I came to Kentucky two weeks ago to visit family, and about a week in, we decided to do a gut-renovation of Mom’s bathroom. The key goal was to replace the built-in tub with a walk-in shower.
I’m of a certain age, so that means Mom is, too. It was time to add grab bars and make it easier for her to navigate her small, 1974 bathroom. In addition, the plumbing had been leaking and the tile was shot — the bathroom had completed its life’s work. My blog is not about preserving Everything. When it comes to many kitchens and bathrooms of past eras, if they have seen hard wear, were of dubious quality, or are just not functional for your needs any more: Give thanks for their long, loving embrace… and let them go.
Mom was really excited about getting a new bathroom. She is the #1 fan of my blog and loves to tell me stories about growing up in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania… and then, as a young married in Southern California in the 1960s. Aside from some groovy original lighting fixtures in her 1974 house, there is not much else that screams “1970s” … and she didn’t want to do her bathroom in that mode anyway.
Mom was decisive: She wanted a black-and-white bathroom reminiscent of her 1940s youth. Was this choice foreshadowed by the vintage hat we played with when we went antiquing in Louisville two summers ago? Mom in hat, above. Tee hee.
I jumped at the chance to be her interior designer, and when I came back from Louisville Tile (thanks, Kirby and Travis) with American Olean 1″ hexagonal tile — white with black dot — paired with the 3″x6″ AO artic white subway tile, Mom was equally decisive in saying, “That’s exactly what I want.” I showed her 4″x4″ squares, too. But, she was gaga about the subway.
Oh. Did I mention: Our goal was to gut and renovate the bathroom in 7-10 days, max. Since this was a spur of the moment project, we were faced with two significant, extra degrees of difficulty: (1) I could not ORDER anything that required more than a few days of delivery time. Everything had to be stock. And (2), We had to make decisions FAST. No gathering of 372 possible combinations of this and that agonized over, for weeks that turn into months. We had to decide Everything and get it into our hot little hands in like, 3 days.
The AO tile shown above — was all in-stock. So this was our starting point. The hex tile would go on the floor and into the shower pan, with sanded grout. The subway tile, on the shower surround and walls. I will add, straight up: I would have preferred the Florida Tile subway tile, which was a bit creamier white. But we were concerned the delivery time required might have slowed us a day or two. Besides, I would have had to run to Louisville Tile to grab a sample just to Be Sure. So we said, “The Arctic is Just Fine.” The first agonizing decision averted, with only minor agony. This was a new experience for me.
Now — the rest of the stuff. We needed: Trim tile to jazz up the subway tile… a vanity… a countertop… sink… toilet… storage cabinet… lavatory faucet… shower fixtures… shower shelves…. grab bars… towel and TP holder and robe hooks… lighting… exhaust fan… paint… grout color… window treatments… towels, rugs… art and accessories. I am a design blogger, I better make it look good. Gulp. Fortunately, my Aunt Mary Anne is a design whiz and spent about 30 hours of the 72 helping me reason through the choices. We had a blast.
But, it was not easy to pull together everything so fast. This week, I will write about the 72-hour scavenger hunt through Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and online for Every Product required to coordinate and complete our 1940s-style Retro Renovation bathroom for my first and most important client ever: Mom. Then, the big reveal: The bathroom is supposed to be finished this Friday!
Trouble says
Wel….at least I’m getting my FLOOR finished this week! LOL How many months have we been without our main floor bathroom?
You could get 162 more bathrooms done in the time it’s taken me to do ONE!
Crystal says
That’s the same wall tile and floor tile we used in our 1947 bungalow. We went with a grey grout – Delorean Grey. I absolutely love it! We gutted and remodeled in 10 days, so it can be done. Looking forward to seeing the completed job!
Jane / MulchMaid / Elvis says
Crystal, do you find the gray grout helps the floor feel cleaner looking? I love and want to use the black/white hex, but I worry that it will look dirty so quickly with just the smallest particles of grass, hair, smudge, etc on it. Any words of wisdom?
Anyone else that has used it care to comment pro/con?
Crystal says
I’m so glad we went with the grey grout, it doesn’t show the grime at all. It’s a nice complement to the black and white.
Ann-Marie Meyers says
You and your mom are a team who cannot be beat! I can’t wait to see the results.
Elaine says
That is awesome! Can’t wait to see the progress pix. We are getting a completely new bathroom in our new-to-us house, and have to decide what all we want in it next week. This will be a lesson to us. They took out two and a half baths in rental units in the garage that I wish could have been just moved to the place I want the new bathroom, but sadly, they could not be saved, all tiled in showers and 60s fixtures. We did save the fixtures, but not the tile.
Jenny says
Good luck!! I know you can do it and will be waiting anxiously all week for the big reveal! By the way, I love that part of Kentucky. We like to go down there to hit the bourbon trail and stay in some of those sublime b&b’s. I also found one of my greatest treasures in a thrift shop in Elizabethtown. It was a lovely framed copy of the famous “Chinese Girl” painting by Vladimir Tretchikoff, better known as the “Green Lady” or “Blue Lady”. It was only $13.00 (!!!!!) and hangs proudly over our fireplace. Have a great (busy) week in KY!
Amy says
Hi Pam, I just went through a full bathroom remodel when we bought our 1942 Bungalow and it sounds very similar to what you are doing! Black and white hex floor tile, white subway tile with black trims all around the whole bathroom and tub. I’m excited to see what yours will look like! Let me know if you are interested in seeing pictures of mine. 🙂
Laura says
Those are the exact tiles I’m using in my new-build cottage, along with vintage American Standard Regency Blue toilet and sink and a black trim. My new bathroom should be finished soon, but not Friday!
Gavin Hastings says
The resemblance is amazing!
Best wishes-but we all know you can do it!
Summerisle says
I used that exact hex tile on the floor when I redid my bathroom. When my grandmother saw it, she gasped “IT’S BEAUTIFUL!” Then she went on to tell me how much she hated her modern vinyl-that’s-supposed-to-look-like-stone kitchen floor that my aunt picked out.
Nikki says
Hilariously, that is exactly the tile combo in our bathroom that we took our sweet, sweet time renoing here in our (le sigh) 1985 house. I love it! Maybe I’ll take photos today so your mom and I can compare notes.