You can do better than a laminate countertop and still stay in budget. Check out Craigslist and Habitat Re-Store. Check Craigslist once a day and when you see quality at a good price, pounce. We got a pure white stone (supposed granite but never saw pure white granite before) countertop, 61", double sink, sinks included, for $175. Just be patient. It took me about two months. You also can look for a longer Corian counter and cut it down to fit since your sink is offset. Even HD or Lowes will get you a cultured marble or solid surface countertop for a decent price. You might consider a big pedestal or console sink if you can do without the under sink storage, HD has a huge pedestal sink for about $124. That's if the flooring continues under your current vanity. It would expand the space so much, get rid of the blocky feeling and narrow entrance. Do wall storage instead, shelves or cabinets between studs. Some people here have done fantastic jobs painting faux granite countertops. A curved shower rod, chrome, no telescope line, white paint on all wood. I just painted our kids' bath a robin's egg blue - close to Palladian blue - it's so much better now! I can't believe I lived with the dreary white so long! It almost makes the dreadful marble laminate vanity and pea green sinks look good. The tub surround isn't integral to the tub, is it? Here is a link that might be useful: pedestal sink

I had the exact same problem. I picked out the vanity I wanted but did not think about the fact that it wasn't made to sit flush against the wall. I spent a month looking for something else, but in the end we decided to go with something shorter and have it not be against the wall. But we were going from 72" to 60" which is probably not workable in your mom's situation. I did find a lot of vanities that did have flat sides and could work in a corner, if you are willing to have the countertop fabricated. They just need to not have any trim detail on the top or bottom like the one you picked out does. I would just look at the ones without the pre-made tops. Because the pre-made top will still leave you with a slight gap because of the countertop overhang. This is an example: Avanity Modero which is sold everywhere, not just at Lowe's. The cabinet we ended up buying is an Avanity Madison which won't work for you, but I assume it is of similar quality. We are pretty happy with it. The drawers and doors have soft close but I do feel like the glides in my Ikea kitchen drawers are better quality. It is very pretty and I wanted a stained wood so I am really happy with our choice. If I had been willing to go with a painted finish, I think we might have stuck with the 72" Modero.

I am in Los Angeles and finished a remodel in a high rise. My remodel included a the master bath - I replaced the tub shower combination with a tiled shower which followed the footprint of the original tub. As has been posted, a shower in a high rise ESPECIALLY requires permits and multiple inspections. The plans were submitted to the City and my HOA had to approve everything. It required my signing a construction agreement with a deposit against damage. As I recall I also needed access to my neighbor's unit below me because the drain for a shower/tub is different than a drain for a tub but I might be confusing this with access needed for my neighbor's apartment in the guest bathroom because of some issues with old pipes :-). The shower itself was inspected three times including a 24 hour flood test as well as inspection of the fixtures installed. At least in Los Angeles, there are additional construction requirements for building in a high rise. For example, none of the framing can be wood in a building over three stories. The framing in my bathroom (and in a few other places in my unit) was replaced and it was metal and had to be installed at very specific distances and with specific metal materials. The FRAMING had to be inspected as well. I am not familiar with NYC Code requirements but would imagine that NYC is at least as stringent as Los Angeles in terms of building codes - especially in multi family high rise units. In my personal experience, one of the best sources for a great contractor if one lives in a coop/condo is to ask your manager who people in the building use and/or ask neighbors who have recently renovated. Hiring someone who has done a few jobs in your building is helpful as they know how to work with management and they also have experienced some of the quirks of the building. Doing major remodeling work in a high rise condo/coop is like nothing else. Just getting materials in and demo debris out on elevators is something that needs to be factored. Most condos/coops also have strict rules about how construction is done. And as pointed out, the ramifications of shoddy workmanship are potentially catastrophic - a water line that bursts or leaks can costs millions of damage as the water cascades through every unit in the stack down to the lobby. My GC (and my designer) were both people who had worked on projects in my building before I hired them and there was actually a network of GC's who knew each other working. My GC would regularly visit with the GC down the hall who was working on another unit. ETA - And the cost of work in a metropolitan condo/coop for anything is higher than the same work would be in a single family home - even in the same area in terms of cost of living. Because of construction rules, hours are limited which increases cost; floors and surfaces have to be protected - this is expensive in terms of both materials and the labor required to put down and take up every day; bringing in materials takes time; parking can be limited. For this reason many great contractors don't want to work in a high rise and so the pool is somewhat limited - which can be a good thing since as I wrote, it is generally helpful to hire someone who has worked in a specific building before. What was the scope of OP's work for his previous work with his GC. In my experience there is a huge difference between doing relatively minor cosmetic remodeling versus the kind of critical expertise needed for bathrooms. My HOA required proof of GC’s license and insurance as well as Certificate of Insirance naming the building as an additional insured. They also required proof that the permit’s had been obtained.

@Anna it is paint. It was 2 coats of White Dove. Painter decided to do 3 coats of paint instead of primer plus 2 coats, which is what he had told us he would do. Not sure if it not using primer was the right decision because we are still seeing blue come through in some spots. When I think back to it, what was supposed to be the first coat didn't seem evenly applied everywhere. It seemed like it was applied in patches or something. I had assumed it was some kind of patching he was doing so I didn't question it. I wanted to wait a few days to see how I felt about it. I like the word you chose "fresher". It does also feel crisper and more modern. And actually the word you chose, calmer, also applies. It's more cheery and inviting, too. I sense that every time I walk into the master bathroom. I don't know if some part of that is that I disliked the blue so much and found it so overwhelming and depressing that anything would be an improvement. But I do like it each and every time I walk in so I think it's more than that. I think it's working for the most part. I had an instinct that the color would not work as well in the guest bathroom but I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers hoping I would be wrong. But I think that was right and it is not working as well there. One, the guest bath has no windows at all and gets no light at all. But I think the main issues is that the countertop seems much more grayish beige and strong and less creamy than in the master. So now I am toying with the idea of either - changing the vanity - or paying an online color designer to pick the color and repainting. I am totally resisting the idea of repainting but that may be what I have to do. (it's really, really difficult to capture the EXACT tone that I am seeing - I actually had to manipulate the color a little to get closer to what I am SEEING versus what shows in the picture. But when I adjust the countertop it changes other things so it's hard to get it all ALL accurate). In this bathroom, I am getting the "old tooth" that @Jennifer Hogan warned me about. (which BTW Jennifer because of your post I went back and spent a lot more time laying out the samples I had against the tub, tile, and countertop in the master bath, and how I ended up choosing White Dove. The Cloud White - which is the one I was going to choose before your post - was too white. (so thank you so much - and I know that you were warning me about going white all together. Wondering what you think of the final result anyway.) But I did not do the same in the guest bath. I had the painter coming the next day and I just closed my eyes and went with the same color. I should have just had him do the Master and waited on the guest if I needed more time.)