Room of the Day: Retro Style Returns to a 1930s Bathroom
A compact guest bathroom in Southern California livens up with color, Art Deco details and space savers
In this roughly 50-square-foot bathroom in Pasadena, California, designer Marilynn Taylor and contractor Allison Allain focused on details, rather than tearing down walls, to make the nearly 80-year-old room feel larger and more usable. “Smart decisions maximized functionality and space,” Taylor says. “It’s a small bathroom, and [now] it feels so much bigger.”
AFTER: Taylor replaced the pedestal sink with a sink and washstand. The new vessel is longer but narrower, so it covers more of the back wall but projects less into the bathroom. The washstand’s open shelf stores towels and the drawer stores additional bathroom necessities, all while contributing to a more retro bathroom look.
Crisp white walls, green subway tile and black hex floor tile enliven the bathroom and return some 1930s flavor. “I had been wanting to do green tile,” Taylor says, and the homeowner immediately gravitated toward this saturated jade green subway tile. “As we really started getting into design and making color selections, she was going bold for color,” Taylor says. The homeowner then suggested a vintage-influenced matte black hex tile for the floor, which they combined with black tile edging and black paint on the original doors to complete the look. “I love the way that the black grounds the room,” Taylor says.
A new light fixture, crystal doorknobs and other bathroom details round out the bathroom’s vintage look.
Black paint: Black Bay DEA188, Dunn-Edwards; sconce: Restoration Hardware; sink: American Standard; tile: B&W Tile
Crisp white walls, green subway tile and black hex floor tile enliven the bathroom and return some 1930s flavor. “I had been wanting to do green tile,” Taylor says, and the homeowner immediately gravitated toward this saturated jade green subway tile. “As we really started getting into design and making color selections, she was going bold for color,” Taylor says. The homeowner then suggested a vintage-influenced matte black hex tile for the floor, which they combined with black tile edging and black paint on the original doors to complete the look. “I love the way that the black grounds the room,” Taylor says.
A new light fixture, crystal doorknobs and other bathroom details round out the bathroom’s vintage look.
Black paint: Black Bay DEA188, Dunn-Edwards; sconce: Restoration Hardware; sink: American Standard; tile: B&W Tile
AFTER: The budget prevented the team from expanding the bathroom’s size, but they did enlarge the shower opening and created a curbless threshold for the existing shower. “Opening up the shower made a huge difference,” Taylor says. “The shower now is in no way cramped.”
Additionally, Allain and Taylor moved the toilet from the wall opposite the sink to its current location on the adjacent wall. Nestled next to the wall, the toilet doesn’t take up valuable floor space, and visitors don’t have to worry about bumping their knees.
Additionally, Allain and Taylor moved the toilet from the wall opposite the sink to its current location on the adjacent wall. Nestled next to the wall, the toilet doesn’t take up valuable floor space, and visitors don’t have to worry about bumping their knees.
AFTER: Green subway tile runs vertically inside the 4-square-foot shower to form a rough outline of one of the Art Deco era’s most famous constructions: the Empire State Building (which is also where the black and white photo in the next image was taken).
Shower fixtures: Bancroft collection, Kohler
Shower fixtures: Bancroft collection, Kohler
The bathroom’s second door leads to a den, as seen here, which also doubles as a guest bedroom for the homeowner’s son when he’s in town.
The bathroom’s tight proportions and multiple entry points challenged the design team, but bold color, period details and smart space planning led to a jewel box of a bathroom. High-quality tile and plumbing fixtures contribute to the bathroom’s memorable design, while extensive floor waterproofing from Schluter, a new tankless hot-water heater and insulated floors ensure the bathroom’s longevity and comfort. “I’m super proud of the quality,” Allain says.
Designer: Marilynn Taylor, The Taylored Home
General contractor: Allison Allain, Plumb Crazy
Tile installation: Perimeter Tile Design
More:
5 Ways With an 8-by-5-foot Bathroom
See more vintage baths
Designer: Marilynn Taylor, The Taylored Home
General contractor: Allison Allain, Plumb Crazy
Tile installation: Perimeter Tile Design
More:
5 Ways With an 8-by-5-foot Bathroom
See more vintage baths
Location: Pasadena, California
Size: 48 square feet (4.5 square meters); 52 square feet (4.8 square meters) including the shower
Year built: 1938; renovated in 2014
Taylor and Allain, who are sisters, advised the client, a recently divorced woman, before she even bought the 1938 home, checking for mold, leaks and structural integrity. “This was really was the first time she was making something 100 percent her own,” Taylor says.
The downstairs bathroom, which sits between the laundry room and den, is the home’s only guest bathroom. The homeowner wanted to keep the era of the house alive, Allain says, but she didn’t want it to be a preservation project. She entertains a lot and also hosts her son and his friends from the U.S. Marines when they are on leave, so she wanted to have fun with the space and make it functional. The homeowner intends to update the kitchen eventually but started the renovation with the rest of the home.
Toilet: Memoirs Collection, Kohler