I would consider a frosted glass insert on the door instead of the shutters. It would be a cleaner look and allow any light from the porch area to come through. I agree with painting the room a light version of your gray.

Paint the doors to match the tub. The current off-white/yellow looks old and dirty with the vanity white top.

Honestly? This is not a "refresh" job it’s a gut job. You can still save the vanity, but the electrical wiring is not safe, you need more lighting, and is that painters tape holding up some of the tile? It’s very dirty, the tile, if you keep it, needs regrouting, and you probably have mold growing behind the tile. The shutters are a dirt magnet. Save your money for a remodel.

Whoops, just saw have separate shower, don’t need the glass, just open up the sight lines.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Without question the electrical needs to be done... I have an electrician but wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet that's why I needed your help and great suggestions. As far as the can lighting/high hats....I had thought about that as well, but was trying to keep it simple with just one fixture in sink and tub areas. Believe it or not I painted the walls a light shade of gray......so many different variations that I decided to keep it a bit lighter than the tile. I never got around to painting the doors....I know they look horrible. Toilet and tub are staying the way they are for the time being.....maybe I'll tackle that task later on. Obviously a new shower door. Not that much light comes in through that door between the tub & shower. I will be replacing that door, but it's gonna require cutting some tiles which I know will be hard to match with the existing tile color. The only problem with a frosted insert is that there is a pool table right outside that door and I don't want to be able to see in. Good idea though, maybe a solid door might be better and nix the shutters. Jalousies were the thing back then. I'm still on the fence with the other shutters next to the sink. Yes a dust catcher, but how bout a newer version of shutter......larger slats. I'd like to separate that area so you don't see the tub when you standing at the sink. Sooooo nobody likes wallpaper huh.....Ahhhh I'm disappointed. I like the sconces idea but again with a wide mirror.......lighting up or down just don't know. I need to look into that and again so many choices....As far as the heater goes...that stays also...but thanks for the idea. Obviously the fluorescent lighting is gone....that 's where that fixture is going....very high ceiling so it won't being hanging to low. Have previously looked for vintage toothbrush/soap holders but couldn't find anything...will keep looking thanks. My dad removed them and with my ignorance in my younger years I threw them away.....grrrrr. Anyway thanks to one and all for the great suggestions and keep them coming...I love hearing from you all. Oh and lastly the painters tape will be removed.

A backlit mirror doesn’t give enough light for doing makeup. Fluorescent lighting puts unnatural color on a face. Regular electric incandescent lighting works best and gives the best effect. A ceiling fixture and and a sconce (just above the mirror) with two or three bulbs is best in the sink area. A ceiling fixture with two or three bulbs gives enough light for a tub area. If the shower is separate, it needs a ceiling fixture that is sealed against moisture. The shutters are dustcatchers.
Separating the tub from the sink area is unnecessary because there normally is only one person using the bathroom at any one time. If the shuttered door is a glass door, I would replace it with a solid door for actual privacy…..especially if that door leads outside.

Looking forward to reading all the comments before I comment but wanted to say, I just love how the dog always gets in the picture. :-)

Dvaela, how great that you are upgrading you childhood, older styled home. Do you have the budget for canned lights in the ceiling? The piece between the tub and sink, can that be cut down to either be rectangular backing to the tub with perhaps a pice of glass there or to integrate the two pieces together so it looks like it fits together? A regular door. If it is your only light, perhaps a door with a transom window. Let us know what you do.

Thanks Tozmo1..... my four legged baby girl always wants to be involved in everything I do including decorating.

Motupeg......I'm a little confused by your suggestion. I suppose the section between the tub and the sink can be taken out/removed, but I really wasn't planning on any demo. That is the only counter space so to speak that there is. Underneath that piece of marble it's a hollow space. I will be replacing the light in the tub/shower area. That door to the outside...I was thinking about a hurricane type door with glass, but then I have to cover the glass....so I guess that's not a good idea. Yes a regular door is probably gonna have to be my replacement. Yes I have been kicking around the thought about can lighting/high hats, but again not sure.......how many would be my next question. Two or one above the tub and two or one replacing where the old fixture is now? It needs to be light enough because there is no light in the shower, but I figure when I replace the shower door with a new glass one that will be sufficient light for taking a shower. Thanks and for sure will keep you all up to date as to what my plans are.

Teamaltese are you joking right now? The tile is in perfect condition and is so beautiful and vintage. The tape is there for painting like was said in the original description.

If its important to you and you are keeping the blue tub/toilet....matching toilet seats are available even for the oldies.

I have a 1955 house with three tiled baths, very well done originally. Everything works and is spotlessly clean so I've yet to invest in remodeling them. Most of anything I'd change would be due to color preferences, not layout or quality.

