Vintage style bathroom—subway tile border

last month

We’re in the process of redoing our 1950’s bathroom in our 1916 house. I loved how it looked, but my husband wanted a nice shower and we decided to remodel it to a subway-tile, black and white traditional bathroom that fits the period.
The shower will be moved to the far back, and will go against the wall horizontally.

Question: The white wall subway tile will be as high as the outline of the stained glass window in the left. And will have a black border. For that border tile, we plan to outline the wall and the stained glass window — should we continue the border to outline the top of the shower, which will be subway tile to the ceiling? And should the border wall continue on the walls after that, to the right?

Featured Answer

Kendrah

last month

I'm in love with your sink. Not the color - I'd get it reglazed in white, but my god those legs are gorgeous. You can get top dollar for it.

When researching our vintage bathroom, we noticed shower wall tiles rarely went all the way to the ceiling. We stopped ours short of the ceiling. You may want to consider that too.

If you decide to go all the way to the ceiling, this is a nice look to emulate that still incorporates the black trim.

I'm a fan of the black trim being sandwiched between the next to the last and last row of subway, rather than it being placed after the last row.

Or, if you want to use a black trim as the final tile, have a repeated thin line do there is a double line.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (18)

Lyn Nielson
last month
a border tile sounds great, but I would not highlight the perimeter of the room.

Use the black in the floor, like a traditional hex with black and white in a border pattern.
kathyjo thanked Lyn Nielson
palimpsest
last month
last modified: last month
Sell the rose colored fixtures. Or reuse the sink and toilet and see if you can find a rose colored pencil liner tile instead of black. If possible.

Traditionally the tile would usually stop short of the ceiling even in the shower and the border would wrap horizontally and vertically all around the perimeter. If you tile to the ceiling in the shower I would run the border vertically at the shower and die into the ceiling without a border at the ceiling.

Another more subtle option would be to run a black pencil liner on the edge of the field tile and then use a white bullnose tile next to the pencil liner to finish the perimeter.
kathyjo thanked palimpsest
Related Discussions
'Vintage' tile for master bathroom
Q
Comments (4)
We have an 1887 house. Two baths will be subway and hex. Powder room will have deep colors and victorian encaustic floor (see link below). In the master we are trying for a look that transcends dating. 12 x 12 marble walls (prob. emperador dark), same for floor or slate if traction is an issue, and black granite vanity tops. Vanities will be IKEA adel medium brown, dressing area will be IKEA hopen wardrobes. Hardware, faucets will be very period though. Here is a link that might be useful: Example of victorian encaustic tile
...See More
Subway tile border/design questions - ideas please!
Q
Comments (29)
casa1 -- the marble is 1" and the borders 1/2", yes. It's not my bath it belongs to a friend of mine. She has a teenage boy, now college age. No complaints. Hard to comment about marble and high usage with small children. I have a friend who's an antique dealer with good furniture all over the house and small kids and it's no issue at all. Others wouldn't think of it IYKWIM. I have a marble bath and it cleans up really easily with hot water. Ironically, I've had tiny bits of mildew on the grout and used a clorox bleach pen to get it off. No etching I can see when it was rinsed. Some people talk about etching and think marble isn't practical. I disagree but I love the way marble looks as it ages. If you want something that will stay new looking and be bulletproof then I'd investigate ceramic tile mosaic. With enough research I'm sure you could get the same look with ceramic tile and that should cost considerably less than marble.
...See More
Vintage bathroom tile
Q
Comments (46)
If the accent tiles had been painted in place, the artist would probably have gotten paint on the grout. I don't see any. So although I don't know for sure, I'd guess that those are actual production accent tiles from the 1970s or so, maybe even into the 1980s. That kind of whimsical art was popular back then, kind of like psychedelic motifs were in the 1960s. The flowered tiles look like they were supposed to be used with more tiles below them. The other tiles would have had stems and leaves to complete the flower image. Similarly, maybe the "squiggle" tiles were designed to form a border of sorts when used with similar or identical tiles to the left and right. This is admittedly speculation, as I don't recall ever seeing those particular tiles in anyone else's home. Someday, a future generation will be posting to ask how they can tear out and replace the "dated" design features that are popular in houses today. :)
...See More
On the hunt for vintage style tile!
Q
Comments (1)
I've seen some fancy tile work done all by hand where the installer would lay these pieces individually to get borders around the room and accents placed just where you want. I know you like this tile, but to be honest, that's a lot of grout to clean. A larger format tile would make your life so much easier! I've seen a few patterns like this at Floor & Decor if you wanted another place to check. The Tile Shop might also have something similar.
...See More
Related Professionals
Placerville Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Tabernacle Cabinets & Cabinetry · Morganton Architects & Building Designers · Georgetown Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Chambersburg Furniture & Accessories · Norwalk Furniture & Accessories · Enumclaw General Contractors · Halfway General Contractors · Jamestown General Contractors · San Bruno General Contractors · Wentzville Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Cloverly Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Independence Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Lawndale Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Plant City Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
last month
I know some people love these old pink, mint green, and other candy-colored fixtures from the 40s and 50s, but I just think they look pretty bad. Unless you live in Palm Springs in an MCM home, just re-do the bathroom and put in white fixtures. Here are some loviely Art Deco-inspired black and white bathrooms:

Chicago Condo Remodel · More Info

Black and White Art Deco Bathroom · More Info

Black and White · More Info
kathyjo thanked Sabrina Alfin Interiors
palimpsest
last month
The look like American Standard Rose du Barry fixtures that pre-date the 1950s era of that wall and floor tile. The shape and height of the toilet tank and the cabriole legs on the sink say c. early 1930s, I think.

