HOUSE: New Mexico #2

Sneak-peeking at my bathroom.

Vintage bathroom sneak peek - doorsixteen.com

It’s Saturday and apparently nobody reads blogs on Saturday, so you know what? Let’s take a sneak peek at my bathroom. I haven’t done anything with it yet and I probably won’t start until September, but I’m dying to share a glimpse or two or three.

Aside from the toilet and the showerhead, everything in the bathroom is from 1939. Even the vintage Kohler faucet and handles are in pretty good shape! It would be awesome to have the sink sandblasted and powdercoated someday (I did that in Newburgh, and the results were amazing—and extremely durable), but I’m really just glad it hasn’t been epoxy-coated. For now, I mainly need to learn about fitting vintage faucet handles with new washers, because they drip like crazy and that drain opening doesn’t need to get and rustier than it already is.

Vintage bathroom sneak peek - doorsixteen.com

LOOK AT THE FLOOR TILE. Every morning I walk in there and feel so lucky to have found this house. I want to hug the people who owned it for 65 years and never replaced this tile. It’s in perfect condition, too. It feels so nice and smooth and cool underfoot. I keep going back to my mint green bathroom post from last year and feeling it was just meant to be…

Vintage bathroom sneak peek - doorsixteen.com

How sweet is the medicine cabinet? I love the little decorative detail at the top of the mirror. That built-in cabinet on the right is really cool, too! It’s super deep and holds a ton of stuff.

I know this is just a quick peek and you can’t really get a sense of the whole room, but that’s coming. I just have to make some plans first! And finish painting the living room.

Happy weekend!!

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55 Comments

  • Reply Anne H August 6, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    Really enjoyed this post! That place is full of treasures!

  • Reply susanna boxall August 6, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    I lived with an original 1953 (tiny) kitchen with an original faucet for 6 years and eventually gutted it all, because it was old, dingy and the lowest end products you could probably find in the 1950s (though we sold our metal cabinets for a couple grand!). The faucet was made to fit the sink-cum-drainboards perfectly, and since it was impossibly drippy, we had to learn how to replace the rubber washers frequently. Word of advice: get a dozen of them, as they wear our easily.

  • Reply brenda August 6, 2016 at 1:05 pm

    that green – perfect compliment to pinks and ivory … what a solid-looking, well-worn and obviously pre-loved, bathroom. Looking forward to seeing the changes you decide to make … yup – I’m reading Saturday posts (procrastinating before seeing if I can fit my car back into my garage after cleaning both out this week)

  • Reply Kristin August 6, 2016 at 1:21 pm

    Having a very unconventional schedule, I loved seeing this post today. The green tiles and old fixtures are very sweet! I wish the previous owners of our house had been so kind to it. Thanks for sharing!

  • Reply Janet August 6, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    Anna, this is so great. What a lovely thing to feel you and your home were meant to be. Any day of the week I’m thrilled to read of your new adventures. Thank you for what has been years of inspiration!

  • Reply Caitlin August 6, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    I’ll always read your blog on a Saturday! These details are sooooo cute – thanks for sharing!

  • Reply Taste of France August 6, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    That shot of the floor and the plinthe makes me think of “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.”
    This is the perfect argument for choosing quality and classic. It works forever, even when it’s “dated.” Lemme show you my 400-year-old kitchen floors….

  • Reply Cindi M August 6, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    Hmmm. As a child of the scientific, rationalized 50’s, I am so glad to have made it to a time when I can safely say, that house was waiting for you! (Mine called out to me. My parents’ found the next owners.). Isn’t it wonderful that what we make and build can live beyond us?)

  • Reply heather August 6, 2016 at 6:11 pm

    So pretty – that tile is amazing!!!

  • Reply Katrina August 6, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    That is a good bathroom.

  • Reply Monica B. August 7, 2016 at 6:37 am

    The shared details of your new home are endearing and encouraging. I wish to find my new home that is meant for me too! I appreciate the character of design from days gone by (pssst! I loooove tile!) Can’t wait to see more of this bathroom. (No legs to hold up that sink? :-/) Thank you for letting me peek inside. Happy weekending!

    • Anna @ D16 August 7, 2016 at 10:04 am

      It’s just a wall-hung sink, totally normal! I don’t think I’ve ever had a sink with legs, actually. (Wall-hung is much more common, at least in the US!)

  • Reply Fiona August 7, 2016 at 7:26 am

    The tiles are beautiful. So painstaking and perfect.

  • Reply Jane August 7, 2016 at 10:03 am

    Great bathroom ! I’m sure you will make it even better. It’s so refreshing to hear people loving and respecting older fixtures. My red brick bungalow from 1948 has the original kitchen cupboards with the coolest hinges & handles.I cringe thinking of those people, on those real estate programs where they say things are too dated and should be ripped out. (of course some do need to go).

  • Reply Lori August 7, 2016 at 11:46 am

    Oh man, I love it. You really lucked out with this rental!

