PS I have uploaded a picture of the sink alcove, but somehow I can't see it here. I will try to upload it again

Emciuk, I’m a morning coffee spectator. You are getting advice for going in a few different directions in your refresh. You asked about the advice of a shower curtain vs a shower door. Yes, you can reglaze
the tub with new shower doors, or get a new tub and surround and add a shower curtain and spring loaded curtain rod until you save more money. It’s just an option. I hope it all comes together for you.

Thank you very much, Motupeg. I very much appreciate your time.

Wow @Nancy in Mich, giving the practical advice on actual DIY tips! Good to see it.

@emciuk - I see your vanity area. Wow, that shape really makes it a conundrum. I think Nancy is right that maybe this is the one place that you might need to invest in custom cabinetry. If you build under the sink, will lose that spot for your trash bin, so consider whether you need to have it by the sink or not.

I really like the sink you have. It's a cool design and fits that space perfectly. I say keep it, and look into having somebody install cabinets set into the wall cavities. With sliding doors so they don't encroach on the space. This might need to be custom, or semi-custom. You might also consider a taller medicine cabinet that holds more stuff, if you can reach the top shelves.

Medicine cabinets can be weirdly expensive, so if you need to save a little $$, check out home rehab stores like Habitat for Humanity and their ilk. I have found some really cool fixtures this way.

You can put shelving above the toilet for things you don't need near the sink. Use baskets to organize clutter and/or keep some things out of sight. Or a wall cabinet. You have room to put something fairly tall there, to hold lots of stuff.

And finally, I'm sure you know this already, but good organization is key. Only everyday essentials in the bathroom, everything else can go in a linen closet or something.

It could be fun to amplify the vintage style of your black and white diamond tile pattern on your floor. A sort of vintage modern look. In the first photo they used square tiles to create an exploded diamond pattern which would tie in nicely with your white square wall tile and give your diamond pattern border tile a reason to be there. They also used a solid black border which also links it your tile border.

thank you @hu818472722 for the pictures and brainstorming on black and white patterns. What you show is very pretty. However, I have become "allergic" to that pattern in my bathroom. It's almost a visceral reaction, at this point :)

Thank you, @User for your continued support and input. I will explore all the options for the wall space by the sink, and will also look for a larger medicine cabinet. As @Nancy in Mich prompted, who knows what's behind those walls, but the idea of having recessed cabinetry sounds F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.

This group of experts so rocks! Thank you.

A better picture and some dimensions of the vanity space would be helpful. If you have sufficient depth, I would think of having a custom countertop going wall to wall with a semi recessed or underground sink. No one ever has complained about having too much counterspace around a sink. 

Old house bathrooms are challenging but there are often storage spots available for a creative person. In my bathroom, I have a huge storage space underneath the eaves. Instead of using a cabinet box, we finished the interior space and put a frame with cabinet doors on the front. That solution gave me access to the entire area instead of being limited to the small cabinet which would fit between the box around the pipes and the knee wall.

I found the product to polish your tub at Lowes today. ”Gel Gloss” Cream and Bath Polish. Much better than wax as cleans the surface as well as polish. Renewed my old Formica counters until I did a new kitchen. I have only used the cream, not the spray can. Harder work does better job. Not use over tile with grout.

Thank you @Lyndee Lee! I would love to have a custom countertop with a semi-recessed sink. I think that would look fabulous and as you say.... no one ever complained about too much countertop space. I just do not know if at this stage it would be the most economical solution, but I will look into it, because i love the idea.

@husterd WOW on the Gel Gloss Cream. Will head to Lowes this week end. Many thanks!

You may be surprised at how reasonable a custom cabinet would be with a local cabinet maker. Although your sink “fits” the unusual space, it doesn’t help with the storage problem. Pedestal sinks are impractical in an older bathroom like yours that isn’t getting expanded. Same cabinet maker can do over-the-toilet custom shelves.

I’m with the “shower curtain” team even though you still may need to resort to glazing. Love the suggestion from @hersterd. I’m hoping that cleans up the tub for you. (Posting a photo of your heinous tub will help others to assess how to fix/clean without reglazing. Possibly.)