I did want new toilet seats for two of the bathrooms, all are vintage elongated Kohler. I found matches at Plumbing Supply dot Com.

If you go that route, DO send for the color chips, it's worth the small investment. Neither of the products I bought and installed were the choices I would have made from my monitor without having the chips in hand. It very much surprised me.

I now have brand new quality soft close seats and lids for the toilets that match perfectly.

There needs to be only one can light on the dropped ceiling and one on the taller ceiling. Also, I would definitely not paint the walls gray because it’s gonna look soooo gray with the tiles and the flooring being gray. I would definitely do the blue in a lighter shade like I suggested earlier because it’ll just be much more interesting. I do agree the black from the vanity isn’t working, at least not right now...I’d wait to do anything to it till you paint the walls and put in lighting fixtures. I think you need to use the light fixture you have in a different room and get sconces to either flank or go above the mirror

Modified above comment 2 mins ago...just fyi

Some examples. The longer one would go above vanity. If you like the sconces better, I'd get 2 and flank mirror. They both have that midcentury flavor but also work with updated styles too

Thanks J D for your observation......Gutting this unique/vintage bathroom is out of the question. Kinda like me unique and vintage :) I hear ya with a lot of gray. Are you sure about the can lights? One in the tub area but only one in the sink area.....I can buy a dimmer in case it's too bright. Also with the sconces in the mirror or above the mirror. This might present a problem installing another light switch.

Thanks for the info Morz8

Yes I'm pretty sure it'll be enough lighting, especially with the sconce(s) near the mirror. You can ask your electrician and contractor though, because they can tell me when I've underlit or overlit. LED can lights are brighter than you'd expect so just remember that. What is the size of the area with the taller ceiling?

oh by the way, you'll also need an exhaust fan so you can add an exhaust/light combo too, which will add a bit more light

J D.....Theirs no contractor involved just me and my licensed electrician (a friend) he'll say whatever I want he will do. As far as the height of the ceiling where the sink is that's 8 1/2 feet tall and floor measures a little over 6' long. I'm thinking two can lights would look a bit more balanced in the ceiling area. Now what shall I do with the fixture I bought two years ago. The colors in it go so well with the tile I just thought a little whimsy would be cute especially with the ceiling being so tall. hmmmmm

The lower section floor with the tub and shower is 5' and a few inches long and the ceiling in that area is 7' tall. Thanks for the sconces picture. I like the Jasper....not so fond of the other one, but I'm not rejecting any ideas so again thanks!

Now the height of the mirror. Old mirror was 72 1/2 x 29 1/4. That covers the length of that wall above the sink and will be butted up against that blue tile. Should I keep the height of the new mirror at 29 1/4 or would it look better if I extend the mirror up to the ceiling and put those sconces directly installed on the mirror itself as to get a nice reflection of that fixture......I wonder. Kinda hard to explain. Am I making any sense? I'm gonna check out the Lumens website. Thanks so very much for your input.....This is the back lit mirror I was talking about.

Especially w that lighted mirror, you will def have enough light. I still stand by 1 can in the vanity area right in the middle of the room. Ask your electrician what they think because I’m sure they’ve done this often. Get a can light that is nice and bright and not a soft yellow color. It should be a white color.

As for the blue light you have already purchased, I don't think it will give as good light when someone is doing makeup in the mirror as two sconces flanking the mirror would give. That's my main reason for thinking it would be better somewhere else. Do you have a need for good vanity lighting like I've mentioned?

Honestly, I've never really seen a pendant over a vanity/mirror but I searched google specifically for it. Again, it doesn't look like it gives great makeup lighting or face shaving lighting for men, and to me it looks a bit odd. I wonder what everyone else thinks. Anyways here are some examples:

One simple fix. After lightening solved and you can paint the ceilings with a bright “ceiling white paint” there will be a noticeable difference in light especially in the tub area.

Sorry just saw you are asking about height of mirror. I was thinking you'd actually cover some of the tile with the mirror, so you could cover where you ripped out those fixtures when you were younger haha.

