Vintage Life: We Love Penny Tiles!

Greg and I knew from the start of our 1920s bungalow renovation that we wanted to place penny tiles in the bathrooms to keep the vintage look of our home.

We started with the smallest room first: the half bath located off the living room/dining room. We chose all white tiles with a dark grey grout to emphasize the shape of the tiles.

The beadboard trim was created with original beadboard from the ceilings and it is painted a bright white while the walls are a rosy lavender – I love it! I just can’t get a good photo because the room is so small, but I’ve added a beautiful Italian vintage Capodimonte chandelier complete with pink drop roses.

Next came the upstairs guest bathroom and small side closest, where we also chose all white penny tiles.

I'm concentrating hard, here! This was our first experience with penny tiles and we have to say that they are a little more difficult to lay than large tiles. Penny tiles come on square sheets, but the sheets stretch, which makes it a bit difficult to get the spacing exactly even.

Our floors aren’t perfect, but I think they show vintage charm! This is the finished upstairs bathroom. We carried the beadboard trim motif upstairs too but we had to use new beadboard sheets as we had run out of the original old beadboard. The trim is painted a bright white while the walls are a pretty green tea. It isn’t installed yet, but this is where my restored pink claw foot tub will go! What do you think?

For the master bath, we chose marble penny tiles featuring varying shades of grey and white with hints of blue and yellow. We set it off with a dark grey grout.

We used the last of the original beadboard, painted bright white, in the alcove where my restored yellow claw foot tub will go.

We also added a bling-y vintage Rococo chandelier with sparkling crystals. Ta-da!

Although it is not installed yet as we haven’t finished tiling the large walk-in shower and the adjoining wall, we have converted an antique Louis XV sideboard into a double vanity by removing the top and replacing it with Alabama white marble with grey veining to complement the tile floor.

We’re considering placing a pair of the new Ambella Home Star Mirrors over the vanity. Here's a photo of the mirror – let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

If you just can't get enough tales from the tile side, our last Vintage Life: Time To Tile! blog post talked about our adventures with the pretty Mexican tile in the kitchen, sun room and utility room. Grout on!