So pretty. You know how I am a sucker for vintage style bathroom towels. I found three great designs from British designer Cath Kidston — including these roses that remind me of grandma’s house. Kidston was one of the early leaders in reintroducing vintage retro style linens and other home and bath accessories into the market. From her bio:

Cath Kidston Ltd was founded in 1993 when designer Cath Kidston opened a tiny shop in London’s Holland Park. She began by selling the vintage fabrics, wallpapers and brightly-painted junk furniture she remembered fondly from her childhood. Her clever, witty re-working of traditional English country house style meant that her shop soon became a cult success. Gradually Cath began to design her own prints and products.

One of the first was a printed ironing board cover – practical, quirky and with a distinctive floral print, it has come to epitomize the Cath Kidston look. The product base has expanded steadily to include an extensive range of homewares as well as women’s fashion and accessories and the 2008 launch of the Cath Kids brand.  Various ranges are manufactured under license by companies including Churchill China and Fulton Umbrellas.

Here in the U.S. she has a website that offers a limited selection. No shower curtains, but her bathroom towels — including the pretty rose design shown above — are certainly heartbreakers and would look great in a midcentury or retro style bathroom.

She also offers a cowboy design — perfect for a kid’s bathroom.

And baby rubber ducks, too.

There are also coordinating towels with polka dots and stripes. These are all pretty spendy. But looking is free. Jump over to Cath Kidston online to see her retro vintage style towels and other products.

See all my bathroom accessory research here.

Related posts:

1. 4 new Vintage Vera fabric designs for shower curtains, towels, tablecloths, aprons & more Thanks to reader Kate H. for the tip that several vintage...
2. Towels for a retro bathroom from Amy Butler I quite like these Amy Butler towels from Bed, Bath...
3. 4 retro bathroom towel designs from Anthropologie, Pottery Barn and Kmart   It can be hard to find new-old-stock vintage towels,...

Valentina Ramos’ Cute Little Owls shower curtain would go in a Mamie pink bathroom, of course. I also spy some very light minty green — if you have that tile color, you could use this curtain, too.

Khristian A Howells Nolita’s Drops shower curtain is … serene. Use it in a bathroom tiled in pink or aqua.

Khristian A Howell Nolita’s Chevrons use the same colors, just a much bolder design. The reason I say that bold shower curtains play a tile up — and down — at the same time is that… well, if you have a bathroom full of aquamarine or pink tile (for example), there is pretty much no hiding the fact. Similarly strong colors used elsewhere in the bathroom — on wallpaper or a shower curtain — will balance the strength of the tile, so that you see the *whole* bathroom not *just* the tile, wonderful as it may be.

Okay, so this ain’t pastel. How about for a 60s or 70s bathroom, though? Valentina Ramos’ Aaron shower curtain shows how one simple piece can make a monumental impact and create a design direction for the entire bathroom. I could have used this curtain in my mom’s little bathroom — instead of the Peanuts curtain — as a launching point for my simple graphic look. Heck, I could switch ‘em out any time — change the rug and towels, and I have a whole new look. The sheep would have to go, though; only one cute animal theme in a small space at one time, please.

Lots more shower curtain designs at DENY Designs.

Related posts:

1. 4 new Vintage Vera fabric designs for shower curtains, towels, tablecloths, aprons & more Thanks to reader Kate H. for the tip that several vintage...
2. 2 new Marimekko shower curtains: Mid mod color explosion! If you have trouble choosing a favorite Marimekko design shower...
3. Marimekko shower curtains and towel sets from Crate & Barrel This site is first and foremost about resources, so I...

For her bathroom remodeling project, Trixi cut her own stencils to mimic the atomic pattern on her vintage bathroom light. She explains:

The template for the stencil was made out of solid plastic stencil sheets from Michaels Crafts. We just mimicked the pattern from our atomic bar light that’s in the bath, and used a finer tip artist knife to cut it out. I used gold acrylic fabric paint, which was very easy to clean-up if I had to step away for any length of time. If it dried onto the stencil tools, I just peeled it right off and kept going. It took the better part of a day to do the stenciling – but even that was fun!

In 2010, I also featured Karen’s $708 pink bathroom renovation — and she, too, created an affordable wall treatment with home-made stencils. Her starbursts are more diamond shaped and, I’d say, add height to the bathroom. Karen explained:

To make the starbursts all you have to have is an exacto knife, a stencil sheet, and a preferably metal ruler. Make a cross the size you want the height and width of the finished star. The vertical line should be somewhat longer (about 1?-2?) than the horizontal line. Then take your ruler touching the top point, move it out about a 1/2 inch or so (I just eyeballed it as to how thick to make the stars) on the intersecting line. Do the same on all the points using the same mearsurement. Then make an X between the cross. Make these lines the same length all the way around. Then repeat this step except move your ruler out a little less: Take your ruler touching the top point, move it out about a 1/4 inch or so. Do the same on all the points. The vertical/horizontal cross should be the same thickness and the X should be the same thickness. Then just use the exacto to cut the lines. That’s about it. It’s really super easy. If you are unsure just practice on a plain piece of paper until you get it right. This design is so simple because it is all straight lines, no curves, which are more difficult. I hope this is easy to visualize. -Karen

She adds:

I just did 3 on a page and rotated the page upside down on every other one I would do.

In the comments on that story, my friend Denise — who also is an active commenter — and moreover, is a decorative painter, provided tips for doing your own stencilling:;

Getting a crisp edge definitely is about not over loading your tool and not working with a heavy hand. The point is to not drag your tool from the open space over the edge, if the edge is lifted even the slightest bit it will catch the paint, lay back down, and create a rough edge. Practice on a painted board to get the feel of the right amount of paint on your tool and how light or heavy handed you should go.

These are tools often used for painting a stencil:

First you want to spray the back of your stencil with stencil adhesive, I use a spray glue but be careful if you do as it can be too sticky and leave a glue residue.

Stencil brush — dab into a little paint or glaze, swirl a lot of it off onto toweling, apply by swirling onto stencil with a medium hand, working from the stencil edge into the cut space.

Cosmetic sponge — dab into paint, dab off on toweling, dab onto cut out area working your way to the edges.

Roller Sponge — roll into paint, roll off on toweling, roll without much pressure over cut space of stencil, rolling in different directions. Do not press hard, it will squeeze out of roller and go under stencil.

I also like to use a worn out smallish brush especially if you have a tight or narrow stencil. Apply some paint, swirl off onto toweling a bit and then brush from the stencil edge into the cut open space, this gives a little bit of a cross hatch when looked at up close rather than a mottled look that the swirling in the stencil cut will give you.

You can also stipple into the cut out space with a flat bottom stencil brush but this is more time consuming.

Hope this helps!!

Karen said that she bought the stencil paper and paint at Hobby Lobby.

Finally: Reader Nancy even made a pattern of Karen’s stencil, which she has shared out into our retro universe. She says:

Hi – I made a starburst template, following Karen’s great instructions! Feel free to use it. One image is a higher resolution that the other. Go to my photobucket and scroll down:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f13/starletstyle3/

Happy stencilling!

Related posts:

1. Doorbells for a midcentury house including atomic starburst You only have one chance to make a good first...
2. Ceratile Stardust pattern tiles in Amy’s 1962 bathroom: Oh my! Can you contain your envy, Retro Renovators? I can’t. After...
3. 4 places to find recessed soap dishes and ceramic bathroom fixtures — including both vintage and new Here is another source to check for recessed soap dishes:...