  • Reply Scout August 7, 2016 at 7:06 pm

    About sandblasting and powder-coating the sink: How does the durability of the powdercoat compare to the original enamel?

    I have a 1890s clawfoot tub with its original enamel in pretty good shape, but it’s chipped in one spot. If the powdercoat would be as durable as the enamel is, I would love to get it powdercoated so I never have to worry about lead or chippy enamel again. I am in the middle of the bathroom renovation from hell and the bathtub is sitting on its side in the hallway, so now would be the time to do it.

    • Anna @ D16 August 7, 2016 at 10:20 pm

      Hi Scout, I can’t really compare the durability to original enamel, since my tub was over 100 years old—and I only lived with it for 10 years. That said, when we sold the house last year, the finish on everything we had sandblasted and powdercoated (tub, sink, radiators, exterior iron work) was still in PERFECT condition. I was never particularly careful with any of these things, either. I cleaned the sink and tub with bleach and a scrub pad, even! It’s nothing like that spray-on epoxy coating that tub “refinishing” companies advertise. It’s a rock-hard finish that’s meant to be permanent. That said, if you only have one chip in your tub, I’d be inclined to try something like Porc-A-Fix. I used it on the ’50s-era cast iron tub in my other bathroom that didn’t warrant being completely refinished, and it held up well.

    • Lara August 8, 2016 at 10:16 am

      I have to agree about powder-coating vs. epoxy, I sandblasted and powdercoated some metal heater covers a few years ago and they are as good as new still, durable, easy to clean, no chipping or flaking even after multiple heating seasons. A previously epoxy-ed tub I came into upon move-in was chipping and continues to chip, I keep thinking, what’s the point of epoxy if it’s just going to chip? Powder-coating seems to be a better process in terms of environmental impact and health of workers doing it as well.

    • Anna @ D16 August 8, 2016 at 10:22 am

      Lara, I agree on all counts. The tub in this bathroom was epoxy-coated just before I moved in, and started to peel within weeks. It seems to be a scam industry primarily targeted at renters. I would never recommend it to anyone. Sandblasting and powdercoating is the way to go, and there are SO many options when it comes to colors and the finish.

    • Heather August 8, 2016 at 9:10 pm

      What beautiful details in that bathroom! Thanks for the sneak peek. Do you happen to know if there’s anything short of sandblasting and powdercoating that can restore the finish on an enameled tub? The old tub in our house doesn’t have any rust or chips, but the finish in some places is dull and discolors easily. I’ve wondered if I could get it really clean and then apply something equivalent to grout sealer for tubs, but Google just keeps pointing me to those refinishing kits, so maybe this thing that I’m hoping for does not exist…

    • Lara August 8, 2016 at 10:17 am

      love this post, it’s such a great vintage bathroom, I can’t wait to see how you make it even better!

  • Reply Amelia August 8, 2016 at 10:14 am

    So cute! We have similar tile on our bathroom floor (different colors & pattern, but still cute.) Time hasn’t been as kind to ours and I’d like to replace some rectangles. Do you know what this material is called? My Google searches haven’t been very productive. Loving all the posts from your new place!

    • Anna @ D16 August 8, 2016 at 11:09 am

      Hi Amelia, can you tell if the color goes all the way through the tiles? If so, that’s porcelain. If not, they’re (probably) ceramic.

    • Amelia August 9, 2016 at 9:03 am

      All the way through, so I’m guessing porcelain. And it seems flatter than the ones in the retrorenovation site. Thanks for your help!

    • Anna @ D16 August 9, 2016 at 9:05 am

      Yep, those are porcelain! Mine are flat, too.

  • Reply Anna @ D16 August 8, 2016 at 11:10 am

    p.s. This post may be of interest to you, though the newer tiles linked to in the post won’t work if your floor is porcelain like mine:
    http://retrorenovation.com/2013/02/19/112-patterns-mosaic-floor-tile-amazing-colors-friederichsen-floor-wall-tile-catalog-1929/

  • Reply Judi August 8, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    Anna, this is the most adorable bathroom! I can’t believe the floor tile. And they even used a lovely complementary grout color that doesn’t show dirt. Just gorgeous! Re: the sink: I once used Barkeeper’s Friend along with 0000 steel wool and a very light hand to remove rust from a vintage enamel sink in an Art Deco Staten Island apartment and it worked very well…no rust re-occurrence as long as I cleaned assiduously from then on. Don’t remember where I learned that but maybe it’s helpful?

    • Anna @ D16 August 8, 2016 at 1:38 pm

      Yeah, I actually clean the sink every week with Barkeeper’s Friend (I love that stuff), but the rust you see around the drain is actually exposed cast iron where the porcelain finish has completely eroded. Short of powdercoating, I’m not sure there’s a way to effectively take care of that. As and aside, I’m actually really surprised that the BKF/steel wool combo didn’t remove the staining around the faucet handles. Bleach and CLR did nothing, either. The finish is really worn out—it’s basically matte at this point, it’s so badly etched. If I owned the house, I’d have it powdercoated for sure!