@ RedRyder Thank you. I am comforted by your comment and will definitely inquire with a carpenter. I am trying to educate myself on why so many experts and designers on this forum prefer shower curtains to glass doors. I never had to deal with the new glass doors enclosures. Are they a nightmare to install, hard to keep clean, dangerous to have around and just not worth the heartache for what I am trying to achieve? There are beautiful shower curtains out there. I guess giving up the idea of the tub doors felt like giving in to the fact that this bathroom will look "cheap" until i save enough to have a complete makeover. Maybe I am wrong about that, however. Maybe I need to look at some good material shower curtain and maybe think of repurposing the money i had mentally allocated to the tub doors to some custom cabinetry. Does that make a lot more sense? Hey, I have no experience and trust that you all know way more than i do about all of this-both in terms of costs and in terms of process.

Can someone suggest a good website for nice looking cotton shower curtains?

Many thanks!

Shower doors are fine (for people who would keep them clean). Tub doors seem claustrophobic to me, and I wouldn’t want to try to bathe a child with them.

Since your fixes aren’t simple and you plan to remodel the whole thing later on, I second many of the already proposed ideas: perhaps reglaze the tub, if necessary, remove the old doors and get a pretty curtain….there are many good ones out there! I have one other suggestion: since retiling the bathroom will be laborious (esp removing the existing tile) and costly as an interim solution, you might want to look into painting the tile….it is possible and easy. I got the idea here on Houzz, when a designer said new tile was just not in her clients’ budget, so she had the tile painted. I was skeptical at first but did some research and found many tutorials online. Our son and DIL bought a house a couple of years ago, and there was no budget for a guest bath remodel, so I painted the outdated tiles above the tub shower. You may not like this as a permanent solution, but at least you’d have anew, fresh look in colors you like, and you can save that money for your full remodel down the road. You can fill in the cracks on the floor and paint that, as well. You will need a special primer product (Benjamin More sells it), then use any good paint to paint over that. Put a couple of pretty, small rugs down, and the floors will last you a good while. Again: I’m only suggesting this as an interim idea to save $$ for a full remodel, not as an end all, be all!

@coray and all of this makes perfect sense. I was not planning on retiiling, actually, but reglazing the tiles, which, if I understand correctly is something the reglazing tub people can do when they show up to reglaze the tub. I do not think they can do that (spray paint) the floor tiles, however, and that's where your suggestion is precious. I will do some research on painting floor tiles. Many thanks!

I’m also on team shower curtain for the tub. Etsy is a great place to find 100% cotton shower curtains. Lots of patterns and colors to choose from. For the shower curtain liner, I use hemp instead of plastic. Keeps the water in, dries quickly and is oh so much easier to clean than plastic or vinyl. Just throw in the washing machine once a week and hang to dry. Highly recommend Bean Products Hemp Shower Curtain.

@Sofia Many thanks for your suggestion-I like the idea of something natural instead of plastic, and I did not know they made liners in hemp! Thanks also for the Etsy pointer-will start browsing.....All best!

We had our fiberglass shower/tub combo replaced for $950 about 8 months ago. It came out beautifully! They even patched a small hole. It looks like a new shower, I’m so happy with it especially since it was thousands less than replacing. I am very careful how I clean it and squeegee after every shower. Im also in the curtain camp since those tracks are difficult to clean and curtains add interest.

Also wanted to add that I like the black and white tile. Maybe paint the walls a new color?

Hi @Kate-do you mean replaced or reglazed? Yes, those tracks are difficult to clean.

I’ve also seen where you can add a cabinet or shelves to an existing pedestal sink. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https://designingidea.com/pedestal-sink-storage/&psig=AOvVaw2Zm0W0P9Bts6FaiF9tsa4x&ust=1668090424559000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAgQjRxqFwoTCPjOlpunofsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

@Kate-thanks for the advice. I am in fact looking at ideas for a nice wall paint or even wallpaper. What I would love is a white and navy motif.

@Kate-very useful link-lots of great ideas to play with (including the corner sink, which might be a possible solution for my strangely shaped sink alcove). Many thanks.

Sorry i meant to say reglazed, but it looks replaced:)

@Kate-sounds like the way to go when the budget for a total reno is not there. Thanks for sharing :)

I understand wanting a navy and white bathroom. (I do too.)
Maybe having a white, navy and black shower curtain will make you feel better for now…. 😊

@RedRyder These are pretty-thank you!

I would want to know why the floor tiles cracked.

Cracked tile like in the photo is an indication that there is a problem with the framing. Is the framing and subfloor beefy enough to even support tile in the first place? Have the floor joists been compromised with too many, too large, or incorrectly located penetrations. Not a guarantee that the structure won't support tile; there is always the possibility that the tile installation was not up to snuff, too.

