When Monica fell in love with midcentury house design, she fell in head over heels in love with vintage pastel-colored bathroom fixtures. So, when she created this new bathroom from scratch, she searched for vintage blue bathroom fixtures, then paired them with new tile with retro-style. Let’s take a look >>
Monica first told us about this entire project when we looked at her darling kitchen with pink-painted Sears metal kitchen cabinets taking center stage.
The bathroom in the weekend cabin got similar salvage-meets-new treatment. Bonus points for using wallpaper — what a statement it makes in a bathroom!
Resources that Monica used to create this retro bathroom:
- Blue sink, tub and toilet — “Our bathroom fixtures are all from the Oxford line by Crane and the color is Sky Blue,” Monica says. I found the complete set on Craigslist!!
- Floor tile — University by Merola and was purchased from Home Depot.
- Medicine cabinet — The medicine cabinet was ordered from a big box store. Pam notes, see cabinets like this on Amazon – they come in various sizes (affiliate link).
- Linen cabinet — The linen cabinet is a vintage piece that my dad, a fellow collector of all things old, had in his shop. He was storing hardware in it? We had it repainted to match the birds in the wallpaper …
- Wallpaper — … which is Daydream by Hygge and West.
Lovely, Monica! Thank you for sharing!
Kara says
Just wonderful. I am in love with the dreamy color.
libbyontheprairie says
Talk about an eye for design! The bathroom is gorgeous! Love each choice, especially the wall paper which is so graphic and fun! Well done!
Monica Cantrell says
Thanks a million! You can’t see it but I’m smiling, BIG!
Amarissa Parker says
What a gorgeous bathroom! Loving that wallpaper-so dreamy!
Monica Cantrell says
You made my day!
Carolyn says
Old advice was to carry colors throughout the house to tie them together and I can see the aqua made its appearance here. The blue fixtures coordinate with both the wallpaper and floor. Well done!
May I suggest you get some auto wax for the metal pieces, especially if you either have humid weather or are a fan of steam in the bath. Makes it a whole lot easier to keep clean and prevent rusting. Pay special attention to the bottom edges.
Pam Kueber says
We Turtle Waxed our steel kitchen cabinets when we put them in. We are not hard on them — this was, like, 10 years ago already and I haven’t done it since, and they are still shiny!
Monica Cantrell says
Thanks a million for your compliment and for the great advice! I’m going to plan on waxing my cabinet this weekend??
Karin says
What a lovely bathroom. It makes me smile. I’m sure it makes you very happy as well. May I ask what colour was used for the wardrobe cabinet? Thank you for sharing your beautiful kitchen AND bathroom.
Monica Cantrell says
Thank You! It has been my great pleasure to share pictures of my favorite spaces with others who appreciate the designs of yester years! The bathroom cabinet paint was custom matched to the birds in the wallpaper and, by golly, I couldn’t be happier with the result!
Crystal says
Monica I feel like I’m following behind you. What faucets did you use on the sink and in the tub/shower?
Monica Cantrell says
We were lucky enough to get a sink with the original faucet??. For the tub/ shower I decided on a set that coordinated with the sink faucet. I’m not sure of the brand but it has a single, lever style handle and basic, clean lines. I’ve been actively looking for faucets to use in the bathrooms of our new home and there are some great options out there! If you do a search for faucets within the Retro Renovation site you will see many of the options I’m referring to. It can also be helpful to look through vintage ads and pictures of preserved period baths (like those on RR) for inspiration as many of the faucets today have lines similar to those of the past. Hope this helps?
Crystal says
That’s what I’ve been doing as well. Hubby is very supportive of my vision but wants a rain shower.
Monica Cantrell says
Look at the Pendant Raincan Shower Head by Delta. It is decadent, like a chandelier for you shower! The mid century lines are undeniably COOL?. The price might not work for every budget, but a girl can dream (and this girl sure is). Shout out to all the hubbies that don’t just endure their sweetheart’s retro style but Encourage it! Whoop, whoop!!?
Pam Kueber says
Hi Crystal,
What Monica said: Head up to the navigation area and start going through the categories and their subcategories.
Kohler Triton is one brand you might look at, if you’re looking for historical authenticity with a lot of options – it’s been around in similar form since 1941: https://retrorenovation.com/2017/07/24/76-years-kohler-triton-bathroom-faucets-introduced-1941-still-going-strong/
Also you can take a look at Readers & Their Bathrooms — often we call out what they used.
And yes, the Search box works pretty well.
Re vintage Crane: Those sometimes require very particular designs. deabath.com is the go-to source on vintage Crane for me.
Mary Elizabeth says
What a great find! And you put everything together so well. I like the sky blue with the aqua/blue-green in the paper, linen cabinet and shower curtain. I wouldn’t have thought of putting those two colors together, but they work!
Monica Cantrell says
Many thanks for you kind compliment! I LOVE wallpaper and I’m jazzed that it’s having a revival!
Barbara says
MONICA…!
You got personality girl!! BEAUTIFUL!
What big box can you order this vtg medicine cabinet from??
Thanks so much for the share.
Monica Cantrell says
Thanks a million?. I think we purchased it from Lowe’s but I see you can also get it from Amazon( see post above) It has functioned perfectly for us, I highly recommend it!
Rebecca Prichard says
Looks fantastic! That cool, slanted medicine cabinet is from a big box store?
Pam Kueber says
They look to be made by Jensen, see them on Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/2FtBRz5
Monica Cantrell says
Thank you for the compliment! The medicine cabinet has worked perfectly for us functionally and aesthetically.
Christine W says
What a stunning bathroom Monica. It’s gorgeous. I love the wallpaper.
Monica Cantrell says
Many thanks!