Time to bare all. Please be gentle. :)
I'm going to do this in separate posts; don't want to use a hosting site.

General view:

Vanity:

I really like the lines on this tub. This model pops up a lot in American Standard ads from the 40's and 50's.

This post was edited by DreamingoftheUP on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 15:40

Towards the shower head and tub filler.

I really like the low rise arch in the shower alcove. The ceiling in the alcove is lower than the ceiling in the rest of the room.

Vanity & medicine cabinet.

My American Standard Cadet toilet. It works but is a water hog. Unfortunately, the base is cracked starting at one of the bolts. Luckily it doesn't leak. It also has squared off lines and the line on the tank cover. Not many modern day toilets have square lines.

This post was edited by DreamingoftheUP on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 15:36

Regarding the existing colors, the pictures seem to exaggerate the grass green of the floor vs. the blueish green of the tiles. They actually fit together better than the pictures would indicate. Previously, I had the walls & ceiling in the tub alcove, the ceiling of the room and the baseboard radiator painted a mint green to match the tile trim. It seemed kind of dark, so I went back to white. The window faces north.

The ground color of the wall tile is the same green as the trim tile at the top and bottom, however it has a sprinkle of black (almost like pepper) throughout.

My 2 cents worth - just ideas for you to ponder:
1. Create new thread for Mongoct showing close and personal shots of the grout and caulk. Ask his op - repair or replace.
2. Paint walls white - you can always change it. Add color with towels, etc.
3. Ask Mongoct.
4. Paint vanity white and get new hardware. I think the wood look doesn't fit.
5. Keep Corian counter and install drop in sink.
6. I don't care for oval sink in this bath. I like Kohler Memoirs Stately or Regular sink. Toto Promenade is an alternative - it is a tad more rounded.
7. Nice choice. Don't spend any more time looking for another faucet.
8, Go with a white shutter.
9. Please get rid of the current vanity light! Either bar light - they have different attitudes. Like the ceiling light.

This post was edited by Anna_in_TX on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 16:31

I LOVE the one chrome bar light (the first one!).

I'm so happy you aren't tearing out all the tile! And that tub! Love it.

I agree - paint the vanity to reduce the color clash.

Good luck & have fun!
Always ;-)
Hunzi

I love your tile. I would paint the vanity or stain it dark. Maybe adding a pattern to pull the teal and dark stained vanity together with a rug or art? Not sure this is the right rug, but the colors are nice for your space.

Thanks for the responses. Lots of good ideas & suggestions!

@Anna
I'll create a separate post regarding the grout in the wall tiles and floor.

Shutters for window treatment would be nice. The only problem, though, is that it's a hopper window (opening to the inside) which would interfere with shutters. I've got a thread going in the Windows forum asking about replacing it (the hopper only, not all the glass blocks) since it's a metal frame with only a single pane of glass. One suggestion was to use an awning window (opening outwards). That would eliminate the interference problem.

I hadn't thought about painting the vanity. Good suggestion. Will have to think about that. If I did that, don't think I'd keep the white Corian - in my mind the entire vanity and top would be this white monolith. Maybe something like the picture below instead - white top with some other color mixed in with a white vanity?

@hunzi - Yes, that first bath bar light with the strong horizontal lines is my favorite. I've got a few more on the candidate list however. When the time comes closer, I'll post all of them for opinions. And yes, I really like the tub. It's in excellent shape (no chips or stains), only dull from countless years of scrubbing with cleanser, but I can live with that.

@gmp3 - Paint or dark vanity - I'll have to ponder that! Glad you like the tile. The tub & tile are the room. That's true, could pull colors together with a rug or wall art. Lot's to think about.

This post was edited by DreamingoftheUP on Sun, Mar 2, 14 at 19:49

I can't figure out the wall tile and floor tile color, but if you don't want to paint the vanity white how about painting it a coordinating color, maybe a bluish green, grey, light green, creamy?
Or go dark, like charcoal, very dark brown, or black?
{{gwi:1409387}}

Also, check out the link below for the makeover. Looks like very similar colors.

Here is a link that might be useful: minty green bathroom makeover

If you're staying with a shower curtain, get an arched curtain rod. It would even go well with your arched encasement above the shower!

I also have a vintage 50's bathroom. I like to keep it that way. My cabinets have those same doors.

I never thought I would say this but I think it would look better with less tile. I love ceramic tile but tile above the mirror? Reminds me of a powder room at the cinema. It is just excessive. I would remove all the tile on the wall behind the bathroom door. It is an unpleasant distraction. I think the rest of the tile should stop at three tile lengths above the counter top of the vanity.

As to the window you say it has glass blocks but I cannot see them. I think this window would be fine with no curtains, If you want privacy there is a film to put on glass that makes it opaque. I love glass blocks yet I have none.

I like the first two lights you pictured. They look 50's to me.

The sink you posted looks fine.

I think a clear vinyl shower curtain would be better than fabric. I used fabric for many years and on a whim (since I found an unopened package at the thrift store) put up a clearish vinyl shower curtain. It has a geometric design that makes it not see-through. It has improved the look very much. I wish I had done it years ago but I was biased against vinyl. I thought it was tacky.

What is with the bathroom door? Is that natural wood or just an unfortunate color choice. Even if it is natural wood it does not match the vanity.I think vanity and door should be painted the same color. Drawer pulls and knobs should be chrome. I like the floor covering as you say it combines well with the wall tile. On my screen they look incompatible.

I hope I did not offend too much.

Looking at your photos, the red flag that comes to me is that shower alcove (where the tiles aren't). It looks like drywall. Drywall and water, do not mix. You may discover that behind that tiled wall, is mold and wet drywall.

