It looks like Ceropegia woodii, but if it is, I'm surprised the owner didn't recognize it.

Hi PG! I don't feel so bad now. I just paid $35 & $20 for two carnosas, both were in 15 in hanging buckets, the larger was over 4 ft long I incorporated them both into the same pot with a rebar trellis it turned out really nice looking. He was asking $50 for the smaller and $65 for the larger. I told him the larger was worth easilly $100. Anyone want some carnosa cuttings off of a really old plant? I had to take quite a bit off to get them on the trellis and in the pot I wanted them in. Pictures coming soon :) With those deals I felt like I got took when I payed $20 for a hindu rope with one branch 3 ft long and two about 8 inches, and $10 for a 6 in pot of KP. I choked down $10 each for a rooted foot long stem of Rhipsalis edwaldiana and about a 4 in rooted stem of variegated hindu rope. I thought $95 was a good price for all.

If you're thinking Arts & Crafts bungalow, you can always look to some of the originals, many of which now have painted trims (though honestly I *wish* more of them still had their original stained trim, ours included!) It was also very common to paint trim and cabinetry (and thus use "lower grade" wood, which in those days meant redwood or fir instead of oak) in the kitchen, bath, and bedrooms and have stained trim and casework in the dining and living rooms, and that worked fine. That might be a way to manage costs while still getting the look you love. And I've seen some gorgeous kitchen remodels using cherry or fir cabinets with painted white trim and white built-ins that mix it up a bit in houses where the trim had already been painted but people didn't want white kitchens (and didn't want the cost of replacing original trim!) Fir in particular is one of my faves with soapstone, though it is a soft wood so it will ding. We also have a painted gray and white kitchen, which mixes it up a bit in a different way. There's no rule that painted cabs must be white---and honestly, a lot of the reason that listings for houses of that age have painted cabinets (especially white) is that it's a very easy way to clean up and "modernize" older cabinets for resale. (At least, that happens a lot where we live---people paint and put on new counters to sell an older kitchen.) Some of those were probably put in as stained kitchens, but had woods that aren't "trendy" these days and thus dated the kitchens. I love our painted kitchen, but if we'd had the resources, we would have seriously considered QS oak or fir (even the fir was far more costly than our paint-grade poplar). I'd be sure you're okay with the tradeoff before switching gears.

At this point I would keep the 'repairs' as simple as possible. Often, using too many things to hide one (OK, more than one) error can end up making things even worse. First, do what you planned and paint the room the color of the grout. Once you get the wall painted the grout will be less noticeable. Hang the curtain and finish the bathroom. To hide the edge even more, you could hang two shower curtains and have tie-backs on each side. If the deep grout line on the edges still bother you after that, take a dremel tool and and cut it so that you have a straight edge to put wood trim up against........then install a piece of wood molding. Here is a link that might be useful: Shower pics