Retro Renovation

Remodel & decorate in Mid Century Style

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Libby’s — or should we say “Ethel’s” — remuddled 1953 bathroom gets a facelift

Pam Kueber - Updated: August 6, 2020

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

Libby calls her house Ethel. Ethel is 65 and has had some … work … over the years. Libby and her husband are helping get her back into fighting 1953 shape. Starting with the bathroom, which got new tile, which made quite a nice difference. >>

midcentury bathroom remodel afterLibby writes:

Hi Pam, 

I am working on a mini-renovation for our mid-century modest house, Ethel. It is her 65th birthday this year, and my husband and I have slowly but surely been updating her.

We have, at long last, finished our bathroom project (Ethel’s birthday bathroom excitement!)
Pam notes: Libby confirms the faucets are Union Brass, purchased at Locke Plumbing. You can also get them on Amazon (check all Union Brass listings for a variety of options):


starscape shower doorStarscape shower doors

We love our Starscape shower doors … 

Pam interjects: Reader this Sterling “Starscape” shower door (affiliate link) is a longtime favorite here on the blog, you can get it for both a bathtub- and complete-shower installation from places like Amazon, Home Depot, and Menards: 

Back to Libby’s story…Daltile aqua glow tile

We love our… new Daltile Aqua Glow and black shower tile <3 

framed vintage magainze ads framed vintage magazine ads framed vintage magazine ads framed magazine ads in a bathroom
All of these improvements make our darling 1953 mid century modest house even more dreamy than before! We love Ethel!
basketweave tile
Tile from Virginia Tile — here’s a proxy: 

dog photo bomb bathroom

Thank you for all of your work with this blog. ALL of my projects involve looking at retrorenovation first for ideas and information! I love your blog so much! Thanks for being amazing!

Best, 
Libby (on the prairie)

Why, thank you, Libby! You and your remodeling and your adorable husband and pup and bathroom — are amazing too!

Thank you for sharing and helping us to get the week off on an awesome start!

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34 comments

Comments

  2. Judy says

    I adore your sweet doggie! We had and loved his/her twin for many years. Adore the floor, tile color, shower niche (sing) and kitschy wall art! Our home is a 1953 and the bathrooms look just like yours, cabinets, the works! Your floor is awesome, great job! and…your “aqua chiffon tile” looks good enough to eat! Congratulations!!

  4. Pamela says

    Beautiful remodel! Love the blue and black tile. You are making Ethel happy and beautiful.

    Can I ask about the sink and tub faucets? Are they new? Thank you, Pamela

    • Libbyontheprairie says

      Thanks Pamela! The sink was put in by the gentleman who sold us/flipped the house…I would love to have seen what was originally there =( Someday, I’d love to have a carpenter make a more period appropriate sink base for us, but we decided it was in good shape and was relatively new and so we’d keep it for now. The tub faucet and sink faucet are “Union Brass” and are new and were purchased from lockeplumbing.com. Pam had a story about that specific model once and I LOVED them! The original tub faucet was peach and chrome (like the original tiles) and wasn”t in the best condition anymore.

  5. Kristen says

    It’s beautiful! You did such an amazing job! Is aqua glow tile from Daltile easy to acquire these days? A few years back my local distributor told me the color was discontinued/where did you end up getting yours from?

    • Libbyontheprairie says

      Thank you Kristen! We ordered our materials through a local mom & pop flooring company that offers Daltile products and there weren’t any issue with getting it =) There were two blues that I liked, but aqua glow won!

        • Pam Kueber says

          Barbara, please note, I don’t typically ask readers to identify their city and state. I can see on the box that the tile is from “Virginia Tile.” That’s a manufacturer. I recommend you contact them directly and see if they can point you to a retailer in your area. Good luck.

  6. Tarquin says

    I have always wondered when this floor pattern was first introduced. I used to live in Manhattan and have seen this floor multiple times in very old buildings. I would look down at it and be amazed that it was old, white, and held up through many years of very heavy foot traffic. Libby and her husband did a great job and have an adorable dog.

    • Libbyontheprairie says

      Thank you! I think the floor tile design that we chose is earlier than 1953 (when Ethel was built), if I’m being honest…but my husband loved it and so we went with it!

      • Tarquin says

        I think the floor is an earlier design, but it still makes your bathroom authentic looking. I wasn’t born yet, but that floor was probably an option at the time as it still is today. I think putting older stuff in and around the house make it look more realistic. Even in the casé of using antiques here and there, people used things from the past. I can’t wait to see more of Ethel as you finish each room. Good luck and have fun.

  8. Carolyn says

    Haha! The shower door matches the faucets – that’s funny! I, too, collect old ads with the intention of framing AND hanging (it’s a process…) What Libby & hubby have done is so minor that it makes me wonder why so many people tear out EV-ERy-thing, spending thousands of $$$’s instead of hundreds to bring it back to the original intent.
    Looking at the Before – what the heck is leaving 2 doors unpainted? They only had “just enough” paint til they got to those? And am I correct in assuming that sink isn’t original? With streamlining be the watchword of the day, I’d be surprised the original would have a sink jutting out. Again, we come back to Libby & hubby making “just enough” changes.
    Wee Bonnie Lassie/MacGregor?Duffy/McDuff/Scottie/Spock? was obviously on the job keeping those guardians on track.

    • Libbyontheprairie says

      Carolyn, the two unpainted doors are because my husband and I were originally going to strip all of the paint (many layers!) off of the built-in (like the other built-ins in Ethel)…but after doing two doors we weren’t certain if that was what we wanted. We then decided we would strip the entire built-in, then paint it white. It is now a nice shiny white and doesn’t have layers of bumpy paint under it!
      You are correct, the sink is not original (sigh). I would love to find a carpenter to make a more 1950’s looking sink base at some point, but alas, I’ll deal with the base and sink that came with Ethel when we bought her.
      Miss Marple (our scottie) kept us on track all right- she wanted colors that complimented her hair 😉

      • Carolyn says

        Libby – sorry for my snark about the doors – it’s just that I’ve seen so many “updated” houses that have “What the…?” going on. I hear you on the stripping – seems minor in your head, gargantuan in reality.
        Again, you and DH have shown how to back date/update with minimal $$$.

  9. Janet in ME says

    First, your doggie is SO SWEET! I love how your bathroom came out. That floor and the color of the tile are just right. And your framed Kotex ad cracked me up, with your doggie in it. I have three old GE ads in my kitchen and I think they are just perfect for retro houses. Great job!

    • Libbyontheprairie says

      Thanks Janet! I also have a lot of framed ads around Ethel- they sure do make great “art” for our retro houses!