Wow, more to think about! Thanks nosoccermom! Those ideas and links are excellent.

Tibbrix - yes, I wanted to go with a curved rod. Found the Moen version linked to below.

emmarene - no offense taken. Preference and taste is subjective; what works for one doesn't work for another. I really like the medicine cabinets. There are two there - one on either end. The center mirror panel is fixed.

Yes, the tile around the entire room is very old fashioned - maybe even more 30's and 40's than 50's but I'd never take it down!! Contemporary bathrooms these days seem to either be minimalist (shower surround and vanity backsplash) OR do the entire room floor to ceiling.

The door is a standard hollow-core birch slab which has varnish, no doubt yellowed over the years. I'm in the process of changing all the trim and doors in the house to oak. However, when I get to the bathroom, I suppose painting the bathroom side would be a possibility. The rest of the house will just have urethane oak trim and doors. The homes in this development came standard with birch doors, pine trim throughout, except the kitchens which have birch trim and birch cabinets. Some of the homes upgraded to oak trim, doors and cabinets throughout. Unfortunately, my vanity face is neither birch nor oak but pine. Will go with chrome hardware on the vanity.

Interesting to consider vinyl for a shower curtain. Have to think about that one. Was considering fabric under the assumption it's easy to just throw it in the washer if it gets ratty.

You mentioned not seeing the glass block. I posted the picture below in the Windows forum for advice. I'm keeping the glass blocks but would like to replace the hopper window with a white vinyl hopper. The current one has an aluminum frame with a single pane of glass. Cold in winter.

The glass block in my house is another neat mid-century feature. I've got this 5x4 bathroom window, two 4x3 windows in my living room and a 3x4 window in the stairwell going down to the basement. They all use 8"x8" glass block in the "Argus" pattern with perpendicular flutes. This pattern is still made by Corning glass today. It is sufficiently obscure such that a curtain is optional.

Here is a link that might be useful: Moen Curved Shower Rod

Actually, canuckplayer, it's plaster, which I suppose is worse! It definitely is not wet; don't know about mold. The reason I know it isn't wet is because the shower has not been used for over 20 years. The last time it was used, it leaked into the basement. Thereafter, showers were only taken in the second bathroom. The tub here was only used for baths.

This post was edited by DreamingoftheUP on Tue, Mar 4, 14 at 22:59

Love the window. I wouldn't cover it up. If you want to do a valance, you could have it match the shower curtain.

I love your tile all the way around the room including the mirror - I think it really adds to the period look.

If you have to end up replacing the tub/shower walls, can you salvage the tile so you can to reuse it? If not enough for the whole wall, maybe enough for an accent strip and use a new lighter green tile? And then paint your vanity that lighter green color? I like the idea of painting the vanity green.

Anna - I have a good tile guy and will have to call him in for an opinion - maybe remove a few courses from the bottom, rebuild the wall completely and reuse the tile.

If that's not possible and only a full wall rebuild can be done - I don't know. I assume most of the tile could be salvaged but there would, no doubt, be breakage just from the removal process. I have to take inventory on how many spares I actually have. However, if it went that far, that's where I'm coming full circle. My original thought had been to remove the tile in the alcove and replace it with solid surface - for example, the Corian Cilantro color below, although I haven't looked into other brands and their greenish colors. I know Corian certainly isn't 50's, but it would significantly reduce maintenance. Then I wondered if the same material should be used for the vanity top to match - but from all the suggestions, I see that would not be necessary.

This post was edited by DreamingoftheUP on Wed, Mar 5, 14 at 7:39

The window is stunning. I agree with Anna, it shouldn't be covered.

Also, if 4x4 tile is a must to maintain the look, Pam at retro renovation has some sources. There seem to be some very close matches - to the clear trim tile, not the pepper tile which makes up most of the wall. As a last resort, there's Quarry Tile Company in Spokane which does custom matches, but I'd hate to ask how expensive that would be. It would be cheaper to just remove all the tile in the room and start over.

Here is a link that might be useful: Retro Renovation Tile Sources

I personally like the tile behind the mirror and higher up the wall, but I wonder if you could use some of these tiles to use in the shower wall in the alcove, ideally going ceiling high. Maybe add an accent stripe if necessary.
Is there a chance that the leaks in the shower did not only come from cracked grout but from the shower head pipe and/or plaster wall?

The leaks didn't come from the shower head/ faucet side but on the opposite end, which is an outside wall. The water was dripping directly underneath down the basement wall.

I've scoped out a couple of pro tile installation/repair companies and will have them come in to check it out and provide estimates to clean the floor and repair the shower. Finally got up to the attic to get the spare tile. Fortunately, I've got about 70 brand new wall tiles which the original owner had left behind. Gathering dust for over half a century but am glad to have them!

I did some minor rehab on my old, green bathroom when selling the house. This bath was in the basement and I didn't want to break the bank to freshen it up.

Left all the green tile. Had the green tub resurfaced white. Tore out the double vanity and replaced with a floor model vanity with a piece of marble for the top. Painted the walls white, replaced the green toilet with a white one.

It worked and the house sold.
Before:

Thanks, jany_ny!! The exact same color scheme I have!! Even the same model American Standard tub (although I have white, not ming green).

I'm off to showrooms today to get an actual look-see at the fixtures and lights. Have only done online browsing to date.

Here's another idea:

Thanks! Wow, the dog wallpaper is wild.

The tile work is interesting. I really like it. My uncle and aunt, who lived not very far from me, also had a 1950's tract home which had a bath with the exact same tile as mine, only the trim tile was black with a black and green accent strip tile running around the room. Now that was sharp. That picture reminded me of it.

I'm loving these green tile bathrooms! Very cool to keep the tile and work with it.