1920s-40s BATHROOMS

Bungalow-era baths were of the “sanitary white” persuasion. Not so the bathrooms built after the mid-1920s! Bright color and Jazz Age glamour continued through the 1930s. By the mid-40s, white tile was back. BY PATRICIA POORE

a bathroom of 1923 probably looked very similar to a bathroom of 1907: utilitarian and sanitary with white paint and tile, a wall-hung or pedestal sink and clawfoot tub, nickel finishes and exposed plumbing. Just a couple of years later, colored tile and, around 1927, colored fixtures would be introduced, and everything would change.

Color is the key word for bathrooms built or remodeled between the World Wars. Ivory and pastel toilets and sinks came first, joined during the 1930s by fixtures in orchid and mauve, Ming green and peach. The colors kept coming: baby blue, candy pink, butter yellow, lavender, and black. In the 1940s, red, burgundy, and navy blue were introduced.

In the Thirties, a pastel or white often was used with black bullnose and accent tiles, lending Art Deco sophistication. For more than a decade, streamlined Moderne and Art Deco-design fittings, light fixtures, and motifs were popular for bathrooms, even if the rest of the house was traditional. Motifs are easily recognized: chevrons and ziggurats, concentric circles, fans and shells, aerodynamic lines. A Tudor house might have stylized Viking ships in decorated

AQUATIC THEMES Watery colors and sea life motifs were popular in the 1920s. Here, the round tank on a stand is an antique aquarium. The shimmering aquatic mural is more recent.

OPPOSITE The barelypink sink and pink tiles have been in this 1925 Seattle bungalow since the beginning, as has the tiled-in medicine cabinet with beveled mirror and crystal knob ( far left). LEFT With deep-lavender wall tiles, deco tile inserts, and a bold geometric tile floor, this more recent bathroom has a Twenties vibe.