Well I do plan a more extensive makeover next year or the year after with vanity and countertop replacement and probably floor, and tile backsplash...but I just can't stand looking at this "1980 rental apartment" bathroom every morning for an indefinite period! Thanks for the tile frame idea that's great! It would not take a lot if tile and could really dress things up! Yes I think the light fixture has got to go- but with what? I have never picked light fixtures before and don't know where to start- it is the only source of light and the shower is on the other side of the room so it needs to throw some light up to the ceiling as well as down. I thought of building some kind of soffit like shade in front of it and then using brighter bulbs... Does that sound crazy? So what about several shades lighter of revere pewter for ceiling or should I just go white? Maybe a darker color in the same taupey grey family for the ugly vanity... And I'll add hardware to dress it up. This post was edited by tinan on Tue, Jul 16, 13 at 12:26

I know of ladies that painted their kitchen counters and they've lasted. I'm not sure how they did it. I'm guessing a few coats of polyurethane to protect it from water damage and scratches. As for the future make sure whenever you go to HD or Lowes to check if they have any vanity tops on clearance in the size you need. Both have had great deals on them now and then around here. Sometimes just because of an open box. If you are handy you could also uncaulk and remove the sink and add ceramice tiles over the existing counter, then reinstall the current sink. You sure made a great difference already by painting the base of your vanity. It looks amazing. For added detail you can always add a fram type trim to the doors and paint them to match.

I'm not sure where you live, but we gutted and remodeled three bathrooms (including moving walls and moving plumbing in the concrete base), replaced two picture windows, knocked out a window and wall to install a large double door, and replaced every door and door hardware in the house...all for $60,000 in the Texas Hill Country. We did not have any plans, but this was not our first remodel. We found the best GC in the area, waited until we could get on his schedule, and went for it. He came in, we waived our arms around and he took notes. It came out perfectly. I lived in the house during the remodel, so that cost more for them to not gut all the bathrooms at one time. Here are a few tips. Trust your GC to have a good shower installer. As mentioned above, be sure to look at the wet cof (coefficient of friction) for your shower floor tiles. We picked a smooth tile (not glossy) that just seemed like it would be slippery when wet, but the wet cof was very high. Sure enough it worked great and was never slippery. Unless you are at a Daltile shop, the sales people do not know what the cof is, so you have to educate yourself. The box of tile should have wcof and dcof printed on the side. I like Moen faucets everywhere because you can get the replacement valve for about $10 at any hardware store. Never had to replace one, but at least I don't need to find a specialty plumbing shop to get parts. Delta and all the others have different valve models for every faucet and every year requiring a heavy catalog of parts. One O-ring might cost $10. Look at having cabinets custom made instead of off the shelf. Ask your GC for recommendations. The cost will be very similar and quality will be better. We did not get plans for our cabinets either, and ours are very different from any you can buy. Modern porcelain tiles are laser printed with designs that look exactly like stone, marble, or wood. You need a magnifying glass to see that ours are not real stone. Check to see if you have a Floor & Decor store near you. They are a tile superstore with an eye watering selection of tile, stone, wood, and laminates at rock bottom prices. We picked tile with a green appearance of limestone and found a wood look tile with a similar green cast to it. The tile looks brown installed, but the true brown tiles looked horrible next to the greenish stone look tile. If you are going to open your walls, add electric outlets. We have outlets at both ends of the vanity, but we forgot to put one on the wall by the floor (facepalm). Every now and then we want a space heater on but only in the bathroom. No outlet. Pay attention to where the door hinges go on the shower door and on the entry door. Do you want the doors to open inward or outward? Left side or right? There are some very quiet fans on the market. Get one bigger than you need. Ours keeps the air clear during the hottest and longest showers. You can feel air coming in under and around the door. We also redid our HVAC in the master suite so we don't have much air movement...which means I sometimes leave the fan running for days and days to bring in fresh air. It is quiet enough to not bother us at night. Use LED lighting. The bulbs are slightly more expensive, but mine have never burned out in 10 years. We have never had dark, granitey counter tops, so I just recently learned of a problem with them. My daughter has dark granite with swirly patterns in her kitchen. You can't see the spills on it. She had both jelly and chocolate spilled on hers, and she thought they were clean. I found out when I tried to wrap a package. At least with a uniform pattern or lighter colors, you can see what needs to be wiped up. This goes for the floor, too. Don't enclose your shower all the way to the ceiling. We had a problem with air flow in ours before we opened it up. The shower would get moldy. After we opened it up above 6.5 feet, the mold never returned. We had an open space in a corner that is just lost space. Since it was unusable, we had our cabinet maker make a medicine cabinet that is 8 inches deep (normal is 4). It's great to have the extra volume. Get drawers that pull all the way out so the back of the drawer is even with the front of the cabinets. If you don't specify, they will install glides that leave 4 inches under the counter. Stuff gets lost back there.

@JustMe: "sconces won't work either since this is surface mounted the projection of the sconces will either impede the door swing or not sit far enough out." No, her medicine cabinet is only 20" wide; a sconce on the hinge side would not prevent the medicine cabinet door from opening. Two sconces would eliminate any shadow that could be caused by one light alone. All these lights, for example, have a depth of about 5" though I think two shallower lights could work: Hettinger 1-Light Chrome Sconce 1-Light Chrome Interior Wall Sconce Jasper 2-Light Polished Chrome Wall Sconce Palmera 1 Collection Chrome 3000K Integrated LED Bath Light