To be sure, I am over-the-hill in love with mid-century decor. But, the capacity for love is infinite, and if I lived in a pre-war bungalow, cottage, Tudor or Dutch Colonial, you bet I’d be lovin’ the house I’m in, baby — especially if it had vintage bathroom fixtures like these. I recently acquired this 1925 Sno-Wite catalog, full of enameled-steel soap dishes, towel bars, toilet paper holders, medicine cabinets, and mirrors — and I scanned the whole thing here. .
I like these older catalogs, because they help me to see design trajectory. And, I know there are a lot of readers of the blog who have pre-war houses…. so I’m trying to add more items and inspiration from this period. Hey, I think it’s all considered “retro”, isn’t it? There are some really cool designs happening here. I love it all. Enjoy. To launch the slide show, click on the first slide … it will enlarge… then, look for the arrows just below the image to advance.
nina462 says
I have a huge builders catalogue to reference. “Home Builders Catalogue” from 1927 that shows house plans, garage plans and all the details -flooring- appliances-fixtures needed for the houses. If I could scan it for you, I would but it’s HUGE (1256 pages). It also tells you how to decorate the house. The funniest thing is this message inside: “Do not tear pages, nor clip illustrations from this catalogue- and thus impair its usefulness to yourself and others”.
If someone is looking for a particular house plan or fixture please let me know, I’d love to help & could scan a page or two.
P.S. the garages are named after cars of the era (the tucker, the pierce arrow, the dusenberg, the kissel).
Martha says
I LOVE the mirror combination. I wish I could find something like it for my 1917 bungalow.
Becky says
Here again is another example of why I need time travel powers! I could go to the 20’s, shop, and refurbish. The later I could go to pre-Castro Havanna for dinner and dancing!
carole says
Very cool!
What I love is the fact that companies like Rejuvenation (and there are others scattered across the country) have vintage items like this available as they acquire the pieces (from homes being torn down or what have you), but also that they’re manufacturing new ones.
pam kueber says
I’m glad to hear from readers with pre-war homes about what they want help with… I’m wanting, over time, to cover more resources from this era. My first married house was a 1912 colonial revival and we worked to do sympathetic updates with that house, too. The house also had quarter-sawn oak interior — so it had this A&C vibe going on, too. So I was immersed in that world as well!
Candice says
Oh yes Pam! more more more!
I’ll keep reading this blog no matter what but I’m loving the house I’m in, and it was built in 1918!
TappanTrailerTami says
Hi Pam,
Maybe a reader poll is in order to see what years/decades everyone’s house was built, and maybe the secondary question of whether they are staying true to the era of construction, or doing a different set of years, with their decorating.
Mine is 1977, but, the bulk of my items and decor are 20’s to 40’s with a bit of 50’s and 60’s here and there 🙂
pam kueber says
That’s a great idea, Tami! Watch for it!
G.G. says
So far all the tile-in fixtures I have bought have been old salvage ones. – I have had a hard time finding exactly what I want in black – the white tile-ins are a lot more common.
I will definitely send you some photos when everything’s all done. Your online things have been very helpful to me with this project- I spent a lot of time going over the site and the flickr groups as research before starting this bathroom.
Dixie says
I love these! This is totally my era of home decor.
I suppose those basket-style soap dishes broke all the time or we’d see more of them left today, but I love the idea. The built-in soap dishes at my house either are too shallow to hold soap well, or don’t drain and leave the soap marinating in old shower water.
Candice says
ditto this, the slotted dishes look that they’re really allow the soap to dry, thus being functional.
Mark says
Thanks for this!
I have a 1924 craftsman and knowing what was available in the day is hard, makes choosing replacements easier.
I’m doing the kitchen now, tiling the counter tops in light yellow with black trim, next will be the bath, white 3×6 subway with black accents on the walls and white hex with black border on the floor.
Now I have to find some cool soap dishs to put in the shower!
G.G. says
great find – I am currently in the process of recreating a 1920s color-tiled bathroom in my house- I sure wish I could still get that stuff from that catalog -especially for those prices.
pam kueber says
G.G. Be sure to see the places we’ve found for recessed bathroom fixtures…. PRODUCTS/Bathrooms/Accessories. You know, I also think B&W do them in their color palette…. Would love to see your bathroom when you are done!
Guy Hutchinson says
Wonderful post. Too bad the images aren’t in color!
I like the soap dish holder with slots so your soap can dry. It’s also interesting to notice the items that you could still find at a Home Depot or ACE. It’s a good reference for any replacements you need to do in a vintage bathroom.
Nice to know there are some “off the rack” items that won’t look out of place.
pam kueber says
Guy, I think that back in 1925 you could probably get these particular fixtures in any color — as long as it was white!
Guy Hutchinson says
Right… the Sno-White name should have indicated that! 😉