Do you like the counter material and color? Is it real or faux marble. If it's real stone not plastic, why not pick up colors from that for the walls? Seems like it is grey and white? Those are "in" colors now, so I'd consider changing the wall color and the flooring. But if you don't like the bathroom counters, I'd start with replacing that with something I did like, come up with a color scheme and go from there . . . .

The main problem with that bathroom is it is somewhat disharmonious in terms of color. I would first figure out what color I DID like and want for the bathroom before I set about painting and refinishing . . .

The countertops are laminate. I want to put solid surface countertops. The color of them will depend on whether I paint the cabinets. As for the walls, I read that blue goes well with beige, but I worry that it would be a bad color for putting on make-up. Might make your skincolor look off. Maybe that can be addressed with proper lighting?🤷‍♀️

when you say, "you don't want to put money into this....." are you forgetting that you're actually living there and enjoying it? can you put a price on that? you don't remodel something for resale, you remodel because you want something that makes you happy while you're living in the house. If you were selling in 6 months, i'd say leave it. but 2-5 years? just redo it. bathrooms and kitchens sell houses.

your picture is super tiny, and I can't even see what's what.

the vanity, countertop, lighting, mirror, all look very dated. spend a few thousand and get something new.

paint out the wood trim to white.

paint the walls to match whatever items you go with in the countertop.

the beige tile w/the dark grout? sorry. no good. you could try Grout Renew to lighten the grout color.

if it were mine, i'd take down that wall between the two and open up the whole thing. but without decent pics, it's hard to tell

I WANT to change the tile. I would absolutely LOVE to take out the wall. I am just worried because all the floors need to be replaced. All I have right now are pictures from Trulia. My husband owns it and has a renter in there right now, but he is moving out and we want to live there while my husband opens his own firm. I really just want to update it as much as possible without breaking the bank. Here are some pics of the rest of the house so you have an idea of how much work there is. The "wood" floors are sheet vinyl. I am putting hardwood in all of the main living spaces and the master. I won't compromise on that.

I do really appreciate your comments, Beth H. not trying to be defensive. I am definitely going to paint the trim white. I also want to put in taller baseboards throughout. Also frame out the windows.

no prob. I was just commenting on your statement. seems like people forget that they're the ones living in the house. I just get tired of people saying, "well what should I do for resale " ? you know what my answer is? Do whatever the hell you want and forget about resale. you're the one living in the house so do what you like.

people buy homes in all sorts of design catastrophes. doesn't matter.

that doesn't mean I expect you should drop 100K.

but don't worry about spending 10K or more because you'll get the use out of it while you're there. and who knows, things change. what if you're there for 10 years? then you could have had this beautiful bathroom all along!

you can change the tile in the bathroom, right? is that not doable?

lighting. Lighting should be above 3500 temp bulbs for your makeup, and should come from the sides, not above. maybe in that spot you have room for a make up vanity? hard to tell without full pictures.

pick your design first. worry about paint colors last.

Thanks, Beth H.! My budget for the whole remodel is $55,000. That's based on the "Golden Rule of Remodeling." I have to have the pool resurfaced. That's about $5,000. I guess I just need to wait until I can get in there and start getting estimates. My ideal would be to gut that bathroom and put in a gorgeous soaking tub, penny tile, walk-in shower, carrera marble with brushed gold fixtures on a navy vanity. I just don't think that's realistic because the most expensive house on this street is $422,000. I have champagne tastes in a beer budget neighborhood! 🥂🍻

whole remodeling, meaning the whole house? hmm.

well, you could still do your navy vanity and carrara top on the vanity. those can be had for 1-2K (all inclusive )

walk-in shower could be done w/marble look alike tile (you don't want real marble in there anyway). Gold fixtures are also doable, as are porcelain penny tiles. all of what you mentioned isn't that expensive. You may be able to get it done for 10-15, IF you know where to shop, can do some of the demo yourself, and other odds and ends that cost money in labor.

Bathrooms are expensive. look around, get estimates, make a list of what you can do yourselves. call in favors from friends. Demo alone can save you a few thousand.

these are not that expensive. if you do the legwork yourself, maybe get a semi used vanity and paint it, look for remnant countertops, know how to shop bargains (like close out tile, etc) you can have all of these very easily.

labor is what eats up the money. and GC costs.

so this one, isn't all marble, but cheaper white subway and porcelain floor tile. still looks great because of how it's all designed together. I could make that mirror for $20!

The vanity could be had for less than 1K.

the current vanity you have? reface it w/new doors. paint it. new top, sink, faucet mirrors and lights.

you just have to know how to shop.

Paint everything yourself and save 1-2K.

just for example. this was a builder basically oak vanity. Now this is a cheap do-over, but it looks better that what it was. Still has the cultured marble vanity top. But, it is updated. lights mirror, faucets, wallpaper, paint, prob a few hundred.

So many of the older vanities are too low. Before I spent time and effort, I'd want to make sure it was high enough. 34 inches off the ground. Otherwise, rip it out and get a new one. Porcelain marble look a like tile, subway tile, penny rounds are all relatively inexpensive.

