Speaking of sinks...

[ctr]

Last month my mother in law passed away. One of the neighbors owns the house next door, in addition to their house, and graciously allowed my wife and I the use of their spare home. You see, there are simply too many of us with spouses, kids, etc to fit into the family home all at once.

Anyway, the house is a typical 1950's style house, original walls, floors, and bathroom. An interesting morning experience using a smaller bathroom. The entire bathroom is maybe 8 feet by 6 feet at best. Old style wall mounted sink with chome legs, toilet beside the shower, etc. No counter space, certainly not what most of us are used to.

Yet, I remember growing up living in a couple of places with this style of bathroom. In fact, it is mostly what my grandparents had their entire lives and they did just fine. The solution in each case was to use a medicine cabinet/mirror over the sink, and a cabinet with legs setup over the toilet. Some of you may be old enough to know what I'm speaking of.

I got thru my mornings just fine, as did prior generations. In fact, the only thing I find truely a disadvantage is the lack of proper lighting, but then again I remember the dim lights of the 60's.

Do you have any memories like this?

Many of us use vintage shaving gear, so what do you think, would you be able to function in a vintage bathroom?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Yes - and I did several times recently. I was just on vacation and I make a point of staying at historic hotels and small family-run places, usually out of major cities.

Big hotels and chains are nice, don't get me wrong. I'll stay at them when there aren't other options. Can't say I've had a bad night or encountered an unpleasant staffer at any of them. Always seemingly well-run and professional.

But all of the big hotels lack personality. I'd rather stay somewhere interesting and memorable. The other week, I stayed at five or six places like this. Many have older bathrooms and original fixtures. I did just fine with my shave stick and brush. Maybe there weren't big granite counters, but a 1940s Crane sink is a lot cooler.

 

[Topgumby]

Great observation. If it were up to me, I'd redo my den bathroom with vintage fixtures.

Sort of unrelated, but I always got a kick out of the ashtrays in the stalls in Korean restrooms.

 

[amspratt]

I personally like some of the touches of modern bathrooms. I lived in a place once that had the typical vintage avocado green sink, tub, and toilet. It certainly wasn't my favorite atmosphere.

 

[DFrancis]

The apartment I had when i met my wife was in an old building that used to house the old CP Rail headquarters. It was converted into apartments in the 50s and that's where all the main fixtures were from. I had a tiny little sink and a huge clawfoot tub (our favorite memory of the place). Also the kitchen had a 3 burner gas stove with a warming compartment in the over, smaller version of what my grandmother had. To this day we miss that clawfoot tub.