On my second visit to World of Tile — the epicenter of New Old Stock tile and accessories for your vintage bathroom — I spent more time admiring these sort of strange but very interesting 1970s (I think) bathroom sconces and fixtures including soap dishes, toilet paper holders and shelves. They are black porcelain ceramic… they have very organic, rounded shapes… I am pretty sure they are Italian, because so much of what’s in-stock at World of Tile came from Italy… the prices are totally fair… and I think they would look amazing in a 1970s or 1980s retro bathroom renovation. Heck yeah there is more →
NOS 1970s bathroom sconces, shelves, toilet paper holders and soap dishes from World of Tile
Posted by: • August 30, 2011
Colored ceramic soap dishes and shelves for the tub and shower area — NOS from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
Posted by: • August 24, 2011
Pastel pink soap dishes, mint green soap dishes, regency blue soap dishes — and more — you can get them all at, yes: The magical mystical World of Tile, our favorite place for New Old Stock (NOS) 50s, 60s and 70s bathroom and kitchen tile, sinks, and more. Heck yeah there is more →
95 colors of vintage pink tile — limited quantities, for replacements and repairs
Posted by: • August 19, 2011
You know how Palm Springs Stephan and I always caution that when you go looking for “1950s pink”, you must be careful and know that there were many shades of pink on the market back in the day? Well, here is hard evidence: I went for a second visit to World of Tile — that magical mystical mid century time capsule tile store, in Springfield, New Jersey – and Chippy let me poke around, absorb some more, and take additional photos. Back in the “replacement tile” area, I actually took the time to count the number of different pinks in their big long file box. There were 95 different shades and finishes of vintage pink bathroom tile. 95!
We’re in the New York Times today!
Posted by: • August 18, 2011
Look who is in the New York Times today — it’s a story all about intrepid Retro Renovators. Yes, a story on the front page of the Thursday Home & Garden section all about the blog also quoting Cindy, Stephan and Helen (pictured in my montage, right) as well as Judi, Jason — and yes, Chippy of World of Tile, too. My gosh. Thanks to EVERYONE on the blog who helps make this the wonderful community it is! xoxo I have to run out the door to buy some copies of the paper from Loeb’s right now. Meanwhile — check The New York Times story, “Restoring the Retro House”, out online!
In the wondrous basement warehouse of World of Tile
Posted by: • July 16, 2011
Remember that famous closing scene in the first Indiana Jones movie — the Arc of the Covenant has been found and saved from evil Nazi hands, and where does it end up? In the cavernous basement of a U.S. government storage facility salted away in a box among millions. Well, that’s the movie moment I recalled the minute I entered the Most Truly Amazing part of World of Tile yet: The basement warehouse storage area where all the priceless NOS tile booty is kept just waiting for us to liberate it. To conclude our Retro Renovation World of Tile Week, let me take you on a short tour… Heck yeah there is more →
Octagon and dot tile with 72 vintage dot colors
Posted by: • July 15, 2011
Lots of folks doing a retro bathroom remodel like the look of octagon-and-dot tile, but the color of dots available from major manufacturers today is very limited (as far as I know). Over at the fabulous time capsule tile store, World of Tile, though, I spied with my little eye that they have a large variety of vintage dot colors — 72 even! Sorry for the poor quality photo. I’m planning another visit soon, and will get some better closeups. I also will check with Chippy what the dimensions of these dots are. Could be that you could pop them into widely available pinwheel designs — like American Olean Chloe, available at great prices at big box stores — to mesh with another desired bathroom color scheme altogether.
Mid century modern table legs — cones and hairpin legs, both — from World of Tile
Posted by: • July 14, 2011
If you are looking for authentic vintage mid century table legs — for a new project or as a replacement on your dinette, for example –you can get these from World of Tile, too. They stock a large variety of table legs — all authentic inventory spanning as far back as 1957. Heck yeah there is more →
World of Tile — vintage NOS sinks, mirrors, lighting, faucets — 30 photos
Posted by: • July 13, 2011
My mega series of World of Tile wonder continues today with this new set of photos featuring ceramic mirrors… Italian lighting… decorative sinks… and faucets. World of Tile has an entire, HUGE room dedicated to these fixtures — this could be a store all its own! Most all of these were imported from Italy, in the 1970s and 1980s, I’d say. If I had a home built in the 70s or 80s that needed bathroom updates, I’d be all over these new old stock bathroom fixtures. A matching brown paisley sink, toilet and mirror set? Heck to the yeah! Oh — the lighting is all Italian GLASS — those aren’t acrylic pieces, folks. Luv. Click on through for the gallery of 30 photos — and that’s only a fraction of the stuff in this room! My head just keeps on spinnin’ –> Heck yeah there is more →
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