All that was left of the original 1976 bathroom in Kathy and Ralph’s house was a Kohler Fresh Green receptor tub. There had once been matching orange sinks! What would daredevil decorator Kathy do to bring this bathroom back to the ’70s? Hint: Her ingenious solutions were found at the Re-Store, World of Tile, and a local old-time wallpaper store. This bathroom project may shock minimalists’ eyes — but it makes mine very happy indeed.
Kathy writes:
We are the third owners of our 1966 cedar contemporary, the second owners’ staying only 5 years. By coincidence, we became acquainted with a woman who grew up in the house, giving us access to valuable info.
This project was our second bath. It was originally finished a decade or more after the house was built and was done inexpensively — masonite paneling, plywood shelving, white laminate counter, tile board tub surround, vinyl floor — but the kids picked the fixture colors. They chose Kohler Fresh Green for the receptor tub and toilet and orange for the pair of oval sinks.
Unfortunately, it was all removed by owner #2 – except for the tub, which had been recoated WHITE and accented with colonial-style fixtures. Now there was golden oak everywhere. The floor was bland grey vinyl off the roll from a big box store.
At our local ReStore, we were amazed to find a vintage vanity clad all in black marble Formica with muted green and gold veining.
It came complete with TWO ORANGE OVAL SINKS with crazy gold faucets! We made a deal and took it home, where it lived in storage in our basement for 2 years.
In the interim, the white coating on our little Kohler Standish tub began to chip, then peel. With the help of a scraper, I had the whole thing back to green in a few hours. It shows the acid etching from the refinishing, but a couple of coats of canuba wax improved things enough to get by.
Pam interjects: Readers, be aware that old materials, products and their layers may contain hazards. Get with your own properly licensed professionals to assess what you are dealing with so that you can make informed decisions. For more info see my Be Safe/Renovate Safe page.
I’ve always loved exuberant wallpapered 1970s bathrooms. I couldn’t spend $600 on vintage foil or mylar, so I hit our local old-time paint and wallpaper store and was pleasantly surprised to find recently discontinued designs with a 70s vibe at dirt cheap prices. For $60, I picked out a great leafy pattern in blues and greens and had fun learning to hang it myself.
For the floor, we made a road trip to New Jersey and World of Tile just in time before they liquidated. It took less than an hour to pick out our cream tile with green accents for only $2 a square foot.
A methodical handy man friend installed it all, retrofitting the vanity perfectly, which even required some laminate to be removed and moved around. I repaired and papered the walls and changed out the tub faucet trim.
I left one of the oak cabinets, refinished in a darker color, along with the white solid surface tub surround.
Someday, I’ll find a Kohler Fresh Green toilet. For now, a fresh green Bemis toilet seat represents.
Other finishing touches include vintage Carriage House by Amerock towel bars and accessories, and a 1970s Syroco wall decoration. Mirrors from Lowe’s and a shower curtain from Target round it all out.
We love our new/old glam bathroom. I look forward to the day someone visiting our house for the first time sees the bathroom and says, “Yikes! I’ll bet you can’t wait to get rid of this!” But everyone so far seems to genuinely love it, too.
Fabulous. Just fabulous. And, you used one of my all-time favorite World of Tile tiles! Thank you, Kathy and Ralph!
Karin says
Now that is an iconoclastic bathroom. It’s so happy and fun. My husband likes it too. As they said in back in the day in the 60s and 70s, let your freak flag fly!
Kathy says
Thank you for all of your kind comments. This was a really fun project that allowed me to honor my 70s youth while honoring the spirit of the original owners. The bathroom is one of the few places in this house without walls covered in wood or cork, so it begged for color.
Laurie Louise says
Amazing. Happy, elegant, over-the-top. Seventies, in other words. Brilliance of this caliber deserves not just a Hard Way, but a Most Dramatic Difference Between Before and After, and a Road Less Traveled, Bathroom Division. Seriously. Congrats!
cathie says
For some reason that I can’t figure out, I actually like this. Its so 70’s, a decade that I absolutely hate, but that vanity is fabulous, the sinks are fabulous, I love the green tub, I love the shape of the tub, and I love the wallpaper. I don’t think anything matches, its a big hot mess, but it all works. I also love that they’ve done exactly what they wanted, not “what can we do that will appeal to the most number of potential buyers”.
Mary Elizabeth says
The condo I moved into in 1982 was built in 1978 and decorated by the former owner. The kids’ bath featured a sink that was close to this orange–it was called “poppy” in the stores that still sold it. The toilet and tub were white, and the wallpaper was a plaid with poppy, white, yellow, and the same green as Kathy and Ralph’s tub. I thought it was a little loud, but we couldn’t afford to redo the bath right away, but the shower curtain and towels were a boring white and showing some wear. Then one day I was shopping and found on super sale a shower curtain with a jungle theme–it had large, lush leaves and multicolored parrots with feathers in all the colors already in the room. I wasn’t sure it was going to work, but when I brought it home and hung it up, it made all the other colors in the bath come together, or “pop,” as they say on the home decorating channel. Gradually I replaced the towels with just the right green, poppy, and yellow, so each of the three kids had their own color and there was no question of whose towel was whose! It was no longer a question of the bathroom being too loud but of it being harmonized finally. Also, the kids loved it and pretended to be parrot-toting pirates while playing in the tub.
Good job, Kathy and Ralph! Enjoy your “new” old bath.
pam kueber says
Great story! Yes, as Kate says: Where will your pattern lie? The pattern that pulls all the color in the room together — essential.
Christy says
The mood of this bathroom magically combines dreamy and ka-POW! Also, Etsy has a matching Kleenex box for your Carriage House hardware…you can rock your tissues like it’s 1776! etsy.com/listing/260541257/kleenex-tissue-holder-amerock-carriage?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=amerock carriage house&ref=sr_gallery_3
Debbie V. says
I am a born-again minimalist and I am SO in love with this bathroom. I had the Amerock towel rack and accessories in one of my homes in the 70s. At the time they were the new, hot thing – Ha! You did such a beautiful job!! Thank you for sharing!
Trish says
Absolutely wonderful! It’s a joy for my eyeballs!
denise says
I LOVE IT!! it might not be for the minimalist, but even with all the patterns, it’s so well balanced, that it doesn’t scream ‘chaos’.
Well done Kathy and Ralph!!
Debbie in Portland says
That vanity is absolutely amazing. I would never have thought to pair it with that wallpaper, but they are a perfect combination. As we would have said to praise you in the 70’s: “Right ON! That bathroom is far out!” 🙂