  • Reply Judi August 8, 2016 at 8:41 pm

    That’s some rust! Something occurs to me…I was reading this the other day, searching for a solution to a problem I have:

    http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2355264/bleach-product-discolored-my-kitchen-countertop

    I wonder if the Connoisseur’s silver cleaner mentioned here might help you with at least the stains around the handles? If you read the whole thread (which I, a Virgo clean freak, did) it seems thiourea is the miracle ingredient. And it seems to be a rust remover/inhibitor. It seems insane as a concept (“I scrubbed my rusty sink with jewelry cleaner and the stains came off!”) but who knows; it might be worth a try.

  • Reply G August 8, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    Those mint green ceramic tiles are the same as we have in our little bathroom! SO HAPPY you said you love the floor tiles – they are sweet!

  • Reply MissLilly August 10, 2016 at 4:55 pm

    really love the green tiles, gorgeous

  • Reply Kim August 11, 2016 at 7:36 pm

    Ah so beautiful! Reminds me of an old apartment I was in. Same pattern in the tile, but it was PINK! Incredibly preserved and beautiful. Thanks for the throwback. 🙂

    • Anna @ D16 August 11, 2016 at 8:15 pm

      Sounds gorgeous, Kim! I love a good pink bathroom.

  • Reply bobbi August 15, 2016 at 5:49 am

    I live in a 150 years old country cottage. It was remodeled 20 years ago keeping the old feeling, not that much was touched: they added a tiny bathroom, a tiny walk-in closet, changed the floor tiles and that was it. Everything looks simple and kind of ‘poor’, it still feels like an old tiny farm and it’s lovely. I wouldn’t trade this for luxuries!

  • Reply Laura August 17, 2016 at 3:06 pm

    More please!! Can’t wait to see the rest!

  • Reply Relativity Textiles August 18, 2016 at 9:23 am

    Would you like to have some free wallpaper for this bathroom makeover?? We should collaborate! Erin

  • Reply Jen September 2, 2016 at 3:27 am

    You totally chose this house because of that bathroom tile, didn’t you? I love all your tile floor Instagram posts!

  • Reply Beth September 14, 2016 at 8:56 pm

    Missing you!!! I hope you will start blogging again soon!!

    • Anna @ D16 September 14, 2016 at 9:10 pm

      Me too!

  • Reply Cate September 15, 2016 at 10:46 pm

    Adorable bathroom. I’m not sure what the answer is to the dripping sink but I had the same problem in my 1939 apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, and ruined the sink. The building handymen “fixed” it often but had no effect. Guess the problem had passed the washers and the metal parts needed replacing. Too late (after moving out) I discovered a plumbing supply store nearby, Alfano, that probably had the parts and would machine any part for you they didn’t have. Maybe there is something like that where you live, or a real plumber can help you, or heck you can send the whole assembly to Alfano….(?) Maybe Pink Bathrooms knows. Good luck!

  • Reply Camille P. September 23, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    I love the floor tiles! I’m excited to see the rest of the bathroom once you have settled in! 🙂

  • Reply Barb September 24, 2016 at 12:16 pm

    It’s been a long time……..

  • Reply Eli September 25, 2016 at 7:37 am

    How involved was it to remove your tub for powder coating? We recently had ours epoxy-coated because a large patch around the drain was down to bare cast-iron. It never occurred to me to think about powder coating because I assumed it would be a nightmare to remove the tub and get it downstairs, but maybe it’s not as bad as I’m thinking (now I’m really second-guessing myself on the epoxy).

    (Also, if you can recommend a Newburgh-area powder-coating shop, I’ve been thinking about having a bike frame coated.)

  • Reply Wanderer September 29, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    Hmmm I love old bathrooms that are in great condition. We have a pink master closet I mean master bat (yes it is as tiny as a coat closet) but I’m not to the point yet where I can convince myself to rip it out to enlarge it. the pink tile is just too whimsical.

    We’ve been re-doing and altering our front door to be awesome instead. https://wanderlustingbydesign.com/2016/09/29/making-an-eh-door-the-door/

  • Reply Garden State Soapstone September 29, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    Love the green tile! Beautiful details. Thanks for sharing!

  • Reply doorot October 7, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    Miss you Anna!

  • Reply Jemma October 20, 2016 at 5:56 pm

    Hope life is good and you are ok Anna! We miss you xxx

  • Reply Julie P October 30, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    Anna! I miss you!

  • Reply steph November 10, 2016 at 9:54 am

    Just scrolling through my feedly and realized you haven’t posted in awhile. Hope all is OK.

  • Reply Elizabeth November 10, 2016 at 11:46 pm

    Where did you go? You’re my “fix” for the week!!!! I miss your posts!

  • Reply imogen November 21, 2016 at 8:02 pm

    is this the end of doorsixteen.com posts?

  • Reply Emma Andersen Design November 22, 2016 at 10:18 am

    Hi Anna! Miss your blogging! Hope you’ll be back soon. <3

    • Anna @ D16 November 22, 2016 at 10:19 am

      Me too!

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