by pam kueber on May 12, 2009
THE 1964 SPLIT-LEVEL TIME CAPSULE first shown yesterday also had two great bathrooms. The full bath upstairs is a beautiful robin’s egg blue, all 4×4″ field tiles, with cheerful flowery liner tiles. There is a separate bathtub and the shower. The shower door is a true classic, and notice the terrazzo floor pan, the light, and the tile on the diagonal on the ceiling.
And there’s more: A laundry chute built into a storage cubby… and the fold-down Hall-Mack scale holder below. The laminate countertop on the dual vanity is surely GE Textolite, from the “Twilight” series . And, the owner’s daughter told me that the Nutone exhaust fan/light also had a built-humidistat that turned the fan on and off automatically when the room became too humid. Finally, there was a hidden door to the master suite, along with a door to the hall. This might have been the best bathroom ever in this history of the retro-universe. Again – not pretentious, but so well considered and well built. Click through for the slide show – 15 images in all. Heck yeah there is more…
by pam kueber on April 22, 2009
Palm Springs Stephan is a wealth of info, and provides this info on a Southern California company still producing the 50s pink tile so common during this era. Don’t use any other pinks – they are not right! I am so excited at this find – a big one for the retro renovation community. Heck yeah there is more…
by pam kueber on March 12, 2009
Last week we looked at Cindy’s beautiful Holyoke, Mass., home – photos I took last summer. Today – we get to see the updates that she made to her bathroom vanity and tile floor and shower over the winter – she replaced the laminate on the bathroom vanity in a lighter ‘beigewood” shade, and also retiled her floor and shower stall. Cindy’s updates are incredibly well done – she has a great eye for detail and I know that she labored over each little decision…. Great inspiration and ideas, I am sure, to many retro renovators looking for a way to update their tired bathroom vanities, in particular.
Heck yeah there is more…
by pam kueber on October 10, 2008
After Zep
Before ZEP
How to clean old grout in retro bathroom floor tiles? Sleeping Bee Alice plays the role of Queen of Clean. Thanks, Alice, very impressive. I do want to caution – as I have been doing cleaning research, too — to be very careful about what you use on the glazed tile itself. That glazed finish can come off, even with a scotch brite pad, so treat it very carefully. More on tile cleaning to come.
Read on for Alice’s solution (pun!) —> Heck yeah there is more…
by pam kueber on September 2, 2008
This bathroom from last week’s Austin mid century time capsule has an interesting detail that I want to point out: You can clearly and easily see the 1″ or 3/4″ square mosaic tiles bridging the shower/tub and toilet. But look in the mirror above the vanity: You can also see the same mosaic on the facing wall – but with additional, randomly spaced accent tiles. Using the mix on just one wall is a great trick to add interest to a mosaic bathroom – but not overdo it.
by pam kueber on August 1, 2008
There definitely seemed to be this whole Roman thing going on in the early 60s. When did Spartacus come out? Vegas had Caesar’s Palace. Was everyone traveling to Italy? Heck yeah there is more…
by Pam Kueber on July 10, 2008
I’m looking for green 1950’s tile. Do you have a contact for Olympia Tile? — Karen
Bad news, friends, but the Maple Leaf tile sold by Olympia Tile has been discontinued. As you will recall, I really liked some of their colors. I am told, that we may still be able to get the tile until all inventories are depleted. Meanwhile – I definitely recommend you try B&W Tile, and if you are in the U.K, this British Tile. I don’t know if they export to the U.S. but I sure do love their colors right down to the PINK and the MINT, which is perfect vintage 50s 60s! Hey Fiona and Clare – you have better sources for tile than we do!
Finally, there are some good retro colors now available from Dal-Tile and American Olean, and possibly U.S. Ceramic (I do not have their latest board.) Read the Tile Category for all updates on this most critical subject!
