When Were 4 Inch Plastic Bathroom Tiles First Made?

Historic Elements

• A house built in the 1950s qualifies as a historic home. Its stylish bathroom might have pink 4-by-4-inch tiles with black or gray snubbed edging and detail with a pink sink, bathtub and commode. Those pink plastic tiles, if original, are part of the historic fabric of the house. Plenty of older homes were re-done with plastic during the 1950s, too; the 4-by-4 tiles were a simple do-it-yourself project for young parents just setting up house.

Material

• In addition to penicillin and atomic power, World War II gave the world plastic, a material useful for everything from women’s stockings to airplane tires. After the war, manufacturers looked for a way to answer the demand created by returning soldiers as they married, bought houses and started families. Affordable materials such as plastic wall tiles in simple-to-apply uniform sizes answered the need for do-it-yourself homeowners who bought up little ranch homes as fast as builders could finish them. By 1950, the polystyrene wall tile industry had its own professional association and nationwide standards for tiles and adhesives.

Color

• The colors of postwar plastic wall tiles were taken from the Art Deco palette of the pre-war period. In addition to shades of pink, they were made in pastels of green, blue, yellow and even lavender. The polystyrene production manufacturing process also allowed the use of metals to achieve pearlescent tiles. Home decorating in general and ceramic art tile use declined through the Depression and World War II, and so the postwar striking pastels used in the plastic tiles retained their stylish appeal to a generation that had put starting their careers and families on hold for half a decade.

Size

• Although ceramic tiles were produced in dozens of sizes and shapes, their installation required special equipment operated by workers who had training and dexterity. Special papers and fabrics invented in the 1920s and 1930s allowed small 1- and 2-inch tiles to be spaced at the factory. Beginning in 1947, homeowners in the emerging suburbs could finish the interiors of their new homes with plastic 4-inch squares that were simple to handle and required no backing or special handling.