Snazzy Vitrolite Deco Bathroom...

[Willa]

...spotted in a 1933 Colonial, on Old House Dreams.

I am a sucker for that Vitrolite, with the dramatic black fixtures:

37-334SMaple.jpg (52.13 KiB) Viewed 827 times

[Manalto]

And marbleized too! That single pedestal under the sink solves the toe stubbing problem. I don't mean to sound like a broken record but that snazzy bathroom deserves better than white painted walls

[Willa]

That was the only photo of that bathroom from the listing. To my eyes (and monitor) it looks like the walls *might* be pale yellow ? The floor looks like it is probably original tile, too, but in the photo the color looks pretty blah.

Here's a link about Vitrolite, and other brands of "structural pigmented glass":

http://www.decopix.com/the-vitrolite-story/

Somewhere in my files I saved images of a fantastic deco Vitrolite bathroom that had almost black walls - but the black had a very dark blue marbelized throughout which just looked so good. If you scroll down that link, it must have been the "Royal Blue Agate".

I wonder why a modern version of Vitrolite has not resurfaced ? The surviving bathrooms look in excellent shape. It is a very attractive product, with many design possibilities, environmentally friendly and it doesn't seem to degrade with exposure to moisture, UV light, etc.

[phil]

You might be interested in exploring the modelling materials. Youve probably heard of sculpey and FIMO they make materials you can work like clay and they harden up in the oven.. But also they have liquids you can intermix and some translucent products. another neat material I've seen is crystal clear epoxy which could be colored and you could likely swirl in colors. I think if you look into it you can find some neat techniques. one I heard of is to make a little flower shape then stretch it and slice that into slices creating patterns with little tiny flowers. Now with LEDS that are cheap you can backlight things cheaply too.
I bet there is lots on pinterest if you are into surfing that.

maybe it's too expensive for something like bathroom tiles but to make all your cupboard pulls match your style or for backbit displays, custom lamps, and things, custom decoration. maybe to replace that missing and unavailable porcelain tap handle or something like that it could be useful. you can do push molds or make copies of stuff with molding materials. The ideas one might think of for it may be endless. one thing I keep thinking of trying is to use the case of an old radio , maybe a cracked up bakelite one that I could get a mold off , and then to use these sorts of materials to repro a new case that looks like catalin. I think that would be fun for me and I encounter broken cased radios sometimes so I'd just use the old tube radio chassis from that. Maybe a tube radio with a cartoonish and brightly colored cabinet would be neat for me to do. one might make custom buttons and things. It can really get your imagination going.

I could see having a lot of fun with experimenting and learning about these products. with the liquids you could mold it and do swirly patterns and stuff. I don't think you have to be a kid to play with stuff like this, some might even take it seriously

a little example here is a translucent liquid that you can color as you like.
https://www.sculpey.com/liquid-sculpey- ... id-sculpey

[Willa]

You might be interested in exploring the modelling materials. Youve probably heard of sculpey and FIMO they make materials you can work like clay and they harden up in the oven.. But also they have liquids you can intermix and some translucent products. another neat material I've seen is crystal clear epoxy which could be colored and you could likely swirl in colors. I think if you look into it you can find some neat techniques. one I heard of is to make a little flower shape then stretch it and slice that into slices creating patterns with little tiny flowers. Now with LEDS that are cheap you can backlight things cheaply too.
I bet there is lots on pinterest if you are into surfing that.

maybe it's too expensive for something like bathroom tiles but to make all your cupboard pulls match your style or for backbit displays, custom lamps, and things, custom decoration. maybe to replace that missing and unavailable porcelain tap handle or something like that it could be useful. you can do push molds or make copies of stuff with molding materials. The ideas one might think of for it may be endless. one thing I keep thinking of trying is to use the case of an old radio , maybe a cracked up bakelite one that I could get a mold off , and then to use these sorts of materials to repro a new case that looks like catalin. I think that would be fun for me and I encounter broken cased radios sometimes so I'd just use the old tube radio chassis from that. Maybe a tube radio with a cartoonish and brightly colored cabinet would be neat for me to do. one might make custom buttons and things. It can really get your imagination going.

I could see having a lot of fun with experimenting and learning about these products. with the liquids you could mold it and do swirly patterns and stuff. I don't think you have to be a kid to play with stuff like this, some might even take it seriously

a little example here is a translucent liquid that you can color as you like.
https://www.sculpey.com/liquid-sculpey- ... id-sculpey

Yes, but what does this have to do with vintage Vitrolite ?

Sculpy/Fimo/Epoxy are not glass and never will be.

[Gothichome]

Willa, you may remember, we had a member back in the Wavy Glass days who had a house full of the stuff.
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11655&p=117963&hilit=Vitrolite#p117963
She only posted for a short time and like many we never heard a word after.
Any how, there’s the link to her chat.

[Willa]

Boy, that kitchen is really something ! I hope nothing (bad) happened to it.

I have a Pinterest full of saved images from Old House Dreams. In there somewhere is a 30's or 40's kitchen that wasn't extravagant or unusual except for the RED Vitrolite ceiling. 1940 Colonial House:

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32-2402-MagnoliaDr.jpg (43.78 KiB) Viewed 773 times

Some white Vitrolite on the walls, too. Tile in the bathrooms.

I forgot about this lovely pink Vitrolite kitchen, too:

a6d472cd0ae7730288c3a7a065a1be78.jpg (32.61 KiB) Viewed 773 times

[Gothichome]

I too hope she deicided to keep it. A home filled with it would be a rare home indeed.

[Willa]

I too hope she deicided to keep it. A home filled with it would be a rare home indeed.

That Vitrolite looks as good as the day it was installed. No fading or distortion, or change to the glossy finish. Her kitchen had a tasteful beige, which would be easier for most people to contend with than a glossy red ceiling. Personally I think a glossy red ceiling is a really daring design choice, used wisely.

I just received my used copy of "Bungalow Bathrooms" (via Ebay) and discovered that there was a lower cost plastic on board material that imitated Vitrolite, called Marlite.

[phil]

Yes, but what does this have to do with vintage Vitrolite ?

Sculpy/Fimo/Epoxy are not glass and never will be.

Willa you were just saying how much you liked the pink plastic tiles in the other thread. I think its in "what I did in my house today". That's the tie in. They both had swirly patterns and things, yes these are glass. I bet most most have been removed. Not where you'd want to be in an earthquake I think they could look nice but yea not very safe unless you used laminated tempered glass with suitable fasteners. then again the plastic might not be the greatest in a fire. imagine the black smoke they would create.

I wasn't suggesting anyone do a whole ceiling in the modelling clays I just think it's a neat product especially the transparent and translucent stuff. It could be used in many ways. probably more than you first imagine.