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!
Amy Hill says
Pictures! Before, During & After.
I have found that your first choice is almost always the best. If you stress too much over a decision it’s usually not the best choice.
I’m sure it will turn out perfect!
Tutti says
I can’t wait to see the reveal!
Cynthia says
That hex tile is popular around here, isn’t it? 😉 We used it on the floor of our master bath in our recent addition to our 1958 tri-level. On the shower and tub walls are white, coral, and gray 4×4 and subway tile in a diamond pattern. Our vanity, sinks, tub, and medicine cabinets were all 1940s/1950s salvage (off craigslist), so the effect is — hopefully — a brand-new bathroom that (in the words of one of my neighbors) “looks old, but perfectly-maintained.” Well, that was the idea. Someday I will send Pam some pics!
Oh, and we used a light gray grout, too, on the floor…I find it’s fairly easy to keep clean…
Melanie says
I can’t wait to see the pictures. That’s going to be a pretty darn fast redo!
Oh, and I love that hat your mom is wearing!
Melinda says
We gutted our bathroom–all the way down to the studs–in August 2009 and redid it in black and white. It is our only bathroom, so the project had to be completed quickly. Decisions that had been made over the years by previous owners, as well as wear and tear, necessitated starting completely over. We managed to get everything done, minus the painting, in 7 days. My husband and I worked 12 hours a day most days to accomplish this. But, it was worth it!
We went with white 4×4 tiles for the walls and shower, and the floor is a tiny black and white tile mosaic. We actually considered the hexagon type like you are using but wanted something a bit more modern. We didn’t order much of anything; almost all could be found locally. We used grey grout; it looks terrific. One thing we did alter is that instead of using the built in spacers on the wall tiles we used tile spacers for a wider band of grout. I ended up painting the walls Paris pink. We kept the original medicine cabinet. We spray painted the frame black to match the black tiles. We did order the light fixtures online, but they arrived within just a few days. Oh, and I bought a discontinued style of towel racks on eBay and saved about $150 this way. I love our bathroom; it has a vintage flavor, but still looks updated.
dee says
please take lots of pictures. we are redoing our downstairs in a similar style and its a little daunting.
Jane / MulchMaid / Elvis says
Pam, you’re just amazing! I devoutly hope you’re calling in help for the actual labor.
I love the tile and I’m sure your other design decisions made along with your aunt and mom, will be equally sure.
Can’t wait for more info – and the reveal!
lady brett says
what *lovely* tile! it would certainly be my second choice (right behind my dream penny-round bathroom floor).
looking forward to hearing more about how this goes – when we redo our bathroom it’s going to have to be quick like that as it’s the only one we have! and, oh, how it needs a good gutting…
Laurie Walsh says
We’re finishing a 1928 bathroom using that exact same black and white hexagon tile on the walls of a bathtub shower combo, but punched out 150 of the black tiles and replaced them with gray and white tiles of the same brand so the design wouldn’t look so ‘dizzy’ on the wall…..
Janice says
We are in month four of our 2nd bathroom gut and remodel (in pink, white and black) so to hear someone can do it in 7 – 10 days seems remarkable. Can’t wait to hear all the stories that come out of this project and see the finished bath…which I know will be awesome! Good luck! Sounds like you’re working hard, but having a ball at the same time.