Matt has been constructing this blue and gray tiled bathroom in his 1959 home — all from scratch — oh my — it’s fabulous! Now, it’s time to choose wallpaper. He’s found a contender but sends in this question: Does his wallpaper choice have an authentic midcentury look? I opine.
Matt writes:
I’ve been recreating a blue / gray bathroom since early last year, and I’m finally at the point where we choose wallpaper. We found a pattern we really like that has a blue / gray scheme that’s similar to our tile and fixtures with a yellow accent.
You would have to see the colors (I have a couple of pictures) but I’m wondering how authentic this might be? I don’t see very many blue bathrooms, let alone blue with a hint of yellow anything mixed in there. For what it’s worth If we go with this I’m thinking white towels so it would be just a pop of color.
Our goal is something that looks like it’s been there since the house was built in 1959. It’s basically down to wallpaper, building the hamper, someone changing our salvaged green bathtub to blue, and small details so we’re getting really close to the end!
The bathroom is changing quickly though, for example if our two year old cooperates the countertop may be tiled by the end of the weekend. Likewise the tub I’m hoping can be enameled in blue soon.The tile and plumbing supply fixtures are new. Cabinets, lighting and other fixtures are salvaged. We’ve used a lot of the resources available here for tile and fixtures, by the way. We’re definitely glad all of it was available.
Choosing wallpaper that looks authentic to the midcentury era
“The look” of vintage wallpaper vs. much of today’s wallpaper
I am not expert on the technical language, but here goes:
- Old paper was printed using actual rollers — actual ink laid down, layer after layer until the desired design was achieved.
- The paper stock also was — pretty paper-y — they can be tricky to install for that reason — they may tear or otherwise be brittle or fragile.
- From a design perspective, old wallpapers also often had metallic inks…
- They often had striations in their background…
- More typically than not, I’d say, they had relatively small patterns… and, I’ll say:
- Few bright (blue) whites / mostly yellowed pinked off-whites.
So… If you want a paper that looks truly authentic to the time — if you want time-capsule look — look for vintage or a paper that’s still printed with real inks using rollers or similar technology.
- 7 places to buy vintage wallpaper
- Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpaper still does old-fashioned printing with inks and has retro designs
- See all my wallpaper stories / research here
- Tip: Get samples of true-vintage or layered-ink and you compare them with digital, and you will see the difference
Sandy says
Matt, I LOVE your choice of wallpaper, and I would put it up just like is pictured, with the horizontal diamonds. I sure hope people haven’t convinced you to give up on this lovely wallpaper for your bathroom! Unless your house is meant to be a purist restoration museum of mid-century, I would certainly not worry that it is not vintage wallpaper and is not printed. It has the vibe, and really, textile designers from the 50s DID use starbursts and diamonds for things like curtains and fabrics. The brighter white ground will look crisp and smart and CLEAN in your bathroom. I also love the pale grey lines in the background: they subtly pick up the grout lines in the wall tile and the floor tile. The only thing I would not do is use white towels: not only would they get dirty really quickly, but it would be hard to get the same white, and with white, it is noticeable when it is a different white. Instead, I would get charcoal towels and aqua blue towels, and put them side by side.
I find the Bradbury Atomic far too busy, because with the floor pattern tiles (which I love!) and the squares of the tile and the grout, you have a fair bit going on already. I also find that in a small room, and you stated yours has no windows, that the more yellowed ground of the bottom two would make the bathroom like dingy and dirty. Rosie’s vintage example is my least favourite: not only because of the yellowed ground, but I find the curves and rounded freeform design compete with all the geometrics in your bathroom.
Gabe says
Where did you get your flooring tiles? Love it!
Pam Kueber says
It’s Merola, see this story for resources: https://retrorenovation.com/2017/11/13/five-places-find-colorful-mosaic-floor-tile-1960s-style/
Joann says
Love the paper you chose. So much more durable than a vintage paper. House I grew up in had everything blue in one bath and everything pink in the other. Sinks, tubs, etc. As for white towels, I’d look for ones with a yellow band to tie it in and make the paper pop.
Pencils says
I like the pattern and colors of the wallpaper you chose…but I don’t think anyone in the 50s would have used a pattern like that in their bathroom. Just because the pattern may have existed in the 50s, it doesn’t mean that it would have been used in a bathroom. (Besides the whole colors, inks and paper thing.) Bathrooms tended to have, well, water-based patterns, anything from fish to swans were popular. Swan prints were in fact extremely popular, as were flamingos and poodles (especially in pink bathrooms.) All sorts of floral and vegetal prints too, especially if they were lily pads. Also popular was hanging matching chalkware accents: if you had angelfish on your wallpaper, then people would hang angelfish chalkware, and sometimes other items as well.
So it’s up to you–I personally think you should use what you like and what makes you happy whenever you see it, but if being truly authentic is your thing, then hit Google and Pinterest for images of 50s bath wallpaper, there are a zillion images of them out there.
Barb says
As someone who just used real vintage paper for a kitchen, go with a reproduction!! I love the look of my vintage paper but now that it is installed, the surface is flaking off in many small areas. (This paper probably shouldn’t have been put up for sale, but it was not obvious upon inspecting the paper when received). Be extremely careful if you use vintage paper and make sure the place you purchase from has appropriate customer service policies..my vendor. Not so much)
Liz Fullerton says
Matt, go for vintage. We used the exact paper pictured from Rosie in our aqua glow and luminary gold tiled bathroom 2 years ago. That paper matches our tile perfectly. You may want a different paper if your tiles are blue and gray. Almost went retro and am so glad we went vintage instead.
Deborah Fiscus says
The Bradbury Atomic!! It’s classy with punch
Sandra says
My brother works at Bradbury, and probably printed or supervised printing of the Atomic Doodle paper pictured, and I love it. I used it as inspiraton for my 1956 kitchen re-do. It also comes in another color-way. The background is indeed off-white/almondish (similar to the color right here on the comments page!).
However, note of caution: this is hand-printed ink on paper, and not waterproof. I am thinking of putting it at the end of the kitchen as an accent, but it is not scrubable. I’ve thought about using it as a backsplash covered with glass, but haven’t done that, either. (I think backsplashes need to be easy to clean–no grout, but I’m concerned about keeping the paper dry.)
I would be careful about putting hand-printed paper it in a bathroom unless you are in a dry climate and can keep it dry.
Maggie says
I LOVE the paper you chose!! I agree with another comment, that I would turn it sideways. It may not be “authentic “ but it’s gorgeous.
Janine says
Hi Matt, Love your pick for Wallpaper. It is “retro” enough for me. The design compliments your tile perfectly. I also love the pop of yellow. It is just enough. Blue and gray are both cool colors, and the yellow warms it up. I can’t wait to see it finished.
Very well done,
Janine
Joe Felice says
How about Rosie’s 1950s Vintage Wallpaper Fish on Gray? The one pictured is good, too. But no patterns. For some reason patterns don’t look right in a kitchen or bath.