IMPORTANT UPDATE:
If you are the owner of an older porcelain enamel bathtub or sinks — or are considering buying one — please see my May 2, 2016 story Understanding potential lead hazards in old porcelain enamel bathtubs and sinks and ceramic tile of any age; this article focuses on raising awareness around three other potential sources of lead dust exposure in your home – old porcelain enamel bathtubs and sinks and ceramic tile of any era — and steps you can take to assess and, if required, address them. Also be aware that there can be other hazards in old products and materials, for more info see my Renovate Safe page.
If you are looking for mid-century bathroom fixtures — tubs, toilets, sinks, shower doors — the most likely places you are going to find them are on (1) your local craigslist, (2) Facebook Marketplace, or (2) your local Re-Store / Habitat for Humanity or other local salvage shop. The easiest and cheapest route is likely going to be to BUY LOCAL. You can see the stuff first-hand, so you know what you are getting, and you won’t pay shipping — you will haul your treasure away in your own car. Be sure to practice smart safety habits when buying from craigslist — see their recommendations.
One other idea that readers have been successful with: Ask the neighbors. Their houses originally had the same fixtures as yours, and they may have old ones in their basements, from previous remodels — or they may be about to remodel. Also: Watch the curb! Yes! We have had examples of readers deciding they needed, say, an old pink toilet — and a few days later they spotted on out on a neighbor’s curb waiting for the garbage truck. SERIOUSLY!
Tip: Another important reason to buy local is that you can be sure the color you are getting matches. There were many manufacturers back in the day — and their colors were all slightly different. If you buy locally, you can check the colors in person.
Also, try ebay. As interest in midcentury design has increased, more ebay pickers are listing sinks, tubs, etc. online — sometimes new old stock even!
The farther you get from home (craigslist, Re-Stores, or other local salvage places), the more expensive finding vintage bathroom fixtures is going to get. And that’s before you even have to think about shipping and crating. That’s because specialty places are likely to pick up only the best-of-the-best, and to do that, they also have overhead to cover. A few salvage places with online stock include:
There are surely other salvage places that will deal with you online — start searching!
pk acott says
hi pink people this isn’t mine but it is a complete set of pink fixtures plus an extra sink
http://austin.craigslist.org/hsh/5447559734.html
Aaron says
FYI: There is a salvage yard in Sarasota FL called Used Stuff that has TONS of sinks and toilets and even some reclaimed Florida Tile (in the elusive 4 3/8″ size) in many of the classic pastel colors. Very reasonable pricing. It’s worth to drive down here for all you northerners that haven’t yet experienced the amazing city of Sarasota!
This blog is awesome, btw.
pam kueber says
Thank you for the nice comment!
matt says
Hey,
Just perusing your bath forums to find a cleaner for white haze on a 50’s Kohler Spruce Green tub… I work for one of those local/nonprofit salvage stores here in MD, and we have a lot of sinks/tubs/toilets. One of my jobs is to clean and list them online (ebay) and ship these by freight all over the US.
I build a crate with all salvaged materials, clean the you-know-what out of the toilets, photograph them extensively, and list them. Our shipper is actually quite cheap and the buyer can pick up at the nearest terminal to avoid liftgate and residential add-ons. And as a nonprofit we have overhead, but no shareholders to make wealthy, so we can charge less.
So there ARE online resources, but someday we will be all out of these little sculptural treasures!
Side note, we started doing skim deconstruction as well and I got to pull out an all-original 1938 ming green toilet and sink. Kinda fun!
Matt
pam kueber says
Keep it up, matt, you are doing a great thing by helping to save all those wonderful old features!
As for the haze, I am a fan of the ROG cleaners, however, they are expensive…
aj says
Just wanted to give people in the los angeles area a heads up. The Bellflower ReStore location has a TON of new old stock pastel colored vanity sinks for $5 each. Undermount and overmount, pink, blue, yellow, maybe green. Not what I was shopping for but thought it might help someone out.
