You think COLORS are the issue? : ) The free standing tub will be impossible to clean around, there is nothing you like about the bath, and it isn't going to be a beige rescue that will make you happy.

Hopefully, your price on the house took all of this into consideration, and you gut the bath.

Or you leave the shower, add a black or white vanity and paint the walls. Switch out the doors and live with it. : )

If there's a 2nd full bath available to use, I would gut this one if funds are available to do so. I don't see anything worth salvaging.

It is quite a nightmare, isn’t it? We did get a good deal on the house. I would love to gut the entire room. But that is a plan that will have to happen in a couple of years.
I was hoping to at least get rid of the pink tile and vanity for now. I just don’t know what color to paint the walls until we can do a full demo.
We want to eventually get rid of the double closet doors and open up that wall next to the vanity. Also, I think the shower should be where that tub is located. We are first time homeowners and have never had the freedom to choose every detail when it comes to remodeling. So many options!

So.....pick a vanity first, then decide the wall color. Take the pink tile off the walls, repair the drywall and paint.

Relocating fixtures is not in the plan right now, so make it bearable with neutrals. : )

" should we just tear it all out and start over??"

Then......

"I would love to gut the entire room. But that is a plan that will have to happen in a couple of years."

You answered your own question, right?

But that is a plan that will have to happen in a couple of years.

If by "a couple of years", you mean 2 or maybe even 3, I would recommend saving your money by doing as little as possible now. That means replacing the tiles that look like they are missing , and doing something behind the tub to protect the wall until you do the gut remodel. Money spent now will not be available later.

If by " a couple of years" you mean 5 or 10, then Jan's black vanity idea sounds like a good part of the plan.

IMO you can start by selling the FS tub there is no space for that where you have it You need a min. of 12" so that you can get your hand down the sides to clean . I have no clue as to what exactly you are doing at all. We need a lot more info and a to scale floor plan and you need to stop right now until you get some plan in place .

I think we need to know if you have another bathroom to use for now? If so IMO gut this one and slowly work on it , we have done that when we had low funds .

You are right to stop doing things until you figure out what you are doing.

You should have left the pink tub and simply painted it. Epoxy paint doesn't last long, but it does last a few years and that is all you needed.

Sadly, the FS tub doesn't work where you have it, so your best options are to buy a standard tub and surround or have the plumbing sealed off and build a simple cabinet in the alcove.

Remove the pink tile and the safety bars/ towel bars.

With the tile and the flooring I would probably do a tropical rainforest theme bathroom. Waterfalls often are rocks so think of the shower as the waterfall.

A great shower curtain (Or fabric made into a shower curtain over a liner), some great towels, a couple of bright area rugs, paint and some art and you have your color and drama without changing the shower or floors.

Etsy has a few shops that make custom sheet sets, table cloths, curtains and would probably make a shower curtain if you find a fabric you like. Regular sheets make great shower curtains if your at all handy with a sewing machine.

You can often find coordinating fabrics and the front of your vanity has doors that could easily be covered with fabric and enameled over for a one of a kind look. Paint the frame to coordinate with the fabric.

The picture I put with your shower is a digital download from Etsy -$2.00. Print and frame for wall art or get some chunks of flat wood and mod podge the pictures over the wood. Tons of ways to do unique things without breaking the bank and they are uniquely yours. I love the feeling of success when I craft something for my home.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1511482563/colorful-tropical-birds-in-a-lush-jungle?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_e-art_and_collectibles-drawing_and_illustration-digital&utm_custom1=k_CjwKCAiAuYuvBhApEiwAzq_Yid_eOOigs6Wv6NFzffix-XnJegqavd2zuI7SO8FUu8qoZT1dD68T-xoCCYUQAvD_BwE_k&utm_content=go_2063077109_76452858455_367965824040_pla-383328011684_c__1511482563_12768591&utm_custom2=2063077109&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAuYuvBhApEiwAzq_Yid_eOOigs6Wv6NFzffix-XnJegqavd2zuI7SO8FUu8qoZT1dD68T-xoCCYUQAvD_BwE

You can epoxy paint the current sink and if the vanity top doesn't work you can get sheets of laminate and cut and glue to the old laminate. Your top has the squared edges where this will work. A 4x8 sheet is less than $100.

Good advice above - if it were me, I would want the space to feel clean and organized in the short term

- I would order a custom shower curtain on etsy that goes ceiling to floor and hides all the tile

- I’d sell the FS tub and put a great cabinet there for storage

- I’d remove all the pink tile & old wallpaper and all those (many!) towel and grab bars, caulk, prep and paint the walls so they seem fresh

- I’d replace the vanity, you can find these very inexpensively if you’re savvy - the more modern height will make a big difference

once the room is clean/fresh you can go back and add in your maximalist details - fun art, eclectic towels, colorful rugs, your chosen wallpaper etc..

Congrats on your new home. Please save your money for the inevitable things that will break after you buy your house - new water heater, furnace, leak in the ceilings, flood in the basement. Pend the least amount possible making this room livable for a few years. What can you do for $1500?

Super duper toxic, but works, and not too expensive - pay to have the sink and pink walls reglazed in white or grey. I'd have the shower reglazed too because I think the tile there now is ugly, but personal preference of course. Temporary wallpaper the rest of the walls.

--> Architecture Digest article on transforming bath with reglazing.

--> Apartment Therapy before and after DIY reglazing. (I'd get a company to do it!)

Remove grab bars. New hardware for vanity. DIY paint it if you want. New shower curtain rod, new shower curtain. Keep the curtain closed all the way when not in use to cover the shower.

