the farm: bathroom renovation episode 1. – tile experts?

I’ll start off by saying that my husband has strictly forbidden my use of power tools. I’ve had too many accidents with staple guns in my past – I’m working on that. I’m trying to display exemplary tool-belt diva behavior on the off chance that maybe someday I’ll get to use a nail gun. I have manually installed crown molding, I think I’ve earned it!  And hopefully I can help with a power tool or two on our next big project.

Anyone that has been reading up on The Farm’s Renovations knows full well that when the cat’s away, the mouse will play. The last business trip / project-almost-completed was the Laundry Room Renovation, which I almost completed for Jimmy’s Father’s Day gift. 4 days. 2 kids. Late nights! That was a year ago, and the last major project to be (almost) completed.

I was in Philly this weekend, shooting Fay & David’s wedding.

When I left, our downstairs bathroom looked like this:

How sweet that my husband, instead of waiting for his father’s day gift this year, started his own! The goal was to have this bathroom “cleaned up” (as in, not gutted, nothing truly major, simply a cosmetic clean up – our own mirror, etc.) by the time I got home.

They always say you never know what you’re going to find in old houses.

What I came back to was this:

I know what you’re thinking. He didn’t get very far. Aside from the obvious MOLD issue – which will require a complete gut of the plaster & lathe, the flooring is also now an issue. He did the right thing by stopping, as he thought I may want to save these tiles.

Underneath the vinyl tile were these ceramic tiles:

Of course, he scraped off a bunch to get a good view and they’re not in bad condition at all. Granted they’re underneath a good amount of sludge and will require a significant amount of work to get clean, but are they WORTH it? The tiles have actually grown on me big time. Probably for many of you it’s hard to envision keeping them, but I have a ton of ideas – and of course I’m all excited I may have something from the past genuinely here .

My question, opinions aside, how old do you think these tiles are? Are there any tile experts out there? I will be very surprised if they’re from anything later than the 60’s, but again, I’m really not sure. I would think they would be even older than that.

Ultimately, the answer, as to whether or not these are authentic vintage tiles, will be the basis on this next decision. I had to get this up right away as of course, we have a few events coming up at the house, and this project must be complete within 4 weeks! Any help out there?