Ugly Bathrooms

Hi,

I've got 2 bathrooms that require repainting, and I need some ideas about how to improve them in the process. The house is a WWII cape with a low-quality build out on the second floor, and was designed and twice remodeled by people who should not have been permitted to do such things. It has a cottage-like charm (cute exterior and hardwood floors) that I'd like to really play up to compensate for the equally cottage-like shortcomings (small rooms, no storage).

The first bathroom is approximately 6ft (w) by 8ft (deep) and contains a dreadful avocado bathtub with an almond vinyl shower liner. The toilet and sink are pale almond, and the cabinetry is a greeny-almond formica. The flooring is vinyl tile with a faint, nondescript floral on the occasional tile.

The second bathroom is a serious problem in many ways. It is 5ft w by 8 ft deep, and has a 6ft, 4inch ceiling (see architect and remodeler, above). The tub is white and extends the width of the back wall. The sink is white and sticks out of the wall, with exposed pipes. The lower walls (from floor, up 4 feet) are covered with a plasticky lurid blue tile with white swirls in. The flooring here is old small white ceramic tiles.

Any hope? Or is my best bet with these atrocities to just lay on another coat of white?

Thanks!

 

well, i think you're definitely going to need more than paint!

to what lengths are you willing to go? replace vanity tops? remove/replace wall tile? new flooring?

in the first bathroom, you can hang a shower curtain and hide most of the avocado tub (except for when you're IN it), but you'll probably want to replace the vanity and put a new floor down. you could also TRY to paint your tub, with the special apoxy paints made specifically for that purpose.

in the second bath, nothing but major construction work will fix a 6'4" ceiling (that's not even up to code, is it??). the sink can be skirted with nice fabric & velcro. the little white ceramic tiles on the floor are very quaint & cottagey though - i'd keep those. and the blue & white swirly tiles sound okay - if you like blue & they're in good shape. a white, blue & yellow color scheme would be easy to do & would be bright & cheery (think French Country).

 

Thanks - and yes these things are in need of much more than paint. The two main bedrooms of the house also share the 6'4" ceilings (not up to code where I'm from, either...I really wish that people wouldn't engage in cut-rate remodels like this).

Since we're only going to be here for another two years we've got a real cost-benefit analysis with any improvements. I think I'm going to get the tub refinished, maybe to almond - and then at least it will tie in with the sink, cabinetry, etc. The yellow in the upstairs bathroom might be really nice, and I was thinking of painting the downstairs out with a nice rich sand color anyway.

Thanks!!