Jean Gough says
Gee, I’m not sure. Perhaps even a plumber may be able to help you?
Julie says
I’m not quite sure if I’m in the right thread, but since my question is about the perils of shopping for a retro sink, I figure I’m not too out of place here. I’ve found a wall-hung sink at my local Habitat for Humanity resale store. I think it would fit my bathroom perfectly (the back of a closet juts into the room just opposite the sink, so I need a little round sink or something like this one, with its angled corners). But the problem is that it was literally ripped off the wall. The support holes are gone.
I’m wondering if it’s possible to drill new support holes higher on the back of the sink. Or would that just ruin it further?
Here is a link to a pic of the back of the sink
And a pic of the front of the sink
Thanks!!
Julie
pam kueber says
contact deabath.com, they may be able to help.
Katie Pix says
We just bought a pair of grey 1956 apron front sinks (they were still in their original crates) from Jane of Toledo Architectural Artifacts, in Ohio. MINT condition and perfect for our bath renovation.
We also bought a vintage aqua crane sink and had everything packaged delicately and shipped to our door.
Jane and her husband were great! They have a LOT of vintage, NOS, and very unique plumbing items.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Their website is http://www.coolstuffiscoolstuff.com
After researching & hitting tons of dead ends (apparently many vintage plumbing sites don’t update when they’ve sold things…) I’m so glad I found this site.
Katie Pix says
On the left, select “PLUMBING VINTAGE SINKS”
pam kueber says
Hi Katie, this is Pam on Siri with my broken arm so I apologize for the typos. What a wonderful find thanks for the link to the place in Toledo. Be sure to take lots of before during and after photos of your remodel we can’t wait to see it when it’s done many thanks and good luck
Vinny Lee says
Today I saved a pink Briggs Beautyware toilet and sink, for $20. Yipee! The plan is to redo a tiny master bath. The sink is round and needs a new humvee (is that right?) ring. I know that I’ve read on this site where I can get one, but now I can’t find it. Could someone, please, point me in the right direction? Thanks bunches!
Mary Elizabeth says
Roberta,
See all of Pam’s info on this and also my comments in this discussion about looking for and finding a pink sink in Connecticut and Southern Massachusetts. You could find the same kind of place in Nebraska. Gerber made the 1950s colors toilets and sinks in the 1980s and 1990s (when people started thinking retro was cool), and our area long-term family plumbing store still has stock. So begin by assuming that the smaller, family-run plumbing businesses in your area might have a blue toilet stuck in the back of the stock room just waiting for a good home. The large plumbing and hardware chains are unlikely to have one.
In addition to the suggestions already made, such as looking on Craig’s List and renovation stores, you could put an ad in the paper, “Wanted, one blue toilet, such and such a brand.” Then put up flyers in the feed store. Some older farm family who don’t do the Internet might have one sitting in his barn. Tell the people at your local dump/transfer station to keep an eye out for you. (We just got a beautiful stained glass window hanging at our dump a few weeks ago.)
If worse comes to worse, and you need to replace your toilet in a hurry, go with a white one, and then buy the custom blue seat from Bemis (search this site for the contact information) to match your other blue fixtures. (They send you color charts so you can be sure it’s the right blue.) Or get a wooden seat and paint it with blue enamel. It will look really cool. Be sure to call to make your order and tell them you read about the service on this site. I think they gave me a good deal when I ordered my pink seat, as the price quoted on line was higher than what they offered me on the phone. Of course, once you do that, the retro gods, being fickle, will send you a new or nearly new blue toilet, right, Pam? 🙂
pam kueber says
Good job, Mary Elizabeth!
Roberta Knutson says
I am in need of a baby blue toilet. Ours base has cracked. 🙁 We live in south central Nebraska. Hate to replace with white. Thanks.
Jean Gough says
We had to replace a lavender toilet last year and search high and low. Finally found one in Philadelphia which my husband drove down to get from Massachusetts. Dedication! I would think blue would be easier to find, so keep looking. I kept googling lavender toilet and one finally surfaced!
Good luck!