@Beth H. : shared a wonderful viewpoint, "you don't remodel something for resale, you remodel because you want something that makes you happy while you're living in the house." When I met with my architect for my home remodeling, she stared by saying, "Don't make decisions based on resale. When you buy a car, you don't expect it to increase or keep it's value, do you? No, you buy it to use it. Think of your house the same way. Make the decisions you love and use it." She also went by the motto, better not bigger and always brought me back to my budget when I was making choices.

Make your entire list of changes first, then figure out how to fit it into you 50K budget. As an example, not sure if you've priced baseboard trim, but it can get pricey when doing an entire house, especially if you are paying to have it installed. You may find a better choice is painting existing and putting the money elsewhere. Do you have textured ceilings? Not sure from the pics but it looks like you might. IMO, removing that is a priority over baseboards.

Anyway, glad to hear you're going to wait until you're in the space to get estimates and then proceed.

All the best to your husband on starting his own firm! That might be enough stress for right now without a remodel. :-)

In my mind, start first with function and flow. If there's something about the function and flow of the bathroom that you don't like, fix that first. As people have mentioned, are the countertops the right height, does the lighting work, venting, materials holding up, tub finish and surround in good shape, etc. Then, what do you hate the most? Sounds to me you don't like the color scheme. Then in my mind, although I can't see clearly, it's the brown and beige flooring that is giving you the most unhappiness. While real stone countertops are nice, you can live without them. If you hate them also though, replace them too. New cabinets won't be that much more expensive, but real wood ones can be repainted with fairly good results. They are the least of your worries from every perspective. The flooring has to flow with the bedroom flooring. Not necessarily match but not fight . . . I'd start with the flooring because that is the easiest to replace before you get all your furniture in. Chose something neutral but in a color you like. You have one of the worst offenders from the 80s and 90s IMHO, that beige checkerboard vinyl or tile flooring with brown grout or simulated grout. It's just not restful on the eyes. We had that in our kitchen and were immediately so much happier when we replaced it with a more neutral overall pattern that didn't shout "Pavement!"

Fancy fru fru touches can be added elsewhere. No one ever regrets putting in high quality, neutral flexible flooring, IMHO. People usually put expensive high style flooring in a smaller room if they are of modest means. If you're doing the whole house with new flooring, do that first. Come up with the color palette that you like for the house. Then go from there. We have neutral walls and neutral wood and vinyl flooring in our house, very flexible as to many ways to decorate. Even easy to change out as your tastes change our you get sick of some colors. That's the way your house is now, it's just done with a palette that you don't like . . . If you don't like the brown trim that's easy to paint now too. Once you do that, and change out the shower curtain to something you like, you will be surprised at how much less the bathroom bothers you . . . at that point, see where your budget is and go from there.

At my last house, I had a hideous bathroom with aquarium blue trim and wainscoting. The previous owners had a shower curtain with giant fish on it. It dominated the room. I changed it out for plain white and immediately the bathroom was less onerous . . . In my case, the tub and tub surround was shot, so that's where we spent our money. Even with the aquarium blue, the whole thing became instantly a different vibe, without a strong contrast, the blue was much less noticeable. That's why I say go for function with your money. The new fixtures, refinished tub and tub surround with nice tile instead of a plastic molded thing that had worn out, was a dramatic change in the function of that space and therefore my happiness.

Thank you all! You've totally convinced me.

Beth H.'s first 3 inspiration pics are exactly what I love. I really think I need to just rip everything out. Might keep the tub and do a wainscoting on the front and brushed gold or bronze fixtures. Have to inspect it.

I love the marble mosaic look. I read a thread on a gorgeous bathroom remodel and someone asked how the marble was holding up. OP said it was a nightmare and scratches easily. She has a beach house, so sand was the main issue, but she said it was scratced up within 6 months. What do ya'll think of these porcelain options? Which color pallet would be best with the navy and brushed gold or bronze? I don't normally like tile that tries to look like something else. My current home has large format porcelain that has a terrazzo print and it drives me nuts, but I am thinking on a small mosaic repeating patterns in the print may not be an issue. Or should I just go with the grey and white basket weave?

On the point of replacing the baseboards, I am going to use 1x4 fingerjoint and diy it. I used to own a company that made and installed architectural molding. I think it will be easier than ripping out the original, sanding, painting and putting it back. Plus I love the craftsman feel of it. Will maybe route a bevel on top. I'm also going to use it to frame out the windows and doors.

I currently work as a technical designer for a high end production company. I can use their spray booth and tools for personal projects as long as I get it okayed by the owner, so I got that going for me! Hopefully can stretch my $50,000 and get something pretty sweet!

Again, ya'll are the best! I feel way better about all this after your input.

Oh, and I think I will do something like Bet H."s last pic in the hall bath. Like "this is a fun house that has a pool!" But not like "tacky Florida bathroom with seashells everywhere. "

don't forget the flamingo wallpaper ;)

Post pictures of the final results! That will be fun.