The style of any home should reflect the owner's personal style. Many owners of older homes like to maintain original elements of the home that bring out character of a simpler time. Using vintage fixtures and vintage style elements in your bathroom provides a way to maintain the feel of the original house, whether the whole design is vintage or it incorporates some modern elements.
Vintage Magazines
Before you look to buy the items necessary to make the vintage bathroom a success, look a vintage magazines and advertisements for the era that you want to re-create. Your guests may not notice that the bathtub is from the 1930s and the medicine cabinet is from the 1960s but if you want to be consistent, research is important.
Some of the best vintage magazines to look at when researching these topics are Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal and American Home. These titles may be available through the local library on microfiche or through auctions sites such as eBay. These magazines may have articles on bathroom décor and some of the newest bathroom inventions for that era.
Vintage Fixtures
Vintage fixtures are the first way to create an old-fashioned look in the bathroom. Homeowners should choose fixtures that match the era for the overall look. The vintage items do not need to match, but if you are working on a vintage bathroom from the 1950s, all of the vintage fixtures should have been used in bathrooms before 1960.
Vintage fixtures are available from antique shops, businesses that manufacture vintage replicas or businesses that may have new old stock available. Vintage replicas are the easiest type to find and may lower the overall renovation costs. Vintage replica fixtures also provide better energy efficiency than original vintage fixtures. Before installing any vintage fixture, check if it works properly to avoid costly repairs later on.
Mix and Match
Do not be afraid to mix and match the new with the old to make the bathroom functional as well as stylish. There are no set rules to creating a vintage bathroom. This allows the homeowner to use new curtains, tile and paint colors to achieve the overall design. Retro colors and patterns are available at many craft and fabric stores. This can provide essential accents that will bring the room together.
Mixing and matching the new with the old also maintains the functionality of the room. Having shag carpet in the bathroom may fit your vintage style, but it is not necessarily functional in a bathroom.
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