Bathroom Hardware

I have a new resource for my restoration research: Retro Renovation! It boasts a great selection of ideas and resources for vintage appropriate home restoration... including bathroom hardware, colors, fixtures, and much, much more. We added it to the links section of the blog and I'll be referring to it often.

Franklin Brass has a nice line of hardware. These are the items that caught my eye... especially love the recessed soap dish and tissue holder.

Shopping List:

Recessed soap dish
Soap dish
Toothbrush holder
Tissue holder
Towel Shelf
Towel bar
Towel ring

Now I need to work on the cabinet design. We have a cabinet guy on deck just waiting for the green light, so I better get busy.

Fun-Due Friday!

We had our first party!... a small get together with The Verbtones and their families. It's still a construction zone, but if you photograph the right angles, you'd never know!

My friend, Marie, put together this video tour of the house. It makes me smile. Thought I'd share it!

Looking for a Genie...

Yes, I'm the biggest geek in the world. I like the I Dream of Jeannie bottle, though. -Steve

...all the magic is happening in the kitchen!

FINALLY there's a picture of Haley in the blog!! That's her in between the two Verbtone wives. Three Fondue Pots going at the same time... that's a new record for us! -Steve

Do you think we have enough food?

Our snappy Burke kitchen table set. Tulip base on the table, propeller bases on the chairs. That's a huge pile O bread, huh? -Steve

DD showing us all the proper way to eat fondue. What a cutie!!! -Steve

It's a Fondue Frenzy!!! -Steve

And some people think mid-century modern style is cold. I love this room and how warm and comfy it is. The house is perfect for parties! We love it!! -Steve

Fondue, Fun, and Entertainment!

DD providing some laughs for the whole gang! HAHAHA! -Steve

Formica Rocks!

Just received my countertop samples in the mail! I'd love to find white Formica with gold flecks, but I don't think they manufacture it anymore. I did find some fun patterns in the Formica "classic" collection. A couple are simple enough to fit our bathroom design.
VirrVarr White
VirrVarr Lite Blue

The VirrVarr White sample is a matte finish, but the site says it comes in polished. I'd prefer polished... so we'll double check to see if it's available.

New design comp with countertop material:


1. Toilet/Sink: Kohler Tea Green
2. Tile (tub surround and backsplash): ModWall Lush Kahuna (glass blend)
3. Floor: ECOsurfaces GI Joe
4. Counter: Formica VirrVarr White
5. Walls: Aqua/Blue... light turquoise (TBD)

I thought I would weigh in here... I really like this whole thing. At first I wanted vintage fixtures from a building recycling center, but after seeing these color choices I think this is a smart way to go. Also using new stuff should keep my adventures in amateur plumbing and pipe repair to a minimum! I especially like the floor! -Steve

More Bathroom Resources

Today I'm working on floor and tile options. The gutted bathroom project is haunting me, and we need to start ordering... takes up to 4 weeks to get the toilet and lavatory, so design decisions must be made quickly. We have an idea of the colors we want to go with, but the combinations of flooring, tiles, formica, fixtures, etc. are still a little fuzzy. I'm narrowing down the choices, and here's the short list:

Floors:

Marmoleum



Rubber Flooring
Recycled Rubber Flooring - ECOsurfaces
ECOsurfaces Commercial Flooring, made from recycled rubber, combines outstanding slip resistance with cushioned resilience and easy maintenance. Perfect for a wide variety of installations this resilient reincarnation of retired tires is what's new in green design. It's available in rolls or tiles, and in 54 standard colors, with 29 custom granules for those who want a color blend all their own.



Tiles:

The tub surround and back splash behind the sink will need some tile. We like the 1 x 1 mosaic tiles. Found some glass tile that looks really slick, but also like the traditional ceramic. Here is some 1 x 1 glass/ceramic tiles blends that are at the top of the list.



Check these out! They are so cute. Don't know if we'll use them in the bathroom, but thought they were interesting.

ModDotz Blend "Miami"— This porcelain has a very low moisture absorption rate and is great for indoor and outdoor use including wet areas... so they're a great option for floors/walls in bathrooms and kitchens.

Sample decks are ordered and I should have them by the end of the week. I need to see how each color and design will all work together in the space. Should have the final design choices complete by the end of the week. Then we SHOP!



Here's my first attempt. Like the color combo on screen, but need to see the actual samples before making the final decision.

Holiday Decorating!

Not many decorations survived the move. We put up the aluminum tree and decorated it with some vintage balls—turquoise! That's about it.

About 9am every day when the sun's out (which isn't very often.... this is Oregon, y'know) the sun shines through the clerestory window directly on the tree. Notice the other-worldly glow! No additional lights were used in taking this picture. At night, we flick on the color wheel. -Steve

Our neighbor was selling this gorgeous vintage aluminum tree... so naturally we took it and put it up in the family room. It's too big for the room, but beautiful. I bought some lime green balls for it, but think I'll be looking for something else (after Christmas sales!)


Steve weathered the storm a couple of weeks ago and put up the lights on the outside of the house. We used multi-colored lights (the large ones) and outlined the roof line. It looks great. A cheesy metallic wreath next to the garage completes the look. Not much, but at least it will be easy to put away this year! (I'll take a picture tonight and post it later.)

Did you know...

Kohler makes bathroom fixtures in several colors! We have been researching for the bathroom re-do. Here are my favorites:

Blue—


Blush—


Tea Green—


The boy likes the blue... the girl likes the blush... so we'll probably settle on the tea green. I have tile samples on order, so no final decision will be made until we select floor, tile, and formica.

Notice the metal frame on the sink! Didn't know they made those anymore. Yay!

When Haley first emailed me the green sink pic, she commented on the "metal band." Of course I responded with a remark about Winger, Ratt and Motley Cru.
Aren't we h-i-larious?!! -Steve

Came across this vintage ad for bathroom color combinations. (Thanks to www.retrorenovation.com)

One more thing! You can custom order a new toilet seat to match the color of your vintage toilet. Looks interesting, but we already recycled our old toilet.