I have a small house. Small baths. You don't like housecleaning nor wiping down after kids. One thing I did was I got rid of the ceramic tile tub surround and had white swanstone panels installed. I never want to clean mildewed grout again. I love tile and put it above the panels. Yes, I prefer, way prefer the look of tile but not at the cost of cleaning it. The swanstone looks pretty good. Sorry no pics. I have two Americast tubs and I think they are acrylic..I love them. Had cast iron before. They are shiny, sparkly, fresh and white. I think my cleaners use a spray to clean them. I am glad you are thinking this thru before you do extreme drastic measures. 1000s f is not going to be better with the addition of windows. Editing, building up, and up going storage will help, not windows. Natural light is overrated. Look at small space solutions and not at glam or cliched luxury sites. We built closets onto our bedroom walls instead of new dressers. Up to the ceiling. Think California closets. With drawers and cabinets. Not pretty but functional. We have ikea Brimnes headboards with under bed storage drawers in our new house. I am an ikea slave. Your family is always going to take a lot of time and energy and that's just the way it is. A 1000sf house will not be easy but it's home. And I love love your kitchen. Think about the life you live for now. Think first before acting.

for some reason, i stopped getting emails about the follow-ups. thank you so much for the ideas everyone. gmp3- i didn't even think about gray with green!! i love that print. i have dorian gray in the living room and hall so it would def be easier to continue the gray into the bathroom. would it be too dark? there is no window. I also have revere pewter in another bedroom so I can use the left over. I was planning on using revere pewter in the yellow bathroom. we decided on this tile for the kitchen and hall: 'canyon expresso' from lowes, would this work as well? I'd love to be able to use all the stuff we already have as it would really help us on the cost and labor. i love that vanity, and i can't find it. please send me a link. thanks again.

Okay no painting the tile, but is there a way to bleach it? The previous owners smoked heavily for 30 years in this house, any and all white surfaces are stained yellow. can I sand the tile and then maybe apply an epoxy to resurface. Would paint hold up then? Should I just tear it all off?

It just looked less elegant compared to my half bath vanity, so I was wondering for options. I'll put some soap and lotion holder and post the upgrade, any other ideas are welcome :)