Rose du Barry was introduced in 1929.

They are not junk, and there are vintage plumbing places you can find online who would be interested in having them.

These are not particularly complemented by yellow wall tile and olive green text patterned mosaic floor.

But even the sink as a standalone in an otherwise white and black bathroom would be much more interesting than the generic white with black pastiche "vintage" bathroom al a pictured. There's nothing the matter with them, in a brand new house.

Whether these are "pretty bad" or not is purely a matter of personal taste.
kathyjo thanked palimpsest
PRO
lisedv
last month
I don't know what your plan is exactly for the shower, you'd need to post more picture or sketch out your plan for the shower so that I can comment. However, I think a painted wood frame around the stained glass window would look better than done in tiles like it presently looks.
kathyjo thanked lisedv
PRO
RL Relocation LLC
last month
you need to sell those two items if you remove them, especially the sink, that can get a good dollar!
kathyjo thanked RL Relocation LLC
Sigrid
last month
last modified: last month
The rose sink is really great. It would perk up a boring black and white bathroom, like Sabrina Alfin posted.

Shower rings, like the one around your tub are pricey in salvage stores, too.
kathyjo thanked Sigrid
kathyjo
Original Author
last month
We, so many helpful ideas and suggestions! I’m very grateful.
@LynNielson: We do plan to do a black and white tile floor with a hex border. You’re suggesting no black tile border on the wall?

@palimpsest I have been researching, but didn’t realize the tile stopped short of the ceiling in the shower! So maybe we do that, and run the border along the top of it in the shower. Would we border all the walls? Or just stop on that second wall?
kathyjo
Original Author
last month
@Sabrina Alvin Interiors: those photos are lovely. The last two are definitely our style, what we’re aiming for. The corner black border is intriguing!

@palimpsest I would love to keep the pink sink! My husband, well let’s just say he’s not into it. You taught me something! The Rose Du Barry Bathroom. Fascinating.
0
kathyjo
Original Author
last month
@Sigrid, The more I think of it, I totally agree! My husband doesn’t like it, though…

@Kendrah — Palimpsest said the same thing about now going totally to the ceiling in the vintage period. I’m thankful to know that! I love the sink, too. But I’m pretty sure my husband wants something different. I did find this at a salvage shop, might look good? Also, it’s interesting to see the black border. I like the idea of a double trim…
0
palimpsest
last month
Actually pink was considered a "male" color, because it is a stronger color and was considered to have more vitality than pale blue, which was considered a more female color and manufactured, color coded children's clothing in the early 20th century was frequently pink for boys and blue for girls. Red was considered a masculine color, and pink was like a "younger" version of red. In Catholic countries in Europe pale blue was considered a feminine color because of it's association with the color of clothing traditionally depicted on the Virgin Mary.

It wasn't until 1940 or so that the rule for gendered children's clothing became pink for girls, and blue for boys. But pink was not considered universally feminine, and pink bathrooms and pink cars had their day in the mid-century. The actually almost visceral dislike that some people have against pink seems to be a much more recent thing.
kathyjo
Original Author
last month
@palimpsest that’s fascinating!! It’s all made up, how we perceive everything, isn’t it! By the way, the other bathroom is blue porcelain sink & toilet…with pink tile.
0
palimpsest
last month
I would use the other white vintage sink rather than destroying by reglazing a relatively rare Rose du Barry sink in good condition that people actually seek out for restoration projects.
PRO
lisedv
last month
last modified: last month
Perhaps you can onsider a pivoting mirror since you sink in in front of the window with a natural fibre roman shade for the window.
artemis78
last month
I would run the border through the shower as well so that it ties the room together. The other reason you may not want to go to the ceiling is that your house may not be entirely square--our 1915 house definitely isn't, and it would become very evident if we ran tile to the ceiling.

This is what ours looks like going to about 7', though we sadly don't have tile on the walls (and apparently I have no photos after it was completely finished that show all of the border!):

These were my two inspiration bathrooms, which both have wall tile but have different approaches to tying in the border:
Helena 1 · More Info

Vintage apothecary bathroom · More Info
kathyjo
Original Author
last month
@artimes78– thank you! I love the border tile! And these tiles. That comment about the walls being uneven is brilliant! Our walls (and floor) definitely have shifted.
0
artemis78
last month
I should also add, on behalf our tilesetter (who was great), that the funky break in the border at the top corner was not his doing—we had originally intended to stop one row short of this, but it meant the pencil liner landed in the middle of the shower outlet and I didn't like the visual effect, so we asked him to add one more row. He'd already mapped out the border to end cleanly at the corner, so that last square had to be added. I really like the final height relative to the glass, the shower head, and the tile pattern, but one of these years I will get around to taking a grout pen to that little line!
0