See how mirror in below pic covers some of the tile? What do you think? Also, I have drawn a red line in your bathroom to show from where to where I thought mirror should go. This would make mirror about same height as vanity (~30" or so). *EDIT: also no sconces on top of mirror...no room for that in your bath. Your sconces should just be flanked on each side or above mirror

J D... you are the best. Thanks so much for all your ideas and input. I think I'm gonna keep the mirror above the tiles where it's been for all these years, when I was much much younger.......but good idea. Great sense of humor I love it! Gonna try to replace those two tiles. Wish me luck!!!! So if I'm understanding you correctly you don't think I should mirror that whole wall. I can purchase that back lit mirror with dimensions of 28" x 55" and then I wouldn't have to worry about sconces. That would leave approx. 8 1/2 inches on either side and then I also wouldn't have to worry about the outlet having to be cut out of the mirror like with my previous mirror dimensions of 72" wide. FyI the pendant light that I purchased is gonna be positioned in the middle of the bathroom......not above the sink. So obviously I can't have both a can light and a fixture. So many decisions. Vanity lighting not so much......mainly a guest bath and with the back lit mirror that should take care of it. That one picture with the crystal fixture and oval mirror......I see wallpaper hmmmmmmmmm.................Anticipating your thoughts.

I am sorry I’ve been so busy. I would only put the mirror above the vanity. In your space it’s gonna look strange to put a larger mirror like you wanted. There are plenty of cases where a large mirror would work, but IMO it would look quite unbalanced/asymmetrical in your space. Also you don't wanna look in the mirror when you're on the toilet, do you? haha. I think wallpaper could be really fun. What about some 50s inspired wallpaper? by the way i still think the lighting pendant will look awkward in the center of the room. The focal point should be the vanity when you walk in, but if the pendant light is in the middle of the room, it'll confuse the eye making 2 focal points. I just don't see it working IMO

Hey I foudn these. https://www.etsy.com/listing/791110525/2-piece-set-vintage-robin-blue-soap-dish?ref=shop_home_recs_3&frs=1&sca=1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264937625864?_trkparms=aid%3D1110002%26algo%3DSPLICE.SOI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111451%26meid%3Dee3a516d2645485a92f03f7ebcdcc5a5%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D8%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D264203131287%26itm%3D264937625864%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DPromotedSellersOtherItemsV2WithMLRv3%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c101196.m2219&amdata=cksum%3A264937625864ee3a516d2645485a92f03f7ebcdcc5a5%7Cenc%3AAQAGAAACAB6bZKrDzThmbISSX9uP5Pip7rD5ubIADhoUXAqAJqYHu0qP22jMZmg1EirORyYeg21JJesl%252FF3LL8p8G1EGhpiE4jVFGhXFnyz75VB0FkNIENREN4kxJTzyh%252BZMkrVs1b7cW42NwPzFKP0%252FajqUbr5jD5nccLCrmF8%252BXit%252Ff3FczthIJqsk6JwtGy3G5TSuNDlN3jl3QXpFKOKm793yzCguRGZ9b2XKabIsBSuBchdqpjP5s8TYdfkrituORkejfeLcVL0%252BS3hrJUvFWpk6PbPmWtWN9dNCys1zoNJisn40ZzsZezelMLOgLJ0nXD4CXj4eOHGkIBYGYkWFkyAwXwwHEzJ3EUW9EwWXDk7p%252Blje1MDQ2sAm7QZLJWthEJxv7a22tP%252FRKoKAPSZgMju6VHjaA2olv5CkpeKFWSoB%252FlJ9lpG5nPGz7GqVc%252F6qn9MTPsPNbOwQ7Uadlcj9hIXawOUjBaQ6UbUtJR6XTH6ig28r2Qe4WetNnjheH9ThGnXGrVO%252BdbOovxO5Fevw4UGajS%252FubizUAXKnqIuX9uHd9x9ya37og8lp%252BQtmjUYHUfmclkHzV%252BNvuaF%252FzF1%252BnvHhVH%252BPpoqyuIKxxtGIkFqqoR%252FN%252FzNaQDFSSoo72QWKaE3sC9WvyXJAzPjVh54ksZVP1UBP%252Bgaib37KuVNjbimCFq7o%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675

idk if you'll have to go custom for this tho? that's why I'd cover it with the mirror. Also if the mirror is above the tiles it looks like it might be a bit high. Is the vanity just really low? how tall is it?

I will post some wallpaper examples in a bit. By the way, is your style very midcentury or what is it? Oh also I just saw that that there is already an exhaust fan in your bahtroom, correct?

This is what I was thinking. White or blue paint. Wallpaper on the vanity wall that stops where the glass starts. No shower curtain, just glass. I know you aren't wanting the sconces, just thought I'd give a visual. Paint the vanity a different color, probably the gray of the tiles. Nickel finishes are authentic to time period. I'd probably get rid of bath mat, but that's a small detail. If you keep a bath mat, I think changing it to the right shade of blue would be good. Again, small detail. Changing the toilet seat cover would make a big difference. Let me know your thoughts.

