When readers Amy and Mack were searching for a new home, they knew they wanted something built in the 1960s without a lot of remuddling — so when they toured a house with a lavender bathroom, Amy knew immediately that it was meant to be.
We recently relocated to Raleigh, North Carolin,a and had a hard time finding a suitable house – translated – built in the 1960’s without a lot of remuddling. At the last house on the 3rd day of searching, the house found us. When I got to the top of the stairs, there it was – a bathroom with lavender tile! I thought of SaraRoundhouse and her lavender bath and knew this house was the one. The realtor was yammering on about ripping it out – I wasn’t listening because I was too busy wondering where to find a lavender toilet to bring this beauty back. A year later it’s ready for its closeup. nd yes, I found that toilet! Folks laugh about lavender, until they see it — then they want one!
Did you know you can’t find lavender toilet bolt caps anywhere?! I had some enamel paint matched to one of the tiles, prepped and painted them myself. Bemis has come out with classic color lids and seat – perfect match! The toilet was found at Habitat after stalking them for several months.
The vanity had to go into a space that was of course non-standard sized. Lacking Kate’s woodworking skills, and refusing to buy big box cabinets, I got to thinking, what would look period? I’ve always loved gold and white French Provincial furniture, so I found the one French Provincial style vanity in the USA that would work in the space. (No skills to tear up and rebuild a perfectly good original dresser.) Since the vanity would mostly cover the typical hole in the flooring under the old vanity, we used plywood and concrete board to fill it, and then installed white tile. The baseboard that is visible is lavender tile. The part behind the vanity is just regular baseboard painted lavender. The mirror is classic 60-70’s – just toned it down with a little silver paint.
The pictures over the loo belonged to my mother-in-law. I’ve hauled them around for years and guess what – they have the perfect shade of lavender in them! The wall paint was supposed to be a pale gray blue (winner out of 47 tries). It turned green. But looks good with the lavender.
If you are going to have a lavender bathroom, you have to have a lavender chandelier (you can tell I lost the plot with that).
Amy, your lavender bathroom looks fantastic! The French Provincial style vanity works well in the space, and we just love your lavender toilet and original matching tile. Kudos on a job well done. And heck — if a purple chandelier makes you happy, why not? There are so many ways to retro — and we love them all!
Jayme Gaines says
Love it! We just decided to remodel/restore our 1960 bathroom. I was going to do the bathroom in all white with pastel teal and tan accessories so those who inherit wouldn’t be locked into a particular color. Then I accidentally found a lavender toilet and sink on FB marketplace for $100! All the tile, floor, and shower, plus the beadboard will still be white. The walls will be a pale lavender and accessories will be lavender and sage green! Good thing my granddaughter also loves lavender!
Giselle says
My parents still have the original Richmond Rheem Misty Lilac toilet, sink and tub in their 1963 house. The toilet seat broke long ago and replacements have never sufficed, in my opinion. I am now on the hunt for a misty lilac seat and found a few places that offer them but Mom and Dad don’t want to spend $72 plus shipping for a seat. Alternatively, Wal-Mart offers seats in several colors: white, white and beige woodgrain. Is it worth it to have a nice color-matched seat again? I think so.