Finding affordable, pastel colored tiles for a mid century bathroom now seems easier than ever: I just spotted Daltile 4 x 4 inch (ish) tiles in several colors at Home Depot, available for as little at $2.50 per s.f. This includes delivery free to your local store.
Daltile “Spa” light blue tile is a reader favorite
Above: Daltile Spa, semi-gloss.
This Daltile Spa color has been a longtime reader favorite.
Stories about readers who have used this color tile in their bathrooms:
- Nanette and Jim used Spa for the main part of their new bathroom (in the photo, above) (but inside the shower is a different color, Aqua Glow, which I don’t see at Home Depot – but hey, you can ask!)
- Lynne and Bob’s new blue bathroom for their 1955 house
- Kersten and James may have been the first on the blog to use Daltile Spa in their bathroom.
Not all Daltile colors are available at Home Depot. I scanned for those that would be appropriate for a mid century bathroom remodel.
There’s a second, richer blue, as well. Above: Daltile Waterfall.
Above: Daltile Urban Putty in a matte finish. Okay, not pastel, but I have something similar to this color in my bathroom (at right), and I like it a lot. Note, I bought my bathroom tile at Home Depot about 15 years ago; mine is glossy, and I think it was a Rose Beige from another company that I can’t remember.
Above: Daltile Almond in a semi-gloss finish is another, less intense beige option, and is currently listed for an amazingly low $2.54 per s.f.
To get to all the colors, I typed the words Daltile semi-gloss into the Home Depot search bar. Numerous colors for 4×4 and 6×6 tiles came up, along with trim tiles. The Ice Gray also looks like a good option. Note: If you don’t see the color you want in the style or size or finish you want, try Google; I also see this line available at other online sites in varying options.
- Golden Granite (aka salt ‘n pepper) tile is also at Home Depot. This is the color that Liz and Dave used in their bathroom remodel (shown at right).
Now, if we could only get Daltile to make us a Mamie Pink!
More information, if you are hunting for tile for a mid century bathroom or kitchen:
- 30 places to find 4×4(ish) bathroom tile in colors
- Get yee some decorative liner tiles to spice things up!
- All my stories about bathroom tile here.
Here is the thing about Daltile’s ‘Almond’ – it is not really Almond, it is actually Bone. Daltile will tell you they no longer make ‘Bone’; however, they really no longer make Almond. They make ‘Bone’ that they call ‘Almond’.
Pam, I really love your blue bathroom. I’m just curious as to which of the Daltile blues you think comes closest to the Heron blue in your bathroom–is it waterfall or spa? Both colors are quite beautiful!
Hmmm… looking also at Lynne’s Spa Blue bathroom, I’d say the Spa: https://retrorenovation.com/2016/10/10/midcentury-modern-blue-bathroom-remodel/
Thanks!
Just found your website and am plotzing from happiness! I love my mid century rottage (half cottageish and half ranchish, I LOVE the Dal tile! I will be returning to your site often. Please continue and great success to you!
Dal Tile makes an excellent product and I have a pile of matte finish Desert Grey from one of their other lineups that’s waiting to be transformed into a bathroom. Unfortunately they have this odd habit of not calling their glossy finishes “gloss” but rather “brite” or confusingly “semi-gloss”, I guess gloss doesn’t translate directly into tile-speak for some reason. The other thing is some colors/lines may have a wider selection of trim pieces, so make sure before you get you heart set on a particular color.
I have one bath in allover Waterfall 2×2 porcelain and one bath in Ice Grey tiles, bathtub, sink and toilet and a Taboret faucet.
Could not live without Retro Renovation!
My challenge is finding mid century bull-nose tile.
Any advice?
Daltile makes Carnation Pink Q095 in two sizes and two finishes Whether or not you can get it via Home Depot I don’t know.
https://www.daltile.com/product/Semi-Gloss-and-Matte?color=Carnation-Pink
I’ve just redone a bathroom (previous bad, flipper remodel) in Daltile Carnation Pink. I really love it, but it’s not a faithful repro of midcentury Mamie pink – this new color is more like “Dentyne” pink, with a deeper rose hue. I’ve accepted that my bathroom is a call-back to 1957, rather than a replication.
The best part of this line? It will work with numerous baths, kitchens, and laundry spaces well beyond the midcentury/retro look because the colors are soft.
I have my heart set on a mint green. Nemo tile is expensive at over $6 sq ft. Hoping I can find something reasonable and not settle.
Lynne, from the above mentioned “Lynne and Bob’s New Blue Bathroom” here. Still loving the Spa Blue bathroom. Absolutely no regrets. (Well, except for that shower wall niche)
We used the Daltile Grey in our master bath remodel last year. It’s been done as a cousin to the blue. The originals were kind of matching, so we repeated that to stay in keeping with what the house called for.
While I love the grey, and the remodel came out very well, the cheeriness of the Spa Blue is far superior.
Thanks for the update, Lynne. I’d love to see your gray bathroom too!
Lynne, your bathroom is my inspiration bathroom! I seriously have photos of it on my desk and just showed them to someone within the last hour. I love everything about it – especially the tile you used. It’s a perfect color! I’m so happy it will be easy to find now!
Wow, that is quite flattering! Thank you very much!
What happened to your shower wall niche? I just put one in.
Allen, I think the problem was mostly MY doing, because I didn’t know WHAT I was doing at the time. It wasn’t placed well, and when showering, the water just sprays right into it. It doesn’t drain off, the water just sits puddling on the bottom. This was starting to affect the grout and the corners were getting grungy, very quickly. It immediately became a cleaning issue, especially when shampoo bottles and such sat there. We don’t use it for its intended purpose anymore, but still has to be wiped out after every shower to keep it from getting yucky. (And, yes, the exhaust fan is new, and right inside the tub/shower) I know most people love them, but I’ll never have another one. I now use a suction cup wire holder to hold our bath products.