Bathrooms

Our Vintage Bathroom

We should have done this years ago.

Vintage Bathroom

Our house likely had both an unfinished attic and basement when it was built in 1910, so this bathroom on the main floor (right off the kitchen) would have been the only one. All of the fixtures are original: the hex tile, pedestal bathtub, toilet, and wall-mounted sink with separate hot and cold taps.

Vintage Bathroom

We changed the shower curtain when we moved in, but lived with the mint-toothpaste-green wall and trim color for over six years. I didn’t love it, but it didn’t bother me enough to change it right away. I bought a new shower curtain a little while ago to change it up again, and more recently I changed the toilet seat lid from white to black. I’d been planning to paint since, oh, forever, but couldn’t decide on a color. Turns out it’s much easier to pick a color when you step out of your own weirdness about choosing just the right hue and instead just pick something neutral-ish that will complement the blue in the tile! The bathroom is charming now that it’s a soft blueish gray with crisp white trim, and I’m kicking myself for having waited so long.

Vintage Bathroom

Now I’ll have a sweet little bathroom that I only get to enjoy for a couple of months or so, until we sell the house and move. Stupid earlier indecisiveness.

Vintage Bathroom

The wall color is Keystone Gray, and the exterior of the bathtub is Onyx. The white trim is Snowbound (leftover from painting my office), and the ceiling is White Dove (the pint leftover from testing whites for the kitchen was put to good use). The wall color is similar to the color in my office, but a little more subdued, and with a little less green. Both rooms are on the main floor, so it’s nice to have some continuity in the color palette.

Vintage Bathroom

I always thought the bathroom was kind of cute, because I could see the potential in it. Now it’s cute in real life though — not just in my head. It’s much better this way.

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  • Guylaine Côté
    June 3, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    It is very pretty!!!

  • miss alix
    June 3, 2013 at 1:31 pm

    wow so much cuter. i really love the light grey, totally makes the original elements stand out.

  • Sarah from a fine line
    June 3, 2013 at 1:34 pm

    Looks fantastic. It’s amazing how a coat of paint (in the right color) can completely transform a room. I love the tub, it’s really interesting and I like the two toned thing. Nice job, as usual!

  • Mary | lemongroveblog
    June 3, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    So cute!! I absolutely love it!

  • Ashley @ She Makes A Home
    June 3, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    I LOVE that shower curtain! And I never considered changing just the toilet seat to another color. Great job!

  • julia-lifeonchurchill
    June 3, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    love the toilet cover choice. matches the shower curtain and emphasizes the vintage-ness of the space!

  • Andrea
    June 3, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    I love it Nicole! That shower curtain is perfect. I have to ask though, can people really reach the toilet paper when they’re using the loo? Sorry, but curiosity is getting the best of me ; )

    • Making it Lovely
      June 3, 2013 at 6:35 pm

      It’s oddly high, I know! You can reach it while sitting down though, I promise.

  • robin
    June 3, 2013 at 4:21 pm

    Andrea, I had the exact same thought. Its placement seems a bit odd.

  • Lynn Cicchetti
    June 3, 2013 at 4:36 pm

    It turned out really cute. I like color scheme a lot.

  • Katharine
    June 3, 2013 at 5:47 pm

    That is some crazy high toilet paper! (BTW, love the room!)

    • Making it Lovely
      June 3, 2013 at 6:37 pm

      I know! If I had more time, I would have removed the holder, spackled the holes and painted, mounted the holder lower and anchored it into the plaster. I guess it’s a weird quirk that we learned to live with though, since it doesn’t bother us anymore.

      • Christine
        June 5, 2013 at 3:37 pm

        hahaha, I didn’t even notice the toilet paper! Totally cute quirk, I like how it blends with the moulding.

        Amazing job on this bathroom!

  • Ashley
    June 3, 2013 at 6:09 pm

    Wow – I never thought about changing the toilet seats to a different color, but I love the contrast!

  • Nicole
    June 3, 2013 at 6:32 pm

    The toilet paper roll is so high!!!! But I love the rest!

  • Sandra
    June 3, 2013 at 7:42 pm

    Can I find your hand soap pump anywhere?

  • allison
    June 3, 2013 at 9:30 pm

    We’ve got the exact same tile in our 1920’s bungalow in Beverly! Sad to say its going to go one day when we renovate, too many cracks.

