I would just live with it a bit longer until you can do the changes you really want to do.

Boy, do I remember this tile from the 70's :)

Contrary to the others, I would continue with the removal of the wallpaper and paint the walls. I would also store away those light fixtures or sell them and update. I'll have to think about a color that works with all that beige and brown. This will at least lighten the bath. The easiest ways to update - when you can't afford to renovate - is painting walls, changing lighting, changing fixtures (sink faucet), changing vanity hardware and painting walls. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Another thing you can do is bring in a professional grout cleaning company. You would be amazed at the difference in the color of grout when it is professionally cleaned, especially after decades of being in place.

Thinking about the color naturally you could go with a cream, but I think a bold color in the oranges or brown may actually be better for the bath. I know it's a little bit of surprise, but I say work with what you have.... you will have to sample quite a bit to get the right brown or orange that works with your floor tile. Or even a sage green. You will also need great lighting.

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would it be possible for you guys to rip out the tile outside the shower on the walls and replace with dry-wall, then leave the floors and shower tile for now. While its a good bit of work, its not impossible to DIY. Having the grout cleaned would at least help some too... then paint walls and vanity, update lights and hardware.

Definitely 'putting lipstick on a pig' approach, but it may make it more bearable until youre able to do a full reno.

Yikes! Reminds me of my main floor bathroom -- which will be a total gut job this summer.

I'd paint the walls, and change out the light fixtures for now. Maybe paint the vanity and door/trim while you're at it. Then start saving to do it proper. I wouldn't invest too much time or money now because I'm guessing you're going to need to replace everything to be happy with it.

Sounds like you've completed some other big projects already. Just remember with older homes that need "makeovers" in a lot of areas... it's a marathon not a sprint. It's annoying to live with the ugly in the meantime but I think it's worth doing it once and doing it right when you have the funds available, if you're planning to stay in the place long term.

if you diy is not that expensive put new tile on. it's pretty bad sorry

since you are salivating to DIY, the easiest job in there is that floor. since you're on lower level i'm assuming it's on a slab? if so, great. jack out all of that floor tile and remove your vanity. (as a side note, you can find super deals on craigslist for vanities and tops, and leftover small amounts of tile).

removing a toilet isn't a big deal. just have a new wax ring on hand.

once you get the floor cleared up, you can retile. Bazillion videos and tutorials online. JohnBridge Tile Forum has the best collection of pro tilers w/tons of info.

if you wan to keep the bathroom retro, save the pendants and give them a metallic spray paint redo. check out RetroRenovation for all of the great pics of 1950-60's bathroom renos.

you could find a mcm dresser to use a new vanity and reuse that sink if you like.

or, build yourself something simple like this one,,

or this. honestly, these are slabs of solid wood. you would need legs on yours, but it can be done easy and cheaply enough. craigslist also has a lot of wood that is often given away or sold for a song. ditto large mirrors.

then go to a stone yard or fabricator and see what's heading for the trash bin. (remnants of stone countertops) make a deal w/them. Or, do a concrete overlay and make your own countertop for less than 80 bucks.

you can't do the vinyl (well you can, but it will look like blech) over those mosaics because it will 'show' through to the vinyl w/the imprints. if you hate it, just take it up! it's not a big deal. tile is cheap. go to a tile warehouse where they only have small lots leftover or find something on sale. what is that, 30 sq feet or so? you can find tile below 10 bucks a sq foot all day. or like I said, look on craigslist. check every day. people buy too much tile and try and sell off the rest. they just want to make whatever they can, so bargain with them. they'll prob take half of what they're asking.

It's quite Brady Bunch. Add orange paint and a framed 70's record cover. The lights can be cleaned up- without them, it's just Dullsville.

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Beth is right about the floor. You can do it yourself. My mom just did it in 2 bathrooms about the same size. Took a few days ripping up the old tile, then a few more laying and grouting the new tile. She got little white hexagon tiles for super cheap and did both bathrooms with them. Looks great!

