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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!).
The homeowner even saved the extra prisms for the light in a little box in the basement.
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.
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
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ineffablespace says
The house my dad built for his parents in 1965 had this sink and vanity in the ivory and gold.
The sink, Cinderella tub, and toilet were turquoise and I think at least one of the pieces was Eljer, although it all seemed to match.
The wall tile was the equivalent of Daltile Golden Granite (gold sparkles).
I have not been in the house in many years, a cousin lives there, but I own it, and I think it might all still be there. He may have changed the toilet out of necessity on his own, but I am usually responsible for replacement of most things.
Suzy says
These pictures help me so much!!! I have similar colored fixtures that I wanted to match with gray tile & possibly a darker gray vanity. Now I can actually see it!!! Thank you for posting ❤
Lynette says
I have the same toilet in Ming Green. Bought a whole set in the Ming Green for my son’s renovation. His original bathroom is blue, but we are adding the second bath in Ming Green. I am trying to figure out a floor tile and wall tile for it. I am thinking maybe one inch hex. He has brown mosaic floor tile right now, but the repairs and adding the second bathroom require we remove it. (he’s not a fan of the browns with blue anyway)
Judy h. says
Amy, My husband and I have a mid-century modern ranch we purchased in 90% mint condition. In our restoration of just a few areas, I’ve never come upon a Gracelyn sink. I love it and yours, in pink, is utterly delightful! Any Amy, you must have a lucky star shining on you. Finding the extra prisms for the bathroom fixtures, ahh, a TREASURE CHEST, indeed. I LOVE what you did with the bathroom, perfection!
Diana says
Love your bathroom. The pink and grey is really pretty and the sink is spectacular. I can’t tell from the catalog picture what the horizontal lines on the front of the cabinet were. Trim? Grooves in the wood? But if I zoom in real close on your’s I can see shadows of those lines under the paint. I believe I would also be tempted to strip it and repaint and definitely investigate adding those trim lines. Love it though.
Michele DeGroat says
I have the same sink and vanity in my 1962 custom home. and wall mounted toilet to match, both in Ming Green and white. I upgraded tile surround in the bathroom and found some glass tile inserts to accent the area above the sink. Wish me luck figuring out how to post a picture. This bathroom is lovely. We are about to sell and realtor sees the bathroom as a potential negative – people on Long Island, NY don’t seem to “get it’ regarding retro style.
Lisa Compo says
Oh, this is beautiful. I can see why Amy loves it so much.
I am particularly excited because I have the same sink, toilet and vanity in original condition, shiny strips and all. BUT, mine aren’t assembled anywhere. Sooo Amy’s is way better. 🙂
The house we bought and are still working on projects has all blue baths and I want to change one to my pink stuff. Her pink and gray look very nice but I don’t think I could make it work with a blue tub and tile….too rainbow sherbet looking. I really don’t want to have to remove all the original blue tile,…just seems so against what we all believe here. Until then Gracelynn and lowboy live in the garage.
I hope one day my bathroom is as pretty as Amy’s. Congrats Pam on the new/old DW, I tried to click on the pic because I thought it was an ad..ha ha I like it very much.
Mary Elizabeth says
Wonderful sink and vanity cabinet. Wish I had seen that one before having DH build one to finish up our pink and gray bath.
But what I liked most about your story is that the previous owner saved you the extra prisms for the light fixture. The previous owner and builder of our 1959 ranch saved us a stack of the original plastic tile, which we hung onto even though we thought we were going to gut the bathroom. Then we found matching tile on eBay, and we were able to redo an entire shower wall that was crumbling. I love the way those Greatest Generation homeowners saved or re-purposed everything that might be useful. I love to “channel” them when I am making decisions about what to save and what to toss.
Lynn says
Amy, I love that you are such a preservationist, and it’s wonderful your house had so many original features!! Pam, I remember that dishwasher. I can’t remember who had it. Good luck on your adventures!
Nancy says
I love the previous owner’s note in the same penmanship style of my mother and grandmother – the Palmer method! They both grew up in Minnesota.