Colorful Bathroom Tiles Are Coming Back (& They’re Inspired by This Unexpected Decade)

Written by

Nancy Mitchell
Nancy Mitchell
As a former Senior Writer at Apartment Therapy, Nancy split her time among looking at beautiful pictures, writing about design, and photographing stylish apartments in and around NYC.
published Dec 18, 2016
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Looking at pictures of vintage bathrooms and kitchens is one of my favorite hobbies, and lately, I’ve been noticing something very interesting: When it comes to style and over-the-top glamour, nothing beats ’20s bathrooms. Sure, the ’80s were wild, but bathrooms from 1920s are… something else. Let’s take a look at these Art Deco beauties.

Above: This Art Deco style bath from 1929 is the perfect embodiment (in bathroom form) of the Roaring Twenties. From Antique Home Style, via their flickr.

Be still, my tile-loving heart. This is from a 1929 Kohler ad, which originally appeared in House and Garden. A modern version of this, re-created with zellige tiles, would be really beautiful. From Antique Home Style, via their flickr.

I can’t get enough of the dark drama of this opulently appointed blue, green and black bathroom, from a 1929 ad for Crane, which originally appeared in House and Garden. (Since most of these photos are ads, it’s safe to say that the average American bathroom did not look like this in the 1920s, but if even one person had a bathroom this incredible, well, that’s a lovely thing to think about.) Image from Antique Home Style, via their flickr.

This is a 1929 ad for a kind of tile called Vitrolite, which originally ran in American Home. I love the Art Deco feel of the tile, and the palm tree mural could not be more perfect. From Antique Home Style, via their flickr.

I think it would not be an exaggeration to describe this bathroom (another Crane ad, which ran in a 1929 version of American Home) as jaw-dropping. I already spend tons of time in the tub, and if my bathroom were a temple to bathing like this one, I might never leave. Also, if you thought the tiny toilet room was a relatively recent invention, here is evidence to the contrary. From Antique Home Style, via their flickr.

Although it’s certainly luxurious, this bathroom seems almost tame compared to some of the others here. I couldn’t help including it, though, because what is going on with that toilet? Does it have some kind of chair that sits around the porcelain part? Or is this just a very elaborate toilet seat? This is a 1926 Crane bathroom, from Antique Home Style, via their flickr.

Ok, so I am cheating a little on this one, because this picture, from an ad for Robertson Art Tile, is from 1930. But it’s just so beautiful and Art Deco-y that I couldn’t help but include it. Note the floor mosaic of a tiny whale right next to the tub, which I suppose is too good to cover with a bathmat. From Antique Home Style, via their flickr.

Check out Antique Home Style for more photos of vintage interiors, and lots of great info about the evolution of the home. More vintage bathroom goodness can be found here.