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Home / Bathroom / Readers and their Bathrooms

Pink Gracelyn sink with the hard-to-find vanity take center stage in Amy’s bathroom

Pam Kueber - January 22, 2018, Updated: October 13, 2021

american standard gracelynn sink with pink sink

A house with a Naughty Pine err Pecky Cedar Lounge downstairs surely has a pink bathroom upstairs, wouldn’t you think? Yes, Amy of newfound Polkaholic fame also sent photos of her delicious pink and gray bathroom, complete with the highly sought-after American Standard Gracelyn sink with super-hard-to-find original vanity.

american standard logo

Amy writes:

Hi Pam, got it together to take pix of the bathroom today – hope you like it! Here’s some info:

I bought a 1916 bungalow in 2011 from the estate of the family who had been living there since 1947 – I was only the 4th owner.

bathroom with vintage american standard fixtures in pink

I fell in love with the house immediately – it’s a funny mix of original 1916 details (mostly original moulding, windows, doors, and door hardware) mixed with 50s updates – some glass block windows, atomic light fixtures, a knotty pine basement with wet bar, and this amazing time capsule bathroom with American Standard Venetian Pink toilet, “Gracelyn Cabinet-Lavatory,” Contour Bathtub, and Heritage faucets.

American standard Gracelynn sink white vanity pink sink
1962 American Standard Gracelyn sink with original vanity. From the MBJ Collection/Building Techology Heritage Library.

The cabinet is missing the rows on thin trim on the front, but is in otherwise remarkably great shape.

Gracelynn sink by american standard

The tile walls and floor are also original – I had to retile the two walls near the tub this year since they were crumbling, but was able to match the tile almost identically.

vintage bathroom light with prisms

The bathroom also has the original chrome medicine cabinet with adjustable side mirrors and an amazing light fixture with 180 individual glass prisms (no fun to clean!). 

time capsule note found in a bathroom

The homeowner even saved the extra prisms for the light in a little box in the basement.

gray tile vintage bathroom

I tried to keep the bathroom as true to the original as possible. When I first moved in it had metallic floral wallpaper on the walls and ceiling with a ceiling fan (never saw a ceiling fan in bathroom before!) – it was a little claustrophobic, so I removed the wallpaper, painted the walls dark grey to match one of the shades in the floor tile, and replaced the ceiling fan with a light fixture that picked up the chrome accents.

mid century bathroom sink

I know most of the other people who looked at this house probably wanted to rip out this bathroom right away, but it was one of the things I loved most about this quirky house.

Amy, photo courtesy Christopher Andrew of StopTime

 

Thank you for sharing your bathroom, Amy — it’s scrumptious and soooooo nice to know another one like this was saved.
 
Perhaps it may get me to finally get my Gracelyn into my bathroom. It’s been sitting in the garage nigh-on 10 years sans vanity. I got as far as getting Shaun go come take a look and write up a bid make me one. I even hoarded some vintage legs before World of Tile went out of business. So now, project is back on my radar. But ack, now, and don’t tell anyone: Today I’m heading out to pick up a vintage Kitchenaid dishwasher to swap with our new one that never worked very well. Two hours out, hoist it into the back of the Escape, two hours back including a short stop at Donut Dip, and then, calling the plumber and finding a steel cutter. It never ends.

CATEGORIES:
Bathroom Pink Bathrooms Readers and their Bathrooms

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39 comments

Comments

  1. Andrea Burlison says

    September 19, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    My mom and dad have this same sink, but the fixtures don’t work anymore. Any suggestions? Every plumber they have had look at says it can’t be fixed. I think it can. They love the sink. It was in the house when it was bought almost 40 years ago.

    • Pam Kueber says

      September 19, 2018 at 6:24 pm

      Try deabath.com and see if they have any solutions – they are my first go-to in situations like this.

  2. Michele DeGroat says

    June 24, 2018 at 6:47 pm

    I have the same sink! In Ming Green with toilet and tub to match. Circa 1962 custom home with only one previous owner.

  3. Evan says

    April 15, 2018 at 1:22 pm

    I’m sick with envy! I’ve been searching for a mid cent bathroom sink/vanity for SO long. I’d give my eye teeth….*sigh*

  4. Brenda says

    April 15, 2018 at 7:07 am

    O M G! They should start making this again…i would buy it in a ny minute! ????

    • Cece DuBois says

      June 24, 2018 at 10:42 am

      As would I!! I love it!!

  5. Michele DeGroat says

    February 8, 2018 at 8:25 pm

    I have the same 1962 Gracelynn sink and vanity in my 1962 custom home. Mine is Ming Green. Strangely the owner chose not to tile around the sink so I had to do so. Made up my own design painted the sink white with chrome handles. Not a pure replication of the era but still a nice look. I love that the sink has space on both sides to put down a few things.

  6. Cheryl Montenguise says

    February 8, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    I have an entry way floor in these tiles. Brown and rust tones. My home is from 1937 but can anyone date these 1″ tiles? I am trying to keep the oldest design and remove a 1964 remodel. Thanks!

    • Pam Kueber says

      February 8, 2018 at 3:50 pm

      I don’t give dating advice, but going out on a limb here: Dinner and a movie are classic.

      haha I don’t get much fun some days, can ya tell?

      That said, the sink is ’62, so the tile likely went in at that time. I can’t see the detail, but we have sources for speckled versions of this same sort of square tile, which seems to have been made continuously for decades — https://retrorenovation.com/2017/11/13/five-places-find-colorful-mosaic-floor-tile-1960s-style/

  7. judy says

    January 28, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    Amazing! So happy you kept your bathroom true to its original beautiful self!

  8. Jeffrey says

    January 28, 2018 at 6:44 pm

    The prism light fixture in the bathroom is one I have been in search of for (something, something) years. My Aunt Bunny (yes, Bunny) had a similar, if not the same one in the powder room of her 1958 split level in Whitehall, PA. I am literally stalking the house on Zillow if it ever comes up for sale to see if it’s still there as I haven’t seen it in over 20 years. Do you by chance know the manufacturer of the light fixture?
    Thanks.
    And great job with the bathroom!

    • Lisa Compo says

      January 28, 2018 at 9:08 pm

      Why don’t you just gather up courage one day and sit down and write a nice hand written letter to the owner of her house? I did it with the people who bought my Grandparent’s house. They had owned it for 10 years but ironically the pull down light fixture I was so fascinated by as a child had been removed and boxed up in the basement. They were happy to give it to me as well as several chrome kitchen chairs, a piece of countertop etc….

      Never hurts to ask, all they can say is it’s gone, still in place or come get it. Best of luck.

    • Nancy Herbert says

      January 30, 2018 at 10:20 pm

      It’s in the vein of a Sciolari, but I’ve not seen one quite like this one on the internet.

  9. Kara says

    January 28, 2018 at 1:05 pm

    Absolutely fabulous

  10. Joe says

    January 28, 2018 at 12:20 pm

    Love it, but the vanity and the sink with its integrated faucet blew me away!

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