I would definitely replace the pendant lights and painting any fresh, new color will brighten this space up.

white hex! good idea Emily. you can find those porcelain ones for cheap. I'd do a larger size those. the little hex and penny rounds can be a little difficult to lay if you've never laid tile. I'd do something like this,,,,then when you do the rest of the bathroom, do the subway tiles or something.

oh one more thing,,,while you are perusing craigslist,,please please look for new shower doors! that's another thing you can find for cheap. just measure carefully to see what size you require. getting new doors will make a huge difference.

if you happen to find a new vanity for cheap, careful remove those tiles on the side wall and just paint. if you have to repair the drywall, it's not difficult, just be careful removing those old tiles.

or, you could always paint the ones on the outside

here's a vanity you could make yourself for a few hundred. check CL, garage sales, estate sales, ask people if they have old dressers.

get a remnant top, look for used faucet and redo your own pendant lights. clean the up and paint the chains. replace your mirror.

just looked on my local CL and found these marble tiles for 5 bucks. 60 sheets. not bad,

and another deal. guy is selling this thick limestone countertop and sink for $50!

I should maybe add the tiles she got were laid in sheets, which made them much easier to lay. Laying tiny tiles individually would be such a pain! I would advise a matching grout. Makes it much harder to tell if your spacing is a little off. It's also a very clean look, which this bathroom would benefit from.

emily, no, I meant the sheets! you don't lay 1x1's one at time! it's not 1920! lol.

even the ones on the sheets are difficult to lay straight. I've done them and it can be a bit challenging to get all the grout lines spaced evenly all the way around. there are tricks to staggering the sheets as well.

nice job luckey! yes, it is one of the easier DIY bathroom tasks.

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Personally, I think it's kind of interesting tile. It's not what I would pick new, but I might work with it.

That floor is what makes it dark and heavy for me. It looks to be sheet vinyl rather than tile, in which case it should be easy to replace. Find something light and somewhat solid rather than a busy pattern, perhaps even an inexpensive remnant. Paint the walls, update the lighting and hardware and live with it until you can save enough for a complete Reno. Good luck!

Before you put vinyl over the tiles, apply a floor-leveler. It's a cement-like material that you trowel on and it fills all the low spots in the floor so that it's perfectly smooth and that makes a good base for the vinyl floor.

Pull the toilet up and apply the thin tile under it. Do not try to tile around the toilet.

My question is this. in general terms:

"When do older bathrooms that are out of style start getting a pass?"

I think about this because I am not sure what makes this bathroom "hideous" except that it's not conforming to current taste. I know I would not have picked that wall tile in 1975 or whenever it was picked.

But there are plenty of brand new bathrooms (and kitchens, really) that are just as brown and black as this bath and have just as much competing texture than this bath--more, even.

So I come to the conclusion that the entire bath is "hideous" because it's not current and maybe a little worn out, not because it's actually hideous.

With all due respect to Denita, the bathrooms she posted--none of them are going to age any better than the OP's bathroom, and will probably veer into "hideous"ness themselves. (I think a couple of them are already there, but that's a matter of personal taste). But they are not going to age well whether you currently like them or not.

I am not as familiar with the "Houzz mentality" as much as I am the "Gardenweb mentality", but I think that Houzz has a little bit more of a scorched earth policy when it comes to remodeling to current standards. It must conform. I feel like if Houzz had been around in the 1980s they would have put a neo-Victorian bathroom with geese wallpaper into Fallingwater. I exaggerate, but only slightly.

So when you look at real estate, what do you find more satisfying? A house that's been remodeled and updated one room at a time, not taking the entire house into context so that there's a little of this and a little of that and you can tell that the kitchen was done in 2000, the master bath in 2007 and the hall bath in 2014? Or is it more satisfying to look at a house that all seems to fit together?

What do you like better when you look at a Victorian house or pre-WWII house, one that has bathrooms where some of the features are intact or the character has been replaced with character, or a 1980s or 1990s bath?

These baths were considered "dated" or "hideous" at one time. Some people probably still think that, but these at least can be understood in a historical perpective.

pal, I see I didn't state what I was thinking very well at all. I wasn't posting baths for the OP to which to change her current bath, but wall colors to use instead of rehabbing the bath.

Are brown or orange not the typical suggestions, yes. My point was work with what you have in the bath now. I suggested updating the light fixture, painting the walls, changing out the sink faucet for small updates until the OP could get together the funds to remodel the way they want to remodel.

I agree with your central point about the bath not being actually hideous, it is just something the OP doesn't like given today's marketing of 'rehab, rehab, rehab'. I also respect you and your POV very much.

I know you were not posting those as aspirational baths so much as color combinations to work with the existing bath, but in the bigger picture, some of them are to me examples of trends that will show their age more than some, over the mid term.

Not everything about the OP bath warrants "preservation" either. I am particularly not a fan of popcorn ceilings and 1970s regency, gothicky looking light fixtures. But I think the bath could mostly be maintained and updated in a fashion that acknowledged what it is. Particularly as a third bath in the house.