Before we ever knew that Don Wrobleski was a beautiful architect, before we decided to move away from California, before this house ever hit the market, I daydreamed about the perfect bathroom. This dream was birthed in the height of my HGTV binges and Zillow-stalking, where I watched an unfortunate, common theme arise. It seemed that in an era where materials are mass produced and the primary function of DIY projects is to create a space that merely photographs well, cheap substitutes for authenticity are king. Affordability is one (important) thing, but replacing original character with a thoughtless, dime-a-dozen photo-prop-substitute makes me feel like the world is turning into one giant selfie museum, which makes me want to put my head in the dishwasher on the pots and pans cycle. As I scanned the photos of new listings, I saw the same thing that I saw one interior design host after another do: cheap out on bathroom tile. In original homes from 60-100 years ago, bathrooms were lined, floor-to-celing, with beautiful tile, and we’re ripping it out without a second thought, only to replace it with a few rows of whatever tile is trending that week.

So, when I dreamt of my favorite bathroom, I dreamt of tile. Gorgeous tile from the floor, wall-to-wall, and even covering the ceiling. I pictured it white. Tiny squares. Geometric. And as I was scrolling through the listing photos of this house, mouth agape, I found that the primary bathroom *already had* 2x2 white tile lining nearly every surface of it. “It’s the bathroom I drew,” I told Daniel who was sleeping because it was 3am. I couldn’t believe it.

The only problem was the tile was 60 years old and in need of replacing, but everywhere I looked for a proper replacement, the tile just didn’t feel the same at all, and there was a simple reason for it. What we found is that tile from the mid-century had larger grout spacing than what is commonly used today. Most of the mosaic tile we found had a grout spacing of about 1/16”. We could’ve opted to buy individual tiles (instead of mosaic sheets) and manually added larger grout spacing as a workaround, but I never want to know what the labor cost of that would be. Lucky for us we didn’t have to pony up because we found that Fireclay Tile offers mosaic sheets with 3/16” grout spacing. I know it doesn’t sound like much of a difference at all, but it’s three times bigger and it has the same feel as the original tile. We were on board immediately, and lined all of the walls, and even the ceiling, with Fireclay Daisy 2x2 mosaic tile. Bonus, their tile is handmade in small batches and feels like art lining our walls. So good.

For the floors, we chose a black and white terrazzo that added interest to the otherwise crisp white of the room. They lead to the sunken tub of my dreams.

For the vanity, we were really hoping to squeeze two sinks into the small space so that our marriage lasts the long haul. It’s a small space that can get crowded pretty quickly, though, so our solution was a trough sink with two faucets that we love so much. It’s set on top of a walnut vanity that a Chicago woodworker built for us. Above the vanity, we placed a pill-shaped mirror. It’s virtually the only pill shape in the house, but it’s a practical size and shape for two people who need to see their teeth at the same time or whatever. We placed two globe lights above the mirror to sort of seal the whole deal.

We love the primary bathroom so much. The morning light casts speckled shadows of leaves across the room most days. It’s just a really good… I’m trying to think of a word that’s not “vibe.”

There are two and a half bathrooms in the house, and the second one is set right next to the primary bathroom. It was basically a blank canvas when we got our paws on it. Other than one paneled wall and a little tile on the floor and in the shower, the bathroom lacked a certain je n'ais ce quoi (or whatever).

We knew we wanted to carry the black and white terrazzo into the second bathroom, and we used that as a really good reason to create a black bathroom. We felt the side-by-side bathrooms would have a sort of day and night / yin and yang feel to them, and that’s exactly how they ended up feeling. We added Fireclay basalt 2x2 mosaic tile to the walls surrounding the vanity, a black sink and fixtures, and another walnut floating vanity to match the one in the neighboring bathroom. One humanhome globe light asymmetrically hangs over the mirror, and we like to think of it as the moon hanging in the night sky.

A black and white abstract double exposure photograph taken by Ryan Muirhead hangs under a west-facing clerestory window.

Everything about the bathroom is inviting and cozy, which gave us the confidence to go a little bolder in the remaining half bath.

The final half bath is straight up pink. Aside from a bold red faucet, the original bathroom completely lacked any character, and we wanted to change that.

The entire bathroom had sort of felt like an afterthought. For a guest bathroom, it certainly felt like the last place you’d want a guest to spend any time. (Like, a countertop oven from the neighboring kitchen jutted into the bathroom right over the toilet.) We really just wanted to make it feel like a better time. We chose Fireclay desert bloom 1x1 mosaic tiles to line the walls from floor to ceiling. The pink felt like an homage to the pink tile of mid century bathrooms that flippers love to rip out these days. We added a freestanding white cylinder sink as well as white fixtures and a globe light with a pull string from humanhome. We also added a transom window between the bathroom and mudroom to let in even more light.

Standing in the bathroom, facing the courtyard, is one of my favorite views in the entire house. It just feels happy.

Our Mid Century Glass House Renovation: The Bathrooms