that new stuff isn't much different from what you currently have. I think you could find something better. if you have any aspirations of painting those cabinets in the future, white would work better w/that color flooring. If I had to rob a bank, I'd get the money and put it toward that bubble florescent fixture. Honestly, that is the worst thing I've ever seen. Please, splurge and get an electrician or a family handy guy over to remove that and give you 6 cans. you'll be amazed at the diff. if you can do the cans, at least get rid of that behemoth and do a flush mount fixture. are you DIY ? painting those cabs will freshen up that spot. even if it takes you two months, you could do it yourself for a few hundred. countertops,,check in pre-fab granite or quartz they cost about 300-500 for one 22"X9' slab. hire a fabricator to come and cut it for your kitchen (800 or so) do the legwork yourself, offer cash, and save big time.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Sophie, I've seen you comment on unneeded renovations so often that having your first comment be "sledgehammer" really says something. Thanks. To clarify, the shower currently spans the entire width of the room, 6'. The second shower head, hidden in the photo, is on the wall that the toilet is on. So what's to the left of the shower is...more shower. ;) I am not a DIY-er. I will pay a GC+subs. My concern is less about my out-of-pocket expense and more about the return on my remodeling dollar. I can be frugal but if it makes sense (like adding grab bars now) then I want to do it. My thought is that I might move in 2-3 years, but I've seen how life plays out. That might stretch out or....it's always possible that I'll never move. Who knows? Current thoughts on design (I'm open to feedback): --demo everything, including drywall (wall has gouges from past owners' DIY attempt to remove old foil wallpaper). GC says new drywall isn't expensive and makes it easier (and cheaper) for plumbers and electricians to work unimpeded. --keep toilet where it is but replace ---Make shower the Walk-in kind with showerhead on same wall as toilet and glass panel to replace the wall that separates the shower from the toilet. GC thinks the glass panel could be wide enough that I would not need a door to the shower; water will not splash into room. --my thought is to close up the window to the other room. It's weird. It's also a metal framed window (I replaced the other metal windows in this part of the house with clad ones, so they look better). --yes, upgrade the vanity, counter, lights, flooring etc. --yes grab bars! Good reminder, enduring. We did that when we remodeled the guest bath. That's the time to do it. My Qs: --should I move the vanity to be on the same wall as the toilet? This will require moving the door over. More significantly, I would lose the storage of the current cabinet behind the door. It's 12" deep. When I googled, I haven't found any suitable replacement. The freestanding linen cabinets tend to be 15" deep. A lot of them have glass panels on top, which is cute, but having the door open onto a glass-top cabinet sounds like a recipe for disaster, esp. in the bathroom with naked feet. Is there any way to recapture the storage? The current vanity is 4' wide, super low, and the drawers are horrible, so a better vanity will provide more storage but can't replace that large cabinet behind the door. --if I move the door, should it be a pocket door? I kind of hate them, but maybe I haven't met the right one. This is the master bath (which adjoins the master bed but does not open directly onto the master bed). I don't want to be woken up at night with my partner jiggling the pocket door or flipping on the light. But maybe there are great pocket doors? --spring for a skylight? The big kind or a sky tube? An interior designer said he recently saw one, in a bathroom, where the skylight in the roof was large but the opening over the vanity was more narrow. So the benefit of the light without a huge hole? (I didn't see pics, so I'm not 100% clear) --anything I haven't considered? Thanks for all your thoughts and comments! Maybe I'll host a toga party to celebrate demo-ing the Roman bath (or maybe they were having a toga party when thought up this idea, lol)

I would paint the walls a slightly warm white, and focus on lighting and decor. Would probably bring in a chandelier on a dimmer or more updated fan. I'd leave all the wood, as is, Maybe remove some doors from built ins, and display art glass, and/or pottery, etc. (You can save doors, in case you want to put them back on. :)) If you are going to use a tv in the space, you could possibly do something like this with tv placement, as well - and put sofa facing fireplace, with sofa table behind it; or you could place furniture as they've done here - which is same as current furniture placement in your space, except I would switch places with sofa and chairs - have sofa facing windows, with sofa table to anchor it, since sofa is floating (Feng Shui thing). You could also use an angling extension arm on tv, if you need to adjust for viewing angles, etc. I would also either remove mantle from stone completely - or do a much longer mantle, in black. Hope some of this helps. Congratulations on your new home!

Has anyone had experience with having wall tile professionally reglazed? I'm thinking that changing the wall color - both tiles and painted portion, getting a new, more classic sink and a new light and mirror - plus shower curtain may be what I should do. This will be my first time living in NYC. I'm overwhelmed by what is involved in gutting a bathroom in a coop - the cost, the permits, all of it. I'm now leaning to wanting to find a cosmetic fix perhaps instead of gutting. I'm amazed how many people like this bathroom. Val B, I think you nailed it on the mat finish and glossy black tile. I'd love to have work done on this prior to moving in. I already know I don't like it. I don't think living with it is going to change that.