HOW TO INTRODUCE A 1950’S BATHROOM TO TODAY

This is the bathroom I lived in growing up.

If I close my eyes I can still smell the Aqua Net and hear Flock of Seagulls blaring over the boom box.

It’s a jack and jill bath upstairs at the new (old) house.  My bedroom was on one side and my sisters’ bedroom was on the other side.  They shared a bedroom and I got my very own.  I wish I had pictures of that bedroom growing up.

At the risk of stating the obvious…

….it was quite fine.

It had Laura Ashley wallpaper and Laura Ashley bedding and a Laura Ashley lamp.

You know.

The one with the tiny little flowers that reversed itself when you flipped the comforter over.

It was glorious.

But the bathroom?

It never left the 1950’s.

It always looked just like this.

Aqua tile on the floor and white square tile on the walls and a built-in toilet paper holder and mirrors with the mirror kind of flaking off.

And butterfly tiles that look just like this.

Two butterflies destined to fly together for eternity with their brilliant light blue and navy wingspan.

Until.

Until one day I decided it was time for the butterflies to fly away.

So we tore the bathroom down to the studs and took part of the closet to make a bigger vanity for the twins and replaced the toilet and refurbished the tub and tiled the room to the ceiling.

And now?

The before….

….turned into this.

CAN YOU EVEN?

Wait.

Do me one little favor.

Please scroll up and look at the before and then look at the after.

*sigh*

I did that 10 times just to make my day even happier.

Here’s this angle before.

And the same angle with the new tile and new look.

Here’s my inspiration board that I created as a jumping off point.

I knew I wanted to keep the tile classic and I partnered with Jeffrey Court for the product for this post and found this amazing, incredible glossy pearls tile.

The walls are a classic 2″ x 4″ subway tile that is so easy to install because it comes in a 12″x 12″ piece.

You can see it here

And you can find both these tiles (and a zillion other Jeffrey Court tile) at your local Home Depot.

Because the tile is so classic, I can easily change out the accessories in the room to create an entirely different look when the twins get older.

Next, I layered in gold.

I decided to go with gold instead of the traditional brushed nickel to create the impression that the room has jewelry.

There’s a brilliant gold chandelier on the ceiling that reflects light all over the room and keeps everything so light and bright.

The faucets are brass.

The accessories like this toothbrush holder are marble and brass.

The mirrors were originally silver and I just added a little Rub ‘N Buff to give them a little more sparkle.

The handles are brass.

The pulls are brass.

(total decorating aside:  the vanity actually came from our bathroom.  When we cut down the wall to make room for the door, the vanity was too big, so we repurposed it in this bathroom and changed out the hardware).

There’s a tiny chandelier with sparkles that hangs over each vanity.

The faucet and shower head are brass, too.

And then?

After the classic and the brass, I added the color starting with this shower curtain.

Fun hand towels with pineapples on them.

And patterned towels.

And pink and white polkadotted organizers.

And painted floral artwork on the walls.

I also added this pink and white bathmat for the floor.

Here’s the before one more time.

And here’s the after.

But just in case you were wondering.

Just in case you were concerned that the butterflies had all flown away.

Just in case you thought I might have forgotten my roots.

No worries.

I saved one tile.

I think I’m going to frame it for the bathroom.

Just to remind me of Aqua Net.

And Flock of Seagulls.

And stirrup pants and red lipstick and concho belts and prairie skirts and bangs…

…that were so high they neede their own zip code.

disclosure:  This product in the post was provided by Jeffrey Court.

All opinions are my own.

Please see my disclosure page for more information.