The pedestal sounds nice but since you need storage I would go with a ready made vanity with sink. Restoration Hardware might be a nice choice but if they are too high in price look elsewhere starting down from their prices. I like your paint color idea. There are many medicine cabinets on Ebay if you really need one. I like putting some green in the floor if you are doing white. On one post someone said they had a body shop refinish their newly found vintage sink. I don't know if that could work for the tub.

You are very wise not to overextend during this tough budgetary time in your life. Hang in there! We redid our 5 x 7 1960s bath this year with a 22 inch wide vanity and in a 4 x 6 (not sure of size) guest bath with shower only I replaced a pedestal sink.
In your downstairs 5 x 8 bathroom if you want to keep cleaning supplies, toiletries, blow dryers and hair brushes in there you should get a vanity.
If it's not a place for bathing, the pedestal would be ok.

This thread has ideas on sources of vanities at lower prices. With your white toilet and white sink a white vanity finish might look the brightest up against your black wall tile.
I bought a sink and got a countertop fabricated and that was more expensive than I would have liked for such a tiny amount of material. So check out the online sources with the vanity top/sink built in and that will save you the money needed for a fabricator. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread on vanity sources online

I've spent the better part of the month looking at vanities. I actually found something nearly perfect at Home Goods, but it was too big to take home in a Corolla, so I lost that opportunity.

One problem I have is that I am 4'11" tall, so the 34" to 36" heights of today's vanities are a bit of a problem for me...I'd love to know if anyone knows of a place that sells good old fashioned 30" high vanities.

Another possibility, VERY budget friendly is this one:

http://www.homedecorators.com/P/26W_Craftsman_Single_Sink_Cabinet/540/#BVRRWidgetID.

I have other pieces in this collection from this company -- a TV stand, coffee table, and end table. And while it is particleboard with veneer, it looks quite nice. I'm just not sure about this against the black tile with the mint green. Thoughts?

Have you considered looking for an old dresser to convert to a vanity? In my area, there seems to be a plethora of wonderful old oak dressers and sideboards that would look wonderful converted into a vanity. I think you could easily find something that has the craftsman (oak?) look you want and is of higher quality than an inexpensive vanity. You could either use the wood top or top it off with stone or laminate.

do you mean laying a floor over the old floor, or do you intend on cracking out the old tile?

If the latter, be aware that once you start chipping at old mortar the walls may start cracking apart as well. that would force a complete redo.

anyway, can you post pictures? Black and green sounds very beautiful, something many people would love to preserve. i've got muddy yellow with black trim in a 5x8 1940's cape and personally envy your black and green.

Hi, everyone,

Sorry it took so long to post pictures; we got a new computer and, well, it's a long story about an old version of photoshop that can't load under windows 7. (Thank you, Paint.Net!)

Anyway...

Here's what I'm dealing with in this bathroom:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8864751@N02/5872320991/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8864751@N02/5872875674/

I've pretty much pickied out this washstand to replace the clunky white laminate vanity that's in there now:

...with a black-and-white 1" hex tile for the floor (not sure if I'm going to get one already set or make a design myself).

But I still have two issues:

1) A 30" wide medicine cabinet that I want to replace with a single one...this will involve some wall patching and rerouting some wires so I can do sconces for lighting.

2) What to do with the tub, which is the same mint green and has a very siable rusting chip in it. Some things I've been considering:

1) Covering it with a new liner

2) Reglazing

3) Ripping it out and replacing it with a shower pan

I prefer option 3, but since I would be hiring someone to do that, it would run into money. Matching the black tile is not a big deal; I've already had to have some tile work done to have faucets replaced with a diverter. The new tiles are thinner and just require buildup of the mastic.

For wall color I'm thinking a very pale, green, maybe like Benjamin Moore Iced Mint. Not sure what to do about a mirror/wall cabinet; whether to go with a black frame like the walls or pick up the white from the sink top.

Thoughts? Ideas? I'm open to suggestions. It is a 5 x 8 bath with tub against the far wall and toilet/sink next to each other.

Here's your pictures, If you eventually want to have a shower installed, I would go with the cheapest fix possible for the tub and once your DH is working again do what you really want to do and build that shower.

In regards to the paint color, I would go with something that can offer a little more contrast. On my monitor, the tile looks more like a bluish gray as opposed to mint green. That said, if you use this bathroom to apply make up the green can also be problematic. All colors have some reflection in the lighting and green tends to cast reflections that are not very complimentary to skin tones. Have you considered a soft very light apricot? Or a silvery gray? Both of those colors would work well with the palette you already have in place and cast reflections that are more conducive for applying make up.