Terri, I drew this up using the added-up dimensions you gave for both walls -which pretty much agree- instead of the 14' 10" measurement, which is a couple feet longer. If I'm wrong, then these ideas are mute, and I'll redraw it. Let me know. (Adding up the smaller measurements I get 150"-151.5" total room length; that's what I drew.) If this is correct, there won't be enough space to simply extend the counter down for makeup area without creating an odd, ungainly space down next to the shower wall. BUT... there's a nice nook there for making a built-in make-up area on the wall next to the shower. I would use the same counter material (I think you will find that nothing comes close, price-wise, to the Ikea counters, and they are totally worth the 3 hour drive! I know a lot of people who've driven all day for it :))... anyway, I'd use the same counter material, and build it in by setting it on a 9" cabinet on one side, and simply attached to the wall with cleats on the other side. Or, no cabinet, more legroom, but then you will need wall storage for all the makeup and stuff. Maybe a nice slim wall cabinet on one wall would work well and be the cheapest way to do it nicely? Put a big window in between the vanity and makeup desk... lots of natural light. I like the idea of losing the big tall cabinet next to the sink, if it works with your budget. I think the room will feel much airier and spacious without it, to compensate for the fact that you're adding more shower bulk, which will make the room smaller. It also seems to me that the 18" deep space opposite the vanity is sort of wasted now. How about doing open shelving there, with a matching set of pretty boxes/baskets on it to hold some of your bathroom stuff, and folded towels can also go there... imagine how much more open feeling that whole vanity/sink area will feel without the tall cabinet there. You could do some open shelves, and some hooks if you like robe storage there... I would replace the mirror over the sink with a larger one, with nice sconces on either side. In the wall area now taken up by the tall cabinet, you could add a couple more (matching) open shelves with baskets/bins if you need more storage. If you decide to replace your vanity, I would highly recommend getting base cabinets with drawers rather than doors. it is SOOOOO much easier to stow your stuff, like all the bottles and tubes that end up on the counter, if there are drawers to pull open rather than hard-to-access shelves inside regular cabinet doors. If you wanted to explore doing that, I'd recommend simply getting base cabinets (just like kitchen ones, except they are shallower (although it'll be cheaper and easier to use regular kitchen ones if you have the depth for 24" cabs there, I couldn't quite tell from the drawing...) For example, using Ikea kitchen base cabinets, you could do the whole run, from the corner next to the door, to where the vanity ends now, for about $600 including a whole bunch of soft-close drawers, in this style (of course there are lots to choose from!) or $525 in this style of cabinet (I know you don't ike the green color, but the pics are just for the cabinets) Some Ikea bases with drawers actually come in 12" deep sizes, so even if you didn't have space for full 24" deep, you could still do it. By the way, when I was poking around on the Ikea web site, I saw several drawer/cabinet things that are a nice, rustic look like you're after. Very inexpensive, too. You might like some of them. If you are considering re-doing your cabinets, that would be another possible budget-minded way to go :) by using something like this, and a wood top. Might need to add some slightly taller legs (easy to do in similar pine) to get it to the right height. If you do something along these lines, I don't think you need the beadboard on the walls. Especially since you seem not to like "so much white"... although of course if you want to spend a bit more you could do rustic wood siding on the walls. I think you asked about painted wood walls, above. WEre you talking about this: ? I think that's painted V-groove paneling. It comes many ways... some in sheets, primed MDF. Some as individual or double planks, either primed or even rustic knotty pine. It's basically like beadboard, but without the bead, and iinstalled horizontally rather than vertically. If you like this look, you should check into pricing for the "real" 1/2" stuff (not the cheaper, thin MDF panels) which can be installed INSTEAD OF sheetrock. I don't know, but it may be similar pricing, because you wouldn't have to pay for all the expensive labor to finish the sheetrock. Maybe you and your DH could even install it yourselves?

I agree with just about all the advice you've received so far. We just did a "good enough for now" update on a bathroom with a green tub and toilet. We replaced the stool with a new one (pretty cheap to do) but we kept the green tub ... on purpose! I like the way our bathroom looks now. We painted everything a bright white and chose a shower curtain that had our color of green in it, plus a couple of bright, fun, complimentary colors. I stink at taking pictures -- even when I can find a real camera. This one from my cellphone doesn't show the colors at their best. Good luck!

I would find a good wallpaper installer to do a continuation lay of a wallpaper mural. Some have a bit of your bedroom blue with the greens. The effect with the lighter sky at the top will add more vertical height and look cool. Maybe not those particular mural wallpapers ( just quickly grabbed some) but there are some nifty wallpaper murals out there. Google bathroom wallpaper murals or scenery wall murals, A bunch of trees with water and sky would work so well with the floor color, countertop and wood of vanity... greens, blues, a bit of brown, earth with everything getting lighter as it goes up. Small off areas can be painted any color in the mural.

I agree with a lot of the advice you've been given. Your first step is to determine your budget. The second step is to find a reliable contractor that can work within the confines of your budget. Get a bid for all labor and services to be performed, line by line, in writing. Ask for references and don't be afraid to contact them. Ask for proof of insurance and licenses. Verify that those licenses and insurance are up to date. Do yourself a favor and spend time looking at youtube videos to learn about proper waterproofing techniques. Educate yourself about building codes so you know that what is being done is correct. Check with your city or town code office to see what permits and inspections are required. Arm yourself with information so you don't end up like so many others on here with dilemmas about improper installation and waterproofing and bad tile jobs. Remember that you don't know what you don't know. I had spent a few weeks learning about kitchen design and caught my cabinet guy in a few mistakes that would have been very difficult to correct after the fact. The pretty is the easy part. It's everything that goes on underneath that determines whether the pretty will still be functioning correctly in 5 or 10 years. As to what you've chosen, I would stay away from acrylic tubs. They can be cheaply made and don't always hold up well. They also don't hold heat well so if you like to soak in a bath, acrylic won't work as well as cast iron. Based on the color of your current cast iron tub, it's been there for 40 or 50 years. There's a reason it's held up for so long. You want to replace it with something of the same quality. When you look at toilets, consider an elongated bowl, comfort height toilet. They're a lot more comfortable to use. I just installed two with an enclosed trapway and it's so much easier to keep clean. I would also stay away from anything too trendy or difficult to maintain. Porcelain is easier to maintain than marble. Larger format tiles in the tub area are easier to keep clean than smaller ones due to less grout. Even easier are solid surface walls in the tub, such as Corian. Drawers in a vanity will give you a lot more storage than doors. Good luck with your project!