We stumbled upon an alluring Flickr set called Bathrooms (1960-65) and just had to share it during our Kitchen & Bath Month.
There are some real gems in this collection. The number of tinted porcelain fixtures is astounding — as is the amount of porous material used on floors and upholstery. Some design elements hold up today, but overall we think the term "spa-like retreat" must not have existed in the mid-century because these bathrooms are full of color, texture, and personality.
Take a look to see how much styles really have changed, and try to figure out how you can avoid dating your own property by putting such a distinctive time stamp on the bathrooms.
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Easy Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
Comments (14)
Flesh colored fixtures I do remember these in my grand parents home with lace curtains.
I love the zebra throw draped over the toilet. Eccchh!
The in-shower rooster in #7 kills me.
I kinda like having "such a distinctive time stamp" in my bathrooms. Contemporary baths seem cold and lifeless to me.
Are those carpets I see in some of the pictures? Hmmm. . . wonder why that trend didn't continue. I can't imagine.
LOVE these! While I agree about the carpet in the bathroom being disgusting (my grandparents have it and it's gotten nasty from years of wet feet), these bathrooms are much more colorful and interesting than the current "design standard" bathrooms that seems to be the trend these days (white/neutral walls, dark cabinets, dull accessories). Spa like feel? Seems more like it's usually just lifeless and uninteresting.
Love the zebra! Venetian mirror on mirror is classic glam. Did she just see a mouse?
wow have styles changed!!! actually #9 might be salvagable with some changes but the rest....not so much.
I like the one with green and black mosaic tile.
Friends bought a house with a mirrored ensuite bathroom very much like the one with the zebra throw. Believe me, no one wants to see that much of themselves first thing in the morning and from every angle. they lasted a month before pulling all the mirrors down.
I'm digging the phone next to the sunken tub in #5 haha.
"Contemporary baths seem cold and lifeless to me."
Indeed - I'd much rather have #1, 3, 5 8 or 9 than the bathroom in this post:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/kitchen/modern-materials-at-work-in-a-contemporary-chicago-home-110782
I'll take number 3, please!
the only thing that dates #5 is the rotary phone and presence of pink shag carpeting. otherwise its fab.