Come on over to the bathrooms forum. OP was just looking at Heritage tile and others but it was out of the budget. One suggestion provided was to use DalTile as they do have a lot of the specialized trim and transition pieces that make it look nice.

I will say I used Heritage tile and the cost of the tiles themselves was crazy, but DH did everything himself which is the only way we could have afforded this bathroom.

Daltile is making tile in the same colors and shapes as it did in the 1920s. And American Olean, too.

1920s bathrooms were very utilitarian and minimalist until you got to the really expensive houses. "Sanitary" and "hygienic" were the buzzwords.

It's all about the detailing: the contrast pinstripe and top row with plain white subways on the walls, the pedestal sink, the hex or basketweave floor tile with perhaps a border or pinstripe around the edge or inset flowers in the hex, plain wood cabinets.

You can get reasonably vintage-looking pedestal sinks and faucets at mid-range prices.

1920s bathrooms were very utilitarian and minimalist until you got to the really expensive houses. "Sanitary" and "hygienic" were the buzzwords.

Yes and no. I've seen plenty of 20s farmer's cottages with a barrel arch over the tub, for instance, and fancy tile was increasingly common at all price ranges as the decade wore on.

Daltile may have the same colors, but they won't look the same today because they are made by machine rather than by hand, so they don't have the wonderful variations in tone that old tiles do. Fireclay comes close but is $$$$.

There's also quite a difference between a bathroom from 1920 (still a big deal just to have it designed into the house) and a bathroom in 1929, by which point things like separate tubs and showers were already becoming common where there was enough space. Subway tile was used early in the decade but how common it was depended on where you were.

The all-white "hygenic" bath is from the period around WWI. It didn't go away immediately, but especially by the mid-20s when colored fixtures became available, it wasn't the standard anymore.

In some parts of the country, like CA, Tudors seem to have especially wild bathrooms. See Jane Powell's Bungalow Bathrooms for some notable examples.

Another good site for 20s style ideas is

http://antiquehomestyle.com/inside/bathrooms/1920s/index.htm

You won't get the variations in Daltile that you would in Heritage tile, but you will get the essential format, trim pieces, and colors that are appropriate, especially for the wall tile. It will look more modern because it is more uniform, but that's better than giving the idea up altogether because it's not in your budget.

If you do period colors for the field tile and basic trim, you could use sizzle strips (the patterned liner tiles) from a more expensive tile line to create a bit more authenticity.

If you stuck with plain white hex or typical basketweave and the floor area is not large you may be able to afford a rectified tile for the floor rather than the more modern rounded edge version.

This could still be created colorwise, anyway in Daltile. Not as subtly, but you could get the period colors correct.

That's a gorgeous bath, palimpsest. The first photo I posted would also be fairly easy to approximate today without great expense.

I love, love those 'tankless' toilets. That would have looked so cool, but I think my DH's head would have exploded if I tried to ask for that (he's my faithful loving plumb-ah ;)

I love the flooring in the SF bathrooms! We redid our other bathroom because unfortunately a previous owner had destroyed it, and we kept it exactly as it had been but used daltile. Hex tile, subway tile, etc.. I guess I want the master to be a bit fancier, but I just don't know how to accomplish that without going against the house's history.

These two bathrooms are in a Cotswold Revival, not a Tudor, but from the same era and both bathrooms are original--the one tub has a standing waste pipe and the other is has brass faucets mounted side wall to the tub.

The toilet and, and the sink faucet in here are new, but the tile and the wood floor is 1925. I think this may be the "husband's bath". So if you did the non full tile version on the walls like this, you may be able to get a pricier tile:

And here is another bathroom in the house. I am not sure this one is fully original, because the tile is very uniform in color and subtle. But I don't think all vintage tile had color variation.

beautiful baths.

Hi Ktj --

Just checking in to see how things were going. If you're like me old house projects often take a while between daydreaming and execution!

Getting creative with the pattern and cuts -- as seen in some of these AMAZING photos above -- can go a long way to giving the look for less. It's certainly also very easy to add $$$ liner tiles, decos etc to amp up the period feel.

[Thanks to those who posted the vintage baths!]

I'll put in a plug for using budget Dal for at least the colored field and trim. We did that for bath #1 and due to quantity needed, got the field for around $1.25 sf from a big box store. The trim, though...ouch. ;)

For #2 we attempted the same but due to colors and room features did handmade field in vintage colors but a non-standard shape (triple ouch, but definitely a unique result!).

I'm sure you've already considered this, but before falling too in love with your preferred tile(s) I'd make sure to get bids on install. The more complex the design the more you'll pay to have it done well/right.

While I'm typing along, I'll add that it may be useful for you to think through everything that's going in. Do you need your tile to be the star, or can it be more of a supporting player?

For instance: in bath #1, we loved butter yellow handmade crackle tile but couldn't swing it -- hence the Dal, in a color that reads pale, pale yellow in our space ("Linen"). But because we were putting in a zebrawood vanity and mirror, creating a cab from reclaimed leaded glass doors, and using a terrazzo shower pan it was a little easier for the plain Dal to benefit from its friends. [Don't get me wrong, the handmade would have looked great too, ha!]

If you're doing simpler elements and fixtures, it may make sense to try to work the budget to allow for some flourishes with the tile layout/design.

Hope you'll update us all as you go -- as you can see we do have vintage -- or vintage-inspired -- fans here.