Retro Restrooms: These Three Classic Bathroom Design Trends Are Creating a Comeback

Trying to find today's most of-the-moment interior design cues? Try yesterday.

Yup, what's old is still new again. While transitional design—that elusive mixture of throwback and modern—is a huge tastemaker favorite for the last few years, vintage elements are bursting out all over these days. And the perfect destination for a showcase your love of things retro? Well, it could be in the most surprising space of most: the bathroom.

That's right—if you're hesitant to plunk down a lot of cash on pastel-hued appliances or mint shag carpeting, the restroom offers the just-visible-enough vehicle to here is another few old-school trends on for size.

"We are definitely seeing a fatigue from the all-white bathroom," says Kathryn Scott of Kathryn Scott Design and writer of "Creating Beauty: Interiors." "My clients tend to have historic homes that come with an identity and purpose. Bringing vintage fittings and fixtures into your bathroom creates an illusion of a home's early life."

Read on for three vintage bathroom design trends which can be creating a serious comeback.

1. Vintage-inspired washstands
Want to ease into the vintage style? Consider swapping out your existing faucet with something more low-profile—then pair it with a simple washstand as opposed to a heavy vanity.

"Faucets with delicate features and porcelain handles are a great way to introduce a vintage-inspired try the toilet," says Gretchen Kennelly of Gretchen Kennelly Design Group in San Diego, who favors models from Lefroy Brooks.

"And vintage-inspired washstands are a fun means of introducing a sculptural shape in the bathroom," she adds.

Plus, experts agree totally that exposed piping brings a specific airiness to powder rooms. Obviously, stand-alone sinks don't have any storage, so modular medicine and linen cabinets "are a total necessity" for function, Kennelly warns.

2. Skirted sinks
Tired of your vanity sink, but not all set to go completely bare-bones? Enter the skirted sink, that mainstay of late-'70s Midwestern basement bathrooms that's found new life among mildly ironic millennial homeowners.

If you're the DIY type, consider making the skirt yourself (or pick a cloth you want and hire a seamstress to do the heavy lifting).

3. Vintage hardware
For a straightforward nod to bygone days, swap out your vanity's hardware and fixtures.

"It generates the area feel so thought-out, personal, and high quality," says Christina Harmon, a Washington, D.C.-based interior designer and creator of a luxury home goods line, Honour Collective.

Consider separate taps for hot and cold water, or a removable shower-head in polished chrome or copper. Have a look at Hoffmann's favorite vintage vendor, House of Antique Hardware, for more inspiration.

And if you're a young child of the'80s? You are able to rejoice, because brass is back and better than you remember.

"Brass is extremely warm and adds a little glam to any space," says New York City designer Highlyann Krasnow. "It's an easy way to upgrade an item to make it feel more custom."