I've stuck with the traditional black & white bathroom styles. They are the closest to timeless. You might want to post on the "Old House" forum, they have a better understanding on making appropriate choices for you houses age.

What were the original Sears kit house bathrooms? My sister's house had one mint green with black trim, with a black and white basketweave floor and one yellow with black trim and hex floor, all original. While for many years when the house was not that old the bathrooms were just "dated, they are essentially appropriate to the house because that's what the house came with.

So while black and white is definitely classic and appropriate, a colored wall tile would not be inappropriate. I think that while one popular bathroom and kitchen style references the era that your house was built, one potential error that I see people making is to work with elements that are of the period but really too elaborate and high end for the house they are going into. It was a rare bath that was covered in marble in the 1930s. People don't see it now because it's trendy and it still looks sort of appropriate but in a decade or two these bathrooms are probably going to look as "not original" to these houses as a 1960s avocado green bath does. That doesn't mean it will look bad, necessarily, because houses evolve. but the telling feature of the early millennial period will probably be the relative ornateness and expense of kitchens and baths placed into otherwise pretty ordinary houses. My sisters main bathroom had every tile trim piece available probably: hooks, soap dishes, tooth brush holders, towel bars with glass rods, etc. Highly accessorized and complete, and at the higher end of the options--but there was nothing elaborate about it. No fancy fixtures or lighting or things like that.

I guess I'm a little confused. If what you did 8 years ago was timeless, wouldn't it still be timeless today? Or did you mean that you want to do something that's trendy for today?

I always think a bathroom that embodies the era and spirit of the house will age best, especially in homes built so long ago. Personally, I would go for colored ceramic tile- there are amazing examples in homes of that era if you search.

a bathroom added that fits today’s version of “timeless” or full of contemporary finishes will look like a contemporary bathroom in an older home. Everything will be ‘dated’ at one point, why not date the baths to the era of your home?