Baby in vintage bathroom on board! I “met” Leila on our Facebook page and was entranced by her bathroom makeover, which was driven by her desire to create a wallpaper look but with decals. All the more fascinating: This is the house she grew up with — and she even shared photos of her as a baby in this same bathroom — yes, that’s Leila, captured in Kodak circa 1961, in the classic pink-blue-black tile bathroom before her mother started switching things up!
Leila wrote:
Hi Pam:
Yes, I’m thrilled that you are interested in using my bathroom on your blog. This is a small bathroom in an upstairs flat in snowy Buffalo. I started out wanting to change the very dated wallpaper that I had with some starburst mid-century pattern wallpaper. When I could not find exactly what I wanted, I investigated other options. I decided to try decals, and I found exactly what I wanted on Etsy.
The hardest part was trying to figure out the placement so that they looked random. I cut out some foil in the same shapes and taped those to the wall first -to play around with the placement before I actually put on the decals. I also changed the hardware from wood block pulls to huge, mid-century round knobs which I also found on Etsy.
I scored the vintage Dixie Cup dispenser at a flea market — brand new with silver starburst cups to match!
The scalloped valance was handmade by my father in the 1950s and I treasure it. These inexpensive changes completely transformed my bathroom. I admire it every day while getting ready for work. Now I just need a soap dispenser and some towels with a mid-century vibe! Thanks.
I grew up in this house and I wanted to play up the vintage features I remember from my childhood. I have pictures of me as an infant being bathed in the sink. It’s not a pink bathroom, but it is still very special. 🙂
Here are two pictures that span 50+years.
That’s me after my bath circa 1961….
…. and here I am today sitting in that same spot in front of the mirror. The bathroom tiles used to be pink. Don’t hate me — I had nothing to do with their demise. Blame it on my progressive mother who was always changing with the times. And like you always say, you have to work with what you’ve got — so I’m trying my best to highlight the vintage features that do remain.
This bathroom is packed with built in storage, as you can see. The cabinetry was all handmade by my father back in the 50s. It’s almost primitive compared to today’s standards. There are no drawer slides and some drawers are cockeyed, but I love it because it came from his hands. There is even a door behind the shower that opens to easily to access the plumbing.
But by far, the most genius part is the huge swing out, hinged laundry hamper shown in the picture. It is practically hidden yet conveniently placed for dirty clothes and towels. Every house should have this!
Thanks for your interest. I stumbled on your blog years ago and it was like finding a friend — all these like-minded people sharing my passion!. Someday, I’ll tell you about my vintage clothing collection 🙂
Leila
Fabulous, Leila. I love love love it! What a treasure to this home, and you are a wonderful caretaker! Thank you for sharing your story and all these photos with us!
mary says
I love the look of the starburst decals. The cabinets, lights and tile work together beautifully. My question is the shower door handle,,is it Lucite, is it original?
Leila LaSpisa says
The shower doors are only about 15 years old. I had to replace the original aluminum frame doors because the aluminum got so old and discolored, there was no getting it clean. The handles are some type of plastic, but they do look like lucite!
GlenEllyn says
How wonderful! My 1926 home has an access panel in the master bedroom, which shares the wall with the bathroom.
Judy says
Great job Leila! Your bathroom is quite similar to mine, I have one bathroom in sky blue tiles and one in pink tiles! I love the color of tiles your Mother chose, did she get the matching toilet and sink at the same time? I covet your tall, narrow storage cabinets next to the shower, PERFECT! I also covet your tilt out laundry bin, lucky girl! Another thing that is exactly like my baths that I have never seen before, is the way the counter angles narrower to match the size of the doorway. I love your sweet story!
Leila says
I sooooo appreciate that comment, especially as this week is the 50th anniversary of his death. I do believe he was a genius and his ideas were really innovative for the 1950s. (There are several other features in my house that he built that still blow my mind.)
My plumber loves the access door- you can see a bit of it in the picture, showing the window. There are two narrow doors behind the tub/shower that I store toiletries in and below that is a matching door that opens to the plumbing. The BEST feature, however, is that hinged laundry hamper which holds tons of laundry. I’ve not seen another like it!
Joe Felice says
What is the purpose of the light switch above the laundry bin?
Dan says
I love what you did with the starburst decals, it looks awesome, as does the whole bathroom! I also couldn’t help but notice you live in “snowy Buffalo” I, too, am from Buffalo and am propelling (albeit slowly) my mid-century ranch back to a more era-appropriate state.
Kim says
A PLUMBING ACCESS DOOR BEHIND THE SHOWER!!!1!
…as someone who both inherited and had to add some new holes-in-walls recently, I certify your father as a genius. 😀
Suzi says
Oh those light fixtures are exactly what I am looking for for my 1966 bathroom! Where did you find those?
Leila says
I found them at Lowe’s and they were really inexpensive!
Allison says
You can find them on Amazon —
https://amzn.to/2LprivX
[note from Pam – I made this an affiliate link, I earn a wee commission if ya buy something, it’s part of how I keep this blog boat afloat]
Martha says
Beautiful story and beautiful bathroom!
Virginia says
Absolutely fantastic! Love the starbursts so much, and the cabinets are both handsome and heart-warming.
Kathi Gosnell says
Totally enchanting, Leila! The decals, light fixtures, and cabinet pulls make this bathroom a sparkly delight! I’m dying to locate some large pulls like those for our future kitchen retro-model, but haven’t found anything as large as the ones you have. Was the Etsy find a NOS, limited thing or reproductions we could all buy?
Leila says
Thank you for the compliment. They are indeed vintage, just in good condition. I had no trouble finding them on Etsy. I actually got them from two different vendors -in order to get the correct quantity. They were the same manufacturer so perfect match. The big ones are 2-1/2″ in diameter! They were also very inexpensive. Keep looking- they are out there!