Ideas for a small bathroom: My beige bathroom Video #2 — Things I Like
pam kueber - August 1, 2012, Updated: August 17, 2021
Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.
In my second video about my beige bathroom, I talk about four features that I particularly like and which turned out well. Example #1: I continue to be the number-one fan of putting a diverter in the shower that you can use to send water to either the shower head or the handheld shower. Note how in this bathroom, my handheld is lined up perfectly (on the horizontal) with the diverter. For sure plan for this when you are having the plumber do the pipes — it is so nice to have everything line up nicely. Another terrific feature … of this bathroom is that I took advantage of a 8″ wall depth and created a nice, deep built-in storage cabinet. As I recall, we had to kind of fuss with the framing inside the wall — but it was not too hard, didn’t take to long. I centered the box above where the toilet would be. I was careful about how the lines of the storage cabinet (including trim) lined up with the top lines of the window and medicine cabinet, which are nearby. In general, let me tell you: I had to sweat every detail of such placement issues in this bathroom because it was so small. This is often true in bathrooms — they require a lot of function, but in a very small space. Which makes it all the more important to labor over the details… Think all the details through very very carefully before you get started. In this regard, I hope these video are helping. Please also see my frightening story: 84 costs (decisions, really) to consider when you are planning a bathroom remodel.
I LOVE that wallpaper. It would go so perfectly in my beige bathroom. The Formica (1956 ranch) has an off-white ground with beige and gray-green polka dots.
I’m such a huge fan of this site. It’s a pretty good bet we never would have bought this house if I had never seen this website. You women are great!
Jeffsays
I have the same tub. Softscrub with a soft (not stiff — soft) scrub brush will do the trick to brighten up the nonslip surface!
L Moonsays
Pam, is that wallpaper something that’s still available? Or was it from your vintage collection. LOVE it!
pam kuebersays
Yes, part of my vintage hoard. Rolls purchased for $3 each!
JPsays
Hi Pam,
Where did you find that mid century diverter? It’s great!
pam kuebersays
My plumbers got it, not sure where. It’s not old. It’s new.
Blondie7says
So Hot Pam…I love your polka dot dress. Beautiful! I am huge fan of ” I Love Lucy” and her polka dot dresses too. I truly enjoyed your video #2. Thanks for your valuable and knowledgeable info.
pam kuebersays
You know what I read once: That in the original I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball wore the same 5 dresses (or 7, or something like that) over and over and over. Because that’s how many dresses the average woman at the time owned, and she wanted to be true to that average. Isn’t that interesting!
Blondie7says
Yep….so very interesting about Lucille Ball….Pam. I love all seven of her dresses…which are so very Ho! I love the 50’s fashion because it’s so very feminine and shows a Woman’s curves in a respectful way. Sorry about the delay Pam…I just walked in and discovered your reply from yesterday. Thank You.
Blondie7says
oops typo error…Hot!
pam kuebersays
🙂
DJsays
I have the same tub with the same non-slip material. I fill the tub with an inch of hot water and throw in a cup of bleach and let it sit for an hour. Comes out sparkling white.
Janetsays
Pam, my bathroom that is tiled floor, walls and ceiling, is a little smaller than yours! I love the recessed medicine cabinet; we saw one in a house we rented up in Maine and I need to get Phil to put one in both bathrooms – our smaller bath is tiny and we need that extra storage. Unfortunately, that tiled wall makes me reluctant to put a hole in it but that would also give us the extra tile we need! We installed a simple hand held attachment in place of the shower head a few years back when our son broke his leg and had to sit on a bathtub stool. We all loved it but shortly thereafter the plumbing literally let go and we think the pressure caused by the attachment had something to do with it. It is always a crap shoot when making any kind of change to old plumbing. We had to make a big hole in the tile to replace the faucet and pipe but it could have just been coincidental since the plumbing IS fifty years old now. When we finally fix the tile, maybe I can get a diverter like yours! It would help with the dog bath too, as mentioned. Funny, but my mother made me a dress in a fabric just like your polka dot one for my eighth grade graduation but I threw a hissy fit and I wouldn’t wear it. All my friends had filmy tulle prom type dresses and I felt that I would look like a dork compared to them. It remained on the dress form since 1965 until just a couple of years ago when my sister cleaned out the attic. Sure brought back memories. I guess my mother felt so bad, she never sewed again. But thanks for the great suggestions in this video.