  • Jen @ RamblingRenovators
    June 3, 2013 at 10:38 pm

    What a completely adorable bathroom! Funny what we learn to live with.

  • Melissa
    June 3, 2013 at 10:54 pm

    I love that shower curtain!! Oh my gosh, the black tub with the shower curtain and toilet seat is truly inspired!! Congratulations!

  • Lizzie
    June 3, 2013 at 11:33 pm

    I like it! Now you’ve got me thinking about black toilet seats..it looks ever so cool. That toilet paper holder gave me a laugh:)

  • Lindsay
    June 4, 2013 at 1:37 am

    So much better yes! You are about to blow up double time with a new house and so many new projects! Go Lady!

  • Anna
    June 4, 2013 at 2:36 am

    It looks great. The shower curtain is cute too

  • Kate
    June 4, 2013 at 3:54 am

    Awesome! This looks so great. We’re redoing our bathroom in black and white too! Any chance you can use your designer magic to find an affordable black & white bathmat to put in front of the tub that also happens to be washable? :D

  • Sarah
    June 4, 2013 at 9:14 am

    Ohh, it’s beautiful :)

  • Laura
    June 4, 2013 at 10:54 am

    I love that subtle color on the wall – light and airy, but still providing contrast to the white things in the room. And it’s great that you have kept (and been able to actively use) so many of the original fixtures. Nice!

  • chris
    June 4, 2013 at 11:38 am

    The color really makes it seem crisp and fresh! (And as others mentioned, the toilet paper placement is just too funny. Maybe someone had a dog? Or kids who took too many sheets…)

  • Mary
    June 4, 2013 at 12:38 pm

    Everything looks so cute. But if it was my bathroom…I’d be on the floor painting the blue tiles black.

  • Jenn
    June 4, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Love it! I personally was holding out for pink with that adorable polka dot shower curtain, but amazingly love the gray. And the tub is fabulous, btw. You’re so good. PS- where can I find the towel? All the ones I’ve found are a disappointing shade of gray that they touted as black :(

  • Alanna @Toronto Mama
    June 5, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Such an awesome bathroom! I adore the hex tile, and the shower curtain. Great job! I can’t believe you’re selling…it’s just so sad!

  • tereza
    June 6, 2013 at 10:48 am

    It looks so good! I love the tile. I just recently repainted our bathroom and put up new decor, and what a world of difference!!

  • Stephany
    June 7, 2013 at 10:29 am

    Gorgeous. Just wondering if you had to use a special kind of paint for the tub…

  • Cindy
    June 9, 2013 at 4:17 pm

    Beautiful. I LOVE gray rooms right now. How did you get such a glossy finish on the tub?

    • Making it Lovely
      June 9, 2013 at 4:18 pm

      I used semi-gloss paint and a small roller.

      • Amanda @ Our Humble Abode
        November 20, 2013 at 8:35 pm

        Hi Nicole!

        What type and brand of paint did you use? Anything special? Or just a normal latex? And a small foam roller? I’ve got a tub to refinish and yours looks great. :)

        Thanks so much!

        • Making it Lovely
          November 20, 2013 at 8:40 pm

          I think I used Benjamin Moore Advanced, and a small foam roller. I remember needing to wait a long time between coats (something like 16 hours, so I did one coat each day).

  • michelle
    June 10, 2013 at 8:21 am

    so…. the top and bottom of the walls look like two different shades of grey…. or is this just a lighting thing playing tricks with my eyes?? is it really all the same paint of grey?? all in all… quick and clean fix. love it.

    • Making it Lovely
      June 10, 2013 at 11:21 am

      It’s all the same color throughout.

  • JanieP
    June 10, 2013 at 10:58 pm

    Love the original door and hardware!For excellent reproductions try http://www.lookintheattic.com

  • Ashlee
    July 29, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Where did you find your black toilet lid? It is from a Lowe’s/Home Depot or is it a special order kind of thing? I love the look for a vintage/antique home and think I will do this in one, if not both bathrooms! :)

    • Making it Lovely
      July 29, 2013 at 9:00 am

      I ordered it on Amazon. It was listed as an “ebony” finish, instead of calling it plain old “black.”

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