Pink Bathroom

When we first moved in almost eight years ago the bathroom looked like this. Ew, ew, ew. Going by the date on the toilet my 40's bathroom was renovated in 1974. Over those past eight years we've been slowly picking away at it and this is where we are at today.
There are still some changes I'd like to make. I would like to replace the foggy bay window, re-tile the floors and around the tub, as well as replace the faucets but those are big jobs and I'm in no rush. I can now enjoy the bathroom the way it is now. Well, actually Cody gets to enjoy it since this is HIS bathroom (mine's upstairs and an eyesore). Fit for a King, wouldn't you say? Swans, fishys, lilac walls, pink, pink and more pink. It takes a real man to be confident enough to spend his mornings in here.

Why do people frown at coloured tubs and toilets nowadays? And why, oh why do they rip them out and replace them with boring old white? If you have coloured porcelain in your bathroom I ask that you please appreciate it. If you're looking to funkify your plain old bathroom, take a trip to a salvage place because you will not find anything but ordinary white at Home Depot.

I've added a few close-ups of some of the items you see in the background. These include some chalkware fish and swans, an old first aid kit, Trader Vic's of Hawaii seahorse tiki mug, metal Detecto tissue box (There is suppose to be a matching trash can, hamper, toilet paper holder and toilet brush holder.) and in the window which I forgot to take a picture of is a Royal Haeger swan planter. The shower curtain is an oldie from 1985. Too bad you can't see the detail of the floor that is painted in shades of pink. I guess you'll just have to come over for a closer look and have a seat while you're at it. Don't forget to leave a quarter on the counter!

Droodles and Korkies

Okay, so it's been a while, hasn't it? Here's an update.

Marmoleum has been ordered from an out-of-town company that I found for $1.55 a square foot cheaper than anything around here. It's supposed to take a month for the order to be filled and shipped. We went with three different tile colours, red, black and grey. It won't be long now!

Did I tell you Cody's making kitchen countertops? A few weeks ago we picked up some vintage countertop laminate sheets. It'll be Cody's first time making counters but I have faith that he'll do a great job. We were also sure to purchase more than enough feet of material for "practice" or just in case the router decides to go rogue. I have a local source for aluminum banding to do the edges along the counters to get that retro 50's diner look.

Yesterday, my AWESOME brother did me a HUGE favour and ventured into American territory to pick up a beautiful turquoise range hood that someone put up on Detroit's craigslist. He says it came in it's original box. What a find! I owe him big time! I must say it again just in case you didn't read correctly, my AWESOME brother. That's right, you had better save this to your hard drive bro!

In other news, the bathroom is now complete. I grouted and ahem, tiled around the "new" vanity and painted the tile floor. Just wait until you see my tile job. Painting the tile floor wasn't something I was keen on doing but the grout was nasty looking. The colour of the tiles was fading in the high traffic areas and re-tiling just isn't an option right now. I'll post pictures next entry.

Now onto my...Finds of the Week!

This book was a quarter and worth every penny! Windows Beautiful was published in 1969 and it shows various window treatments as well as how-tos on designing drapes and curtains. I couldn't have found this book at a better time. I decided to make my own curtains for the dining room out of that amazing barkcloth fabric I found instead of paying someone to do it. They turned out wonderful. I need to find pin hooks so they hang a bit better as right now they are alligator clipped.

The pictures in the book are just fantastic!




Look at this cute toaster cover I found.




I am a chalkware fiend. It is my most favourite thing to collect. I've been saving my chalkware collection to post at a later time but I can't help but share these. Now I need to find a pair of red shades for them.



My second most favourite thing to collect is kitschy prints and lithographs. This Juan Reus print is from around 1950. Reus is THE most renowned bullfighting painter of his genre. If you're interested, you can see better photos of the poster HERE since my photo is pretty lousy.




Love these vintage Libbey souvenir glasses!



Well that just about does it for this week's blog entry. See you next - What?!.....What's that? Did I forget something? What's a droodle, you ask? A korkie? Ah, yes, how could I forget! A new designer dog breed?? No, silly! Droodles and Korkies are these, duh:

To Olé Girls I've Loved Before

I hope this entry tides you over until I have something kitchen-worthy to show you!

Marmoleum (or linoleum, same thing) tiles are costing much more than I ever expected them to. Why is being environmentally-friendly so darn expensive?? Marmoleum is a green product, made from wood flour, linseed oil, rosin, cork dust with a burlap backing. There is no off-gassing like vinyl and from what I read it has bactericidal properties. More importantly it feels soft and warm and looks beautiful with it's vibrant colours so to me it seems to be a perfect choice for the kitchen. But jeez, I wasn't expecting to spend more on flooring than my cabinets, counters and appliances combined. I haven't put in my order yet but am hoping to do so next week. Linoleum was used in Victorian homes through to the 30's, 40's and 50's but saw a decline when vinyl became the popular choice in the 60's. There is no comparison of the two. REAL linoleum kicks polyvinylchloride's butt!

In the meantime, the dining room is complete, well minus the curtains which I'm going to leave up to a pro to make for me. Last thing I want to do is ruin that barkcloth fabric!

This is what I have to show you this week:

My late 60's to early 70's Spanish lithographs. ¡Olé!



GE toaster.



Cody put in this pink vanity which I still need to grout/tile around. I got it from an older gay couple in Point Grey. And here I thought gay men had great taste! Guess I'll be rethinking that stereotype since they couldn't wait to get rid of this . Check out the super rad magazine rack and toothbrush holder!! And that towel rack is glass! Oh, and look!!! A hudee ring!! Google that one! I JUST found this old magazine ad on Retro Renovation which features my vanity. Check it out here: Beauty Queen Lavanette



And for those who haven't seen the dining room and my pull down light (that I'm so in love with) which Bo Sullivan at Rejuventation Lighting and Hardware identified for me from one of his many reference materials. Because my light is Canadian made there are some slight differences from the American catalogue. I'm grateful he sent me these photos.



Another week gone by and still my kitchen waits......