IMO, unraveling the reason the tile is cracked is where you start. Fixing that & replacing the floor could consume most or all of your budget.

@ci_lantro (love your Houzz name, by the way!)-Great question. I would want to know also. Not sure if they are just old, very low quality or if there is an underlying issue, which could turn into a nightmare. I am going to investigate painting the tiles, peel and stick or I will just get a runner.

Don't do peel and stick for a floor -- the edges will curl. DIY painting and big rugs are a better answer if you need a temporary solution. Just be sure to follow the directions carefully when it comes to cleaning & prep.

You mentioned trying a wax to restore the tub. if that doesn't work, are you still considering reglazing after that? just a guess, but I believe that wax will make it a horrible job for the glazer to clean and prep. If they miss a spot, the residue will make the glaze not adhere well and could easily chip. Do just a test spot of the wax and if you don't like it, be sure it gets stripped off really well.

@SeatlleMCM Many thanks for your continued valuable input. Reglazing is still my first choice and I have made several appts for next week to get estimates for the job. If it's feasible, I can move on to worry about the checkered tiles, the cracked floor, the grey walls and the non-existent storage space. :) Thanks for the tip on staying away from peel and stick. I appreciate it. Rugs!

I would save my money for a bigger overhaul -- the best way to get more space is to tear out that whole tub zone and rebuild a slightly smaller footprint, glass enclosure, and more space for a vanity. As it is, you're going to spend a lot of money without getting lasting improvement to any feature of the room.

However, it is possible to get a vanity into an 18" spot. Custom cabinetry would let you have a trapezoidal cabinet to claim every inch, but then you'd be likely to spend money better spend on the overhaul...

19" Single Bathroom Vanity Set, White · More Info

Marjorie Vanity, Weathered, 18" · More Info

Huesca Bath Vanity, Integrated Sink Top, North American Oak, 18", Without Mirror · More Info

You might look for a storage cabinet for over the toilet too.

Modern Wooden Bathroom Wall Storage Cabinet · More Info

@acm thank you so much for taking the time to look at the pics and for all your suggestions. I very much appreciate it. All best

Hi emciuk. Lots of good advice you've been given.

I looked and couldn't find an old post where someone didn't like their wall tile color and used a special paint to cover them. They looked great, shiny like regular tile. I was trying to determine if this is the glazing mentioned. If I run across it again, hopefully I can find your post again.

Far from being a bad thing, it is recommended that if you choose two different tiles, you SHOULD choose obviously different sizes. I love your tile choice!!!! Will you paint the walls a light version of the blue in the tile? I would have liked it if your link was active. Here it is for others:

https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/merola-tile-simbols-14-x-14-porcelain-wall-floor-tile-eml1024.html

My main bathroom also did not have much storage. And I also have plans to gut it in the next five years. So five years ago, I think, I bought floating shelves and installed them over the toilet. I put a basket on the toilet tank lid on a folded hand towel so it won't slip. I bought three wire shelves with suction cups and stacked them inside the shower on the wall opposite the shower head. They have tremendous gripping power and I have no idea how anyone will be able to remove them.

I don't know anything about shower doors. Why was it that you "need" to replace them? They look ok in the picture. As narrow as your room is, I like the clean lines of the doors. However, if you do go with curtains, a pair look so much better than just one. I can see white ones with navy trim. 

Good luck!

thank you, @kl23 for all your suggestions. As I write, I was doing just that-looking for a box to put on top of the toilet tank. :) I also went on etsy and looked for floating shelves, but my husband says the wall may be able to sustain them. It's an old house. So we would have to mess with the wall to find out. We don't "have to" change the shower doors, and probably won't till we are ready to do a more radical renovation. I will look for the gripping shower shelving you have-that sounds like a great solution for the shower area. Many thanks for your time and input. I really appreciate it.

@emciuk - My thought was that your current sliding shower doors were getting pretty “offensive” and that was why you were removing them. They also need to come off if you are reglazing the tub.

Just a thought - my older home (where I reglazed the original tub) had old subway tiles on the bathtub walls. My contractor was able to drill holes and put up an acrylic shelf for my shampoo/conditioner and it didn’t ruin the walls. I would not worry too much about drilling a couple of holes over the toilet for shelving.

Good story: My friend owns a 1923 house and redid her master bathroom. They had been unable to use the shower in there for twenty years. I was literally holding my breath since old houses can have huge behind-the-walls problems. There were NONE. The remodel job went as planned and they have a stunning “new” Art Deco inspired bathroom. Not all old homes are fragile. Keep the faith!

