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Bathroom tile in a patchwork quilt design, original to 1956 Portland General Electric Show Home

pam kueber - Updated: December 9, 2012

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

The inspiration for the patchwork quilt design of 18 different wallpapers in my office remodel was a similar idea I’d seen done with ceramic tile in tub/shower surround about 10 years ago. When I mentioned the patchwork tile idea recently, Teddi noted my mention of the patchwork tile — and wouldn’t you know it, she delivered photos from her 1956 bathroom showing just the kind of tile design that inspired me. Equally interesting, this idea seems to have been au courant ala 1956 — as her house was a 1956 Portland General Electric Show Home. Teddi’s home has a bunch of other great details worth of a show house, so read on, dear readers, read on …

Teddi writes:

Hi Pam, here’s our story: We were living in north bay San Francisco. Job-related issues led us to look for a new, less expensive place to live, and Salem, OR seemed to fit the bill. We’ve always lived in older, “character” homes — me in a Victorian, DH in a Tudor, the two of us in a bungalow — so that’s the type of property we looked at.

I saw this house first when I had come north for a job interview. Our realtor and I were looking at MLS listings in the desired neighborhoods. The ad for this home read, “3 BR, 2 baths, new storm windows,” but I thought I saw an A-frame-shaped front wall that was 1/2 window and 1/2 sandstone — decidedly mid-century modern — so we hit the road to take a look. The realtor and I both fell in love — he said if I didn’t buy it, he’d have to find a way to. A few weeks later, DH, DD and I came back up to Salem and looked at several properties I’d seen, plus some new listings.

the vanity in the bathroom with the amazing shower
the funky tile in the other bathroom
the whole-house intercom
the master control panel for the lighting system in our house, which is in the master BR (The button that says “All” controls all the lights in the house)

kitchen inf 1956 Portland General Electric Show HouseThis house, with it’s family-friendly lay-out, custom features, and cheery condition stood out as THE ONE. (The home also has a sweet history — the original owners met during WWII when she was his nurse after he lost both his legs. They married, moved here in 1956, and raised 3 daughters in this home.) We put in an offer, went back to CA and sold our house in two days, and started packing. Living here has been amazing — definitely a whole lifestyle change!

You mentioned that your fabulous office remodel was in part inspired by a desire to do a crazy quilt tile surround somewhere sometime. This shower is original to my 1956 mid-mod. We were told that our home was a PGE (Portland General Electric) show home, billed as the “home of the future.” We have a funky electrical system and all of our cabinetry and woodwork is amazing, so I tend to believe the realtor’s story. We are only the 2nd owners of this jewel, and the original lady-of-the-house must have been June Cleaver because everything in the house was pristine. We feel really blessed.

Thank you, Teddi! I love your shower, and your house. It is so lucky to have found you, and I LOVE the story of its original owners — and that you are keeping the story going.

Readers, if you have an interest in recreating a tub/shower or shower surround like this, it would not be *hard* to do — and could likely be done very inexpensively, if you have the time and patience to collect the tile, little by little, over time, at the Re-Store. Be sure to collect only same-sized tiles — remember, all 4″ tiles are not 4″, they are often 4-1/8 or 4-1/4 or 4-3/8 — you could mix and match as long as you keep like-sized tiles aligned by row, though; the whole thing would be so busy no one would likely see the difference. I will caution, though, that to make this look “right” you still have to bring a design sensibility to the project — you want like values, probably, with an occasional contrast.  One of these days, maybe I’ll be able to do this in a bathroom. One of the other things I’d like to do is also add art nouveau and Victorian design tiles. Really busy. It’ll be a further exploration of my Hippy House Ideal.

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41 comments

Comments

  1. IMissLiberty says

    Love it! And they thought my patchwork floor was crazy…

    Just an editorial note: “Realtor” is a proper noun and trademark, meaning member of the Board of Realtors, a trade association; it should always be capitalized. If you don’t know if they’re a member, but you know they’re licenced, you can call a real estate salesperson an agent or broker in the generic. (The media get this wrong all the time.)

  3. Eartha Kitsch says

    I love that shower! I think I’d just stand in there for hours, staring at each tile one by one. And that house! Wowee! That kitchen is the stuff of dreams. Congratulations to them on scoring such a great place!

  4. Rudi says

    Hmm… after a recent trip to B&W tile in Gardena, I suddenly have all kinds of ideas about what one could do with the myriad colors of very affordable seconds for sale in their showroom.

    Also the gas inset cooktop is amazing, and you’re no doubt lucky to have it over electric, but since it’s gas it makes me wonder about the PGE story.

    • Teddi says

      Hi Rudi–We added the gas cook top after we moved in. The original was electric, and not in the best of working order. I really like cooking on gas so much more than electric, so we ran a gas line from the nearby utilities after scoring the cook top on e-bay.

  5. TappanTrailerTami says

    Another great house posting – the cabinetry is ultra beautiful, and the shower is so much fun! I also love the light control panel, although i think with my lighting habit, if I had a panel it would about 40 switches long.

    Special note: Breadboards! I have been without a pull out breadboard for 5 long years now…. I miss having one terribly. I think new kitchens today rarely ever put one in, maybe due to the “island” being invented. In my book, breadboards should be standard in every single kitchen. My new kitchen will have at least one, if not two!

    Thanks for sharing your amazing house Teddy, and for loving it just the way it is 🙂

    • Teddi says

      Hi Tami–I agree about breadboards–should be standard. I DO have one, but the board in the photo is actually a “folding board” that is part of my hallway linen cupboard. Just one more swoon-worthy extra in my sweet little home.

      • TappanTrailerTami says

        A folding board? Wow!!! I kinda thought it was weird that there was an upper cabinet right there vs. a countertop. Now we know why! Man, you have all the bells and whistles in your house – I’m jealous!

  6. Ima Pam says

    What a wonderful home! I am in love with the kitchen, the cabinets, the fireplace, the orange kitty (!) and especially the shower!

  7. Queen of Fifty Cents says

    I had lunch at Teddi’s house the other day (yes, she lives near me!) and got a tour, and her house is FABULOUS! I so want to sneak over some night and move her kitchen cabinets to my house. And it’s not just the house, she has lots of great MCM decor, including a starburst clock collection on a living room wall. I’m so happy to see her house on your site!

    • TappanTrailerTami says

      How fun to have lunch with another RR reader. I wish there was a way for those who want to put up their location, and contact info – I’m sure there are probably readers near me who I would love to have lunch with or have a new thrifting buddy – maybe we could have a thread over on the forum side for that? Or, any other ideas? Pam?

      I notice some reader’s user ID’s link out to their blogs – but for the rest of us without blogs, there doesn’t seem to be a way to contact other posters here, and finding out someone is near you is really more accidental here.

    • Maureen Taylor says

      We own a 1956 brick home in the Eastmoreland Heights area of SE Portland . We were told when we purchased it that it was a PGE 1956 modern “home of the Year”. I have been unable to find any info on these homes. Anyone have any ideas about how to find more info?