Jaysays
Pam, have to agree with you on the diverter. A small luxury that pays off in personal comfort. When I had the master bath (well not master in size) gutted six years ago, that was one thing I insisted on – having a diverter for the hand shower. The shower head was very high up and would have been a pain to switch from one to the other. The only goof was not putting a light in the shower. Oh well, live and learn. At the time I had not yet discovered your wonderful site of retro goodness so the shower and floor were done in larger 6” tile.
lyndasays
I agree that the diverter is a nice feature that does not cost too much. I didn’t know about putting a diverter on the wall so I put in a separate valve and faucet and it was pricey. (the handheld shower and the overhead shower can be on at the same time) All I knew was that i did not want to reach up high to reach a diverter on the shower head every time I wanted to turn on the handheld shower. Because of this site, my daughter has wall diverters on her shower. Always something to learn on this site!
Becky says
I LOVE that wallpaper. It would go so perfectly in my beige bathroom. The Formica (1956 ranch) has an off-white ground with beige and gray-green polka dots.
I’m such a huge fan of this site. It’s a pretty good bet we never would have bought this house if I had never seen this website. You women are great!
Jeff says
I have the same tub. Softscrub with a soft (not stiff — soft) scrub brush will do the trick to brighten up the nonslip surface!
L Moon says
Pam, is that wallpaper something that’s still available? Or was it from your vintage collection. LOVE it!
pam kueber says
Yes, part of my vintage hoard. Rolls purchased for $3 each!
JP says
Hi Pam,
Where did you find that mid century diverter? It’s great!
pam kueber says
My plumbers got it, not sure where. It’s not old. It’s new.
Blondie7 says
So Hot Pam…I love your polka dot dress. Beautiful! I am huge fan of ” I Love Lucy” and her polka dot dresses too. I truly enjoyed your video #2. Thanks for your valuable and knowledgeable info.
pam kueber says
You know what I read once: That in the original I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball wore the same 5 dresses (or 7, or something like that) over and over and over. Because that’s how many dresses the average woman at the time owned, and she wanted to be true to that average. Isn’t that interesting!
Blondie7 says
Yep….so very interesting about Lucille Ball….Pam. I love all seven of her dresses…which are so very Ho! I love the 50’s fashion because it’s so very feminine and shows a Woman’s curves in a respectful way. Sorry about the delay Pam…I just walked in and discovered your reply from yesterday. Thank You.
Blondie7 says
oops typo error…Hot!
pam kueber says
🙂
DJ says
I have the same tub with the same non-slip material. I fill the tub with an inch of hot water and throw in a cup of bleach and let it sit for an hour. Comes out sparkling white.
Janet says
Pam, my bathroom that is tiled floor, walls and ceiling, is a little smaller than yours! I love the recessed medicine cabinet; we saw one in a house we rented up in Maine and I need to get Phil to put one in both bathrooms – our smaller bath is tiny and we need that extra storage. Unfortunately, that tiled wall makes me reluctant to put a hole in it but that would also give us the extra tile we need! We installed a simple hand held attachment in place of the shower head a few years back when our son broke his leg and had to sit on a bathtub stool. We all loved it but shortly thereafter the plumbing literally let go and we think the pressure caused by the attachment had something to do with it. It is always a crap shoot when making any kind of change to old plumbing. We had to make a big hole in the tile to replace the faucet and pipe but it could have just been coincidental since the plumbing IS fifty years old now. When we finally fix the tile, maybe I can get a diverter like yours! It would help with the dog bath too, as mentioned. Funny, but my mother made me a dress in a fabric just like your polka dot one for my eighth grade graduation but I threw a hissy fit and I wouldn’t wear it. All my friends had filmy tulle prom type dresses and I felt that I would look like a dork compared to them. It remained on the dress form since 1965 until just a couple of years ago when my sister cleaned out the attic. Sure brought back memories. I guess my mother felt so bad, she never sewed again. But thanks for the great suggestions in this video.
Jay says
Pam, have to agree with you on the diverter. A small luxury that pays off in personal comfort. When I had the master bath (well not master in size) gutted six years ago, that was one thing I insisted on – having a diverter for the hand shower. The shower head was very high up and would have been a pain to switch from one to the other. The only goof was not putting a light in the shower. Oh well, live and learn. At the time I had not yet discovered your wonderful site of retro goodness so the shower and floor were done in larger 6” tile.
lynda says
I agree that the diverter is a nice feature that does not cost too much. I didn’t know about putting a diverter on the wall so I put in a separate valve and faucet and it was pricey. (the handheld shower and the overhead shower can be on at the same time) All I knew was that i did not want to reach up high to reach a diverter on the shower head every time I wanted to turn on the handheld shower. Because of this site, my daughter has wall diverters on her shower. Always something to learn on this site!