Before and After: A Total Bathroom Redo with a Vintage Spin

Vintage bathrooms can be fun and stylish, but as fixtures and finishes age, they’re not without their problems. At Erin Walker’s home, her family of five lived in peace with their 1950s bathroom in all of its blue-tiled glory—but they knew its days were numbered, especially since it was the family’s only bathroom and got plenty of daily action. Erin and her husband Matt had been saving up for a year for the remodel—and as soon as the 1950s tiles started popping off the walls, they knew it was time to get started!

Erin began purchasing items for the bathroom remodel throughout the first few months of 2019 and had everything she needed by the time they were ready to start the demo process in August. But having just one bathroom in their home made the process tricky. Erin and Matt’s clever workaround: They planned to take the family on vacation the day after they had completed the demo to avoid the mess and, well, have access to a bathroom!

Matt and a friend gutted the bathroom, then the Walker fam left behind an empty room for their contractor: “We walked our contractor, who is a childhood friend, through our plans and exactly what we wanted done and he did a wonderful job in a week’s time,” says Erin. The total cost for the bathroom (including labor) was around $5,200.

To suit the retro house, Erin went with a classic style. “I tried very hard in the design to stick with timeless with a touch of modern flare,” says Erin. The mirror, lighting, and fixtures are all from Amazon and provide a nice contrast against the light walls and complement the new retro-look hex floor tiles.

Shelves over the toilet make space for essentials and a little extra. The black-and-white color scheme throughout—art, lighting, and other accessories—gives the family-friendly bathroom a sophisticated look. A stylish new bath and a family vacation? Smart thinking, Walkers!

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