
We couldn’t be happier!” — Laura
Laura and Tim purchased their 1924 California bungalow five years ago, because it retained a lot of the original charm that many homes in the area had lost after being flipped. While the home’s only bathroom still had its original vintage tub, the rest of the room was in sad shape. The couple had always dreamed of having a colorful vintage bathroom, so after spending five years collecting vintage goodies, saving for the remodel, and then — showering in their back yard for a month during the construction, Laura and Tim are thrilled to finally have created the retro blue bathroom of their dreams.
Laura writes:
Hi Pam,
My husband and I purchased our 1924 bungalow in downtown Sacramento, California, five years ago. Along with all of the wonderful and intact charm such as original floors, built ins and original windows (with wavy glass!), our house also came with a lot of not so great 1970’s remodeling, complete with wood paneling, particle board kitchen and bathroom cabinets which were falling apart, brown floral vinyl flooring, fake plastic marble wainscoting on the bathroom walls (the stuff was so old it had turned yellow).
The bathroom was by far the most unattractive room in the house. Literally everything in it was worn out and falling apart, and the style did not fit with the era in which the house was built. It has always been my dream to have a colorful, charming vintage bathroom. When we were house hunting we tried so hard to find an old house that had not been updated but that proved really difficult, as most places had been “updated” (or ruined in my opinion) by flippers. When we found our house I could visualize how the amazing the bathroom would look with some love and a design vision. I have been a faithful reader of your blog for years. Your site has been a HUGE help for not just design ideas, but where to buy things too.
The design started with the sink. When we first bought the house we found the 1933 American Standard pedestal sink at a salvage yard in Berkeley, CA. called Urban Ore. I LOVED the color and essentially put it in storage until I could come up with a design plan for the bathroom. (I found a matching Ming green toilet at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, but we have yet to install it as it needs a little work.) Even though the green sink does not match with the white tub, I like the contrast between the blue and green and white and figure that if we get tired of it, we can always replace it with a white sink (vintage of course).
The cast iron bathtub is original to the house and in great shape! It’s the only original feature left in the bathroom, so we wanted to preserve that. I absolutely love bright colors and knew that I wanted a bright, crisp blue for the wall tiles.
We went with color 20W from B&W Tile. It’s the most perfect shade of blue! The black pencil line (sizzle strips) detail also came from B&W. The black tile base board and black tile trim bullnose pieces came from Home Depot & Lowes. The white hex floor was purchased new at Home Depot. The black ceramic soap dish inserts above the sink are reproduction. I tried to find vintage ones but it proved too difficult.
The wall lights are reproduction — Echo from Rejuvenation.
The medicine cabinet is from the 1930s and was pulled out of a house locally that was being remodeled, Craigslist score.
The black ceramic tissue dispenser above the sink is 1920s new old stock purchased from ebay. It even has its original manufactures paper label inside! The ceramic toilet paper holder and bathtub soap holder are new old stock from the 1950s, found on Ebay. Ceramic towel bars are reproduction and were also found on Ebay.
We did not do the work ourselves, the project was just too big to handle on our own so we worked with a local contractor and tile setters. (Shout out to Crowell Quality Construction). Our tile guys (Armando’s Tile) even said that it was a nice change to be installing colored tiles rather than the sea of beige they normally deal with. They did an AMAZING job. They really understood my vision and worked closely with me to achieve what I wanted.
It took about a month to complete, this is also our only bathroom it was definitely a challenge to live through the construction. (We had to use a rigged up shower in our back yard!) The difference between our old and new bathroom is nothing short of a miracle. The space we gained by removing the old vanity nearly doubled the size of the room. As far as storage goes I am still looking for a freestanding vintage cabinet of some sort to use by the sink. It took five years of collecting vintage parts, saving money and working on a design plan, but in the end it was SO worth the wait. We couldn’t be happier!
A little about us…my husband and I are big vintage collectors as well as antique dealers, we own and operate a combination record store and vintage boutique here in Sacramento called Kicksville Vinyl & Vintage. We love our home and are excited to share our remodeling story on your blog. I am a huge fan and have learned SO MUCH from your site and your readers too.
Wow, Laura and Tim — you did a fantastic job with your bathroom! Kudos to you for taking the time to track down just the right stuff even if it took five years — that’s doing things “The Hard Way” — and as you said, the results are so worth it. Mega thanks for sharing your story here with us — and for all the blog love, too! We really appreciate it — it means so much to both Pam and me.
Link Love:
- Laura and Tim’s vintage boutique — Kicksville Vinyl & Vintage.
Laura Matranga says
Thank you all for your kind comments. This project was truly a labor of love!
Angela says
You did a marvelous job! I see many bathrooms that look like your “old” one as I am looking for a house online. I am so glad to see someone who turned the unappealing “old” into a wonderful “new” bathroom. Thank you for the pictures.
Carol says
So glad you kept the corner tub. It is the showpiece of the room in my opinion. The ceramic tissue holder is so fabulous. I didn’t even know they were made in ceramic. Lovely, lovely bathroom.
Elizabeth M says
This is beautiful! The tile work looks stunning and great craftsmanship. So envious!
Kate says
Thanks for sharing, Laura & Tim! The after looks fantastic.
When you say the bathroom took a month to complete, were you unable to shower in there for that entire time, or could you have showered in there for part of the time while other bathroom components just weren’t installed yet (if the outdoor rigged-up shower were not an option)? The reason I ask is because my husband and I are likewise hoping to renovate our tiny (only) bathroom soon and live in an apartment, so no option for backyard shower. Also, did the contractor’s time estimate match the reality of construction?
Thanks!
Laura Matranga says
Hi Kate,
We were not able to use our shower at all during the reno. (our toilet remained functional all but one day where the floor was installed). We were able to attach a hose to our laundry room sink, that allowed us to get hot water into the back yard where we rigged up a temporary shower. Unexpected issues came up, like a cast iron pipe behind the wall where the new medicine cabinet was going in (that had to be rerouted), and extra framing that had to be installed around the sink area to accommodate the soap dish holders & tissue dispenser. These things added on to the timeline by about a week. Otherwise our contractor was on target.
Maria says
My grandparents bought/built their house in 1954, and this is very much like the tile pattern they chose to go with. They did their bathroom in pink, beige and brown colors, with a pink ceramic pedestal sink and pink toilet, hexagon tiled floor, etc. Sadly, the original design is no longer there, as the sink was swapped out for that same ugly ’80s vanity look and the toilet changed out for a then-newer ’80s model.
Robin, NV says
Urban Ore in Berkeley is SO much fun to visit. I was there years ago and they had all the fixtures from a 1930s beauty salon – chairs, mirrors, cabinets – all in pink Art Deco style. Amazing stuff.
Lovely work guys!
J D Log says
Great work it is such a contrast from that tired bathroom you guys first started out with
Carolyn says
As we’ve seen on previous posts about bathrooms, everything needn’t be matchy-matchy but thoughtful, coordinated, and cohesive. I can see you switching out shower curtains to bring out the green sink – or the fishies, or… LOVE the medicine cabinet with the plastic daisies – they didn’t have to put that on there but aren’t we so glad they did?!
The story of your tile setters – makes you wonder how many more are out there champing at the bit to do something, anything more than beige. Even putting contrasting bullnose or sizzle strips. Too many houses have “future” buyers in mind which makes no sense if you’re going to be living there for 10 or more years.
And what I really don’t get is why people yanked out perfectly good condition whatevers in the kitchen and bath to “update” and then put the cheapest junk in to replace it. These are the two busiest, hardest-working rooms in a house!
Thanks for sharing!
Elizabeth says
Oh, like, SWOON!