If you reglaze the shower tile, you might not be able to use adhesive or suction cup shelving on it. It could rip the glazing off. RedRyder is correct that drilling into the tile for those shelves are no big deal.

If you think floating shelves are not going to work, look for a shallow cabinet instead. It could be bolted into the studs.

People drill into old tiles all the time to add garb bars. Something you might do at same time. A special bit and I would have someone experienced doing it.

Just tile refinishing, maybe refresh walls with new paint.

@RedRyder Thank you for the encouragement! I have no choice but be hopeful, though yesterday we tried to remove the small medicine cabinet to maybe place a bigger one, and half the wall came down.

@User-good idea on the narrow cabinet. Will look for something slim to place above the toilet.

Thank you all for all the advice and ideas-your don't know how much it means to me. Thank you!

Here is the look of your bathroom with the navy blue tile you like. You can paint the linear tiles on the border in navy blue to match the floor but I would leve the very small black & white ones as is.

With a budget of $300 for the shower door, it will be a very basic looking door so for your small bathroom, I would suggest an all white textured shower curtain. You can place a wicker basket on the toilet for extra toilet paper rolls with decorative shelves on the wall above.

You can replace you medicine cabinet for a higher one with more storage space, Ikea has nice ones 24 inches wide. Depending on the space you have you can also install high up on the wall metal shelves to store towels

For the paint, you'll have to find a white that's in the same tone as you white tiles.

@lisedv WOW! I love what you have done there-it's incredible. Yes, that is the look i dream of and you make me see it with my own two eyes. The wall on top of the pedestal sink is 22" wide. But I will find something to get in that space. I like the idea of the metal shelves-less heavy and committed in look than other solutions I have looked at. Someone is coming today to look at the tub and give their estimate for retiling. Thank you, @lisedv, you made my day!

Just took you idea and put it in a sketch... It looks good!

Good luck with your renovation, post a picture when it's all done!

@lisedv Thank you! Will do!

Here is what I bought:

https://a.co/d/64ymJE0

https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/pop/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_pop?_encoding=UTF8&gen=canonical&lineItemId=kgogltmukklouny&orderId=112-1174523-6847415&packageId=1&returnSummaryId=&returnUnitIndices=&returnUnitMappingId=&shipmentId=Dxv0XLnVY

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GSTQRCL?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

@kl23 Many thanks, I just bought the same thing! It's going to help a lot.

@User many thanks! I just had a couple of people coming over for reglazing and they both said they don't do floors. They also advised against spraying the border tiles because their "white" is not the "white" of the tiles. They would have to refinish the whole tiled part and the the price is....well, quite high. So, I am going to have to embrace the black and white checkered tiles and figure out the next step.

That's why I suggested painting the border a color, so you don't have to match the white tile. (Or DIYing it.) Solid black (or navy, or gray) would be an improvement over the checkers!

Here's a blog explaining the process. (and a "during" photo, although I can't tell if they painted theirs all black, or added the white detail)

@User Thank you very much-I will check out the blog. You are very sweet.

Oh hey, it looks like they painted their accent tile stripe a solid black.

some musings for the floor -- you had mentioned peel-and-stick tiles and I shot it down. I actually thought you meant those cheapo plasticky "backsplash" tiles. I just realized what you may have been talking about is the actual flooring tiles? (I completely forgot those were an option!) Here's an article from Bob Vila explaining how best to proceed for that. You would want to fill in your grout lines so the floor is perfectly flat first.

But like ci_lantro mentioned above, before you proceed with any of these projects, do look into making sure the underlying floor structure is sound! (since your existing tile is cracking.)

I had what I thought was terrible green tile with black border c 1955 in a verysmall bathroom in a New England cape. Lived and still do for years. Finally embraced the black trim. The linoleum floor bothered me the most. New floor (no water or rot issues) in a vintage black and white tile pattern. Then a white crisp shower curtain and black framed mirror. New lights. A new black vanity with white top. Last the wallpaper, white background with black outlined rabbits like a toile paper. My house very traditional with antiques so the rabbits a surprise. They bring a smile and distract from the green tile to anyone who sees it. Embrace the checkered strip, repeat small doses of black like black towels? Be really glad you have white wall tiles. Replacing the floor will go a long way to enjoying your bath. The rest cosmetic and should not be major expenditures.