I like the decor direction JD is taking you, do you? The mirror only needs to be as wide as the counter and tall enough to see the messy bun on top of the head. To make sure you have adequate light, total of all light fixtures should produce 4,400 lumens (lumens info is on light fixture specs). Lighting that flanks the mirror (pair of sconces or pair of hanging pendants) won’t cast a shadow on the face like over-the-mirror lighting will. If no lights at vanity and only a back lit mirror, make sure it provides enough lumens for shaving/makeup and not mood lighting. A dimmer switch is great idea - good for applying evening-time makeup. Your exhaust fan must have sufficient motor power for 11x5 bathroom. You will want a light over the tub, I think the shower curtain or glass shower door won’t let in enough light for shaving legs in shower. If you want to keep the jalousie porch door and have privacy, switch the clear glass for opaque glass. If there is another door to the porch, consider walling over the door to add linen storage.

def frosted glass...agree ^

Because you have a step down to the shower and tub area, you could easily make that a wet room, remove the shower curb and door. Something you would consider?

Have you seen the retrorenovation.com website? It is a wonderful source of ideas with links to manufacturers for just anything for mid-century homes. Go to the website and search for blue bathrooms, Bemis toilet seats, ceramic soap dishes, wallpaper, or anything else that you are interested in. I used this website for ideas when I renovated my 1950s blue bathroom a few years ago.

Would you be able to take some daytime photos without the shutters at sink and door?

The new ceiling fixture in the photo could replace the old fixture next to the tub if that's up to code where you are. Ask your electrician about local codes. A new light/exhaust fan combination would be best there. Since you like those colors, the new fixture could go somewhere else in the house, such as the front foyer.

Yes to wallpaper.

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WOW thanks to all....will get back with you shortly with my reply's and also more pictures as you asked. Took a better picture of blue/gray tile. And I want to explain my reasoning for a larger/wider mirror. I think the frosted glass where the shutters are is a supper idea. Also for those of you that have been so willing to help me with this project ....I thank you once again and FYI my name is Donna just a little note of interest :- ) TTYSoon

@apple-pie-order You just made a lot of us wallpaper lovers again. Those are fantastic!

Any news?

Hey J D.....so sorry for the long delay. Yes I've been pondering as to what to do. I'm replacing part of the door frame and door jamb, but want to try to match what's left that's in good shape. Also sent away for some samples of wallpaper......I'll send pics later on. Such a project among others I want to do, but still working on it. I think about you often and how helpful you've been. I haven't forgotten your kindness. Will be calling my electrician this week to get his thoughts on high hats/can lighting. I've also kicked around the thought about a collage of old classic Miami (B&W and Color) pictures in place of regular wallpaper. Took down the shutters on both the door and middle section between the sink and tub......so my brain has been in overdrive. Thanks for checking in! Will touch base soon.

Oh wow that sounds like a TON of progress. Someone is way more productive than I am lol. And awwww...you're welcome:) Looking forward to hearing from you!

following...

Hey there JD....long time no hear/here. I'm back in 2023. Starting again on the 1950's bathroom.... With all the crazy things that are going on in the world today I hope you are doing well in 2023. Well I've cleaned things up a bit and got rid of the shutters on the outside door. Kept the shorter shutters temporarily. I have another idea for that. I'll tell you about that later. I've decided to put a 30" x 60" backlit mirror above the sink. Dimensions in that area (with toilet and sink) are 6' long. Ceiling is 8'4". You mentioned that I only need one can light. Are you sure I don't need two? Step down area with tub and shower is only 5' in length and ceiling is 7'4". Shower on right is only 3' x 3'. Fixture will be replaced with a damp area can light or LED. Need to be careful when opening shower door, unless I get a fixture flush up against the ceiling. Width of complete bathroom is only 5'. Here are my questions: Do I need a light/ fixture above the backlit mirror and what about the door with the jalousie windows. I would like to be able to open some type of window replacement with covering, not shutters. As you can see there's a gap between the jalousies and the door. Can see in from the outside patio. WOW sorry for my being so long winded. Would love to hear from you again. Donna A

Hi, Donna, your sink area needs about 1200 lumens of LED light output, if you get that much from the LED mirror you don’t need additional light over the mirror. I think you mean the edges of the mirror have LED, rather than glowing from the back of the mirror. If it is truly a backlit mirror, then it only provides ambient light and you need light over the mirror.

I think you should avoid paper (wallpaper, photos, prints, oil paintings) in a bathroom with a shower. The moisture will ruin it and can feed mold and mildew. Paint the walls. Use wall decor like ceramic sculpture.

I forgot, is that door the only way in the house to get outside? If no, replace door with a wall and a horizontal window close to ceiling.

For the overhead light, replace it with exhaust fan with integrated light. It is flush mount so shower door won’t hit hit it.