Remove the tub and finish walls with all paper. Put a second hand storage chest or dresser in the space. See if you can live without one for a few years. Otherwise, remove it, waterproof that entire area and put inexpensive white tiles in that area's walls and floors and reinstall. Use the few years as an experiment to see if you like a soaker in the space.

Have fun and play a little in this temporary fix.

This is a gut job for the future. For now, find tiles the same size as the pink ones, install in the empty spaces and paint the pink walls. Remove whatever is above the tiles (wallpaper? ) and paint it. Remove and sell the free standing tub. It’ll never work in that room and that money will start your “New Bathroom Remodel Account.”

Find a LONG shower curtain that hides the shower. Buy something that works with the floor.

Paint the vanity. If the pink sink makes you sick, get a leftover vanity from someone else’s remodeling job for now (check Craigslist an FB Marketplace) and make that one change. Paint that too.

Every time you go in this bathroom, plan your new one. Remodeling a full bath is a lot of decisions so now you’ve got the time to save for yours. If everything functions, you’re lucky. Do not rush this.

As for paint color, choose a soft ivory that you like. Put a couple of pretty bath mats or a rug on the floor.

Save pictures of your “dream bathroom”. Make this one tolerable so you can save for a fabulous new one.

I would be able to think of the shower as a neutral, buy a fabulous curtain and focus on the vanity! Does it come up to your knees??? I still rejoice in the day my new in-laws taught us the lesson that made for kitchens cabinetry work fabulously for sink vanities in the bathroom!!! Now they are pretty much sold everywhere. She had her's in the 50s! What bathroom is this? Is the tub even needed? It's a small space and separating the tub and shower is a huge waste of precious sq feet. It would be a DIY to put a fabulous vanity where that huge tub is sitting. Then you have room for a nice linen closet where the sink is now.

You need to decide eventually if you want to spend the $10K to replace the shower plus additional money to gut the rest of the bathroom. If you decide other things are higher priority, remove the pink tile and install a spectacular wallpaper that you love. The gorgeous wallpaper will be the new focal point, not the shower tile. If I were a new homeowner with lots of other priorities for my house, I would go for the wallpaper, not the many thousand dollar remodel, until I'd saved up for that remodel.

Removing that pink tile will be hard because they built things to last in the olden days. As palimpsest said, it’s the best part of that bathroom so I would keep it until you can do a full gut job. You’ve already gotten lots of good advice on how to make it work for now.

What were they thinking? Agree, it is one hot mess. What do I like? The pink tile and I would keep it and gut the rest.

The answer might be navy blue.

Though I am having a bit of trouble with someone who says "I like color, bold wallpaper, maximalism, etc." but is apparently not able to embrace the pink. It brings up the question of what is the desired end result? Five shades of gray?

I think getting this to a tolerable state is possible, but it is going to take thinking out of the current box of 20 different whites.

Do you need the use of this 2nd bathroom right now? If not, save your $ towards a full remodel.

Also given the bizarre patchwork combination of new work cobbled together with existing, I am highly skeptical that the shower was done any more properly than the order in which they have approached doing things in this bathroom. I frequently roll my eyes at the "I bet it also wasn't waterproofed properly" when there is anything at all wrong with the finished product. But in this case I will stick out my neck and say this.

Really an inexpensive white shower panel system from someplace like Sterling or Swan would look much better in that bathroom than that horrendous brown mess they put in there.

Thank you all for the quick and very helpful responses. So many great ideas.
I was disappointed to see that shower installed. I would have kept the pink tile and stuck with the vintage look!

To the OP: is the pink tile easy to remove? It looks like there are at least 6 tile pieces missing near the tub, and you may have removed the pink tile surrounding where the old bathtub was when you put in the white tub. THe photos do not look like a very tough "mud" installation.

Whatever was used to adhere the tile seems pretty thick. I would probably have to put up new drywall. I think.
Also, the walls are made of like sheet rock or something other than drywall. Or is that the same thing? Lol

It has like a sharp metal mesh layer beneath it.

I wonder if this is a support wall? If we sold the fs tub and made storage space where it once sat, we could eliminate the double closet that is in the bathroom. Eventually open up the room by taking out the dividing wall between vanity and the closet doors. That would make the bathroom so much bigger.

This wall

Congratulations on your new home. As someone mentioned, the workmanship on the shower looks shoddy. I'd be hesitant to use the shower because if the plumbinng was done done properly, you could end up with water damage or mold issues. I like your idea of selling the tub but you may want to get a plumber in to cap off the water source. It would be impossible to clean behind and it's too big for the space. Since you're just looking for a temporary fix, I'd do as little as possible. I'd remove the wall paper, paint in a light, neutral colour that compliments the floor and shower tile. You can do a DYI reglazing of the pink tile - just replace the few missg tiles with tiles of the same size and regalze them all - Rust-Oleum Specialty Tub & Tile Refinishing Kit in Gloss White, 920 mL | The Home Depot Canada . I'd also paint the vanity. Perhaps find a shower curtain that is relaitvely neutral with a touch of pink. If removing the tub leaves the floor in a bad state, you can put a piece of furniture over it. I'd save my money for any other fixes for when you plan to do a full get job.

Those walls are tough - maybe white beadboard paneling to go over them?

Are the sponge-painted areas of wall smooth or lumpy?

I hope you can answer the question about how hard it is to remove the tiles, if you know already. The brown stuff on the walls behind the tiles is a type of mastic which is very difficult to remove, not part of a typical full mud job. It can be covered over with a skim coat of plaster or sheets of drywall. You can read more about old tile on the tile forum https://www.johnbridge.com/

The sponge paint is lumpy.