Jim builds a pink and black bathroom — inspired by his grandmother’s bathroom

Taking inspiration from his grandmother’s vintage pink bathroom along with the help and resources he found on Retro Renovation, Jim used his mad DIY stills to tackle a complete gut remodel of the main bathroom in his 1961 midcentury modest home. The results are fabulous — a black and pink bathroom that looks like it has always been there — but brand new! 

Jim writes:

I recently finished a remodel of the bathroom in my 1961 house. Any mid-century charm that it may have had originally had been lost many years ago. It was plain and worn-out.

I put off remodeling it for many years, because I just couldn’t get excited about any of the new materials I saw in stores. Then, I had the idea of restoring it to a style appropriate for a house of this age. My grandmother’s 1956 bathroom came to mind as the ideal look that I was going for. As I started trying to source the correct materials, I kept coming across your websites. The resources listed there were extremely helpful.

Kate’s pink bathroom project made me realize that there was no reason I couldn’t build my own cabinets from scratch. I built three of them, copying the ones that were in my grandparents’ house.

I even found new-old-stock hinges from the 1950s.

Other than the installation of the flooring, I did everything myself. I spent five months planning and gathering materials. Once I started demolition on January 1st, it took five weeks to complete the room (with very little sleep). I used 1,101 tiles on the walls.

I used B&W pink & black tile and chrome countertop edging from New York Metal. The laminate is Formica Charcoal Boomerang. That was all I was able to find six months ago when I bought it. (Unfortunately, the new Wilsonart boomerang patterns were unveiled a bit too late for my project).

It’s a small bathroom, only about 45 square feet. Since the vanity top was so small, I had a lot of extra laminate from the 4×8 sheet that I bought. I used some of the rest to laminate the drawer bottoms and shelves. Even then, I still had a large sheet left. I decided to use it on my kitchen table (my grandparents’ kitchen table from the 1950s). I cut it to fit, but it’s not glued down. It just sits there as a replacement for a tablecloth, to protect the wooden table top. I’ll attach a picture of that, too. It’s a good use for leftover laminate.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the resources that your websites directed me to. I also thought that your audience would enjoy seeing my bathroom project.

Aww, Jim, I am especially pleased that reading about how I built my own bathroom vanity made you realize that you could also build your own vanity and bathroom cabinets! They turned out wonderful — now friends and family will be asking you to build cabinets and vanities for their bathrooms — just you wait and see!

Resource list:

• Tile – B&W Tile 70W Pink & 92W Black
• Sink – Kohler Tahoe with trim ring
• Laminate – Formica Charcoal Boomerang
• Chrome Edging – New York Metal
• Cabinets – Homemade from pine & fir with 1 coat each of clear & amber shellac**
• Cabinet Hinges – Vintage new old stock Stanley 1530 Semi-Concealed Hinges
• Cabinet Knobs – Liberty P65015H-CHR-C 1-1/2″ Concave Round Knobs
• Cabinet Catches – Stanley 71-0100
• Bathtub – American Standard Princeton 30″ White
• Toilet – American Standard Cadet 3 White

**Pam notes: In the comments of this story about amber shellac, readers posted that amber shellac may not hold up well if exposed to water and other chemicals. Pam = not an expert on this question. Readers: When researching what finishes to put on your woods, do your own research, including contacting the manufacturers, to determine what applications are appropriate for a given product.

• Flooring – Mannington Essentials Pewter VCT
• Black Soap Dish – Clay Squared
• Mirrored Medicine Cabinet – “Satin Glide” by Williams Products (Came with House)
• Wall Doorstop – Stanley 75-0161
• Towel Bar – 1 original to house, 1 vintage from Ebay
• Toilet Paper Dispenser – Original to house
• Window Valance – Vintage late 1950s from my grandparents’ house
• Shower Curtain – Cafepress through Amazon (turned backwards for more subdued colors)
• Towels – Bed Bath & Beyond Wamsutta Duet in Chrome and Dusty Rose
• Wall Stencils – Homemade from pattern found on Retro Renovation

• Ceiling Light Fixture – Habitat for Humanity ReStore
• Light Switch Plates – Vintage 1950s from Ebay
• Gray Wall Paint – Ace Hardware Clark + Kensington “Fog Rolls In”
• Pink Wall Paint – Ace Hardware Clark + Kensington “Rosy Cheeks”
• Sink Faucet – Moen – Came with house, replacement handle from Ace Hardware
• Shower Faucet – Price Pfister – existing from 2003 repair project

• Trash Can – Vintage Rubbermaid 2955 from my grandparents’ house
• Drinking Cup – Vintage Bolero Therm-O-Ware tumbler
• Medicine cabinet and toilet paper holder – both came with the house

Link Love:

• You can see more of Jim’s midcentury modest home on his website.