This is our kids’ bathroom, which is also the overnight guest bathroom (we have a small powder room on the first floor for visitors, and a separate bathroom next to our bedroom). 

While there were several details that made us fall in love with this house a decade ago, this bathroom was one of them. The tiles seem to be original to the build. The cast iron tub and sink are charming as well. When the kids were small, that tub was amazing - and they loved playing in there!

The tiles were failing when we bought the house. They are mud-set. We cannot wet mop the floor or it leaks directly into the hallway below. When the kids were little, we helped them use the bathroom and therefore could manage water spills immediately- and that’s how we lived for a while- just very carefully in that space.

Now the kids are older school-age (the eldest is now a tween) and they are more independent and basically water management is no longer super careful. They aren’t reckless…but water splashes and immediately leaks down…so we basically haven’t been using that bathroom for the past year and a half. 

We’ve spoken to multiple contractors and they’ve all said that the only way to tackle that space is a full gut remodel. We need to replace the cast iron knuckles and waste pipes (we replaced the main stack this year, as it developed a crack), and it would be great to get some outlets wired in there too. With a full gut remodel, we would likely spend the majority of our budget on the infrastructure (plumbing, electric, rerouting the radiator to in-floor heat, and proper waterproofing of the floor and new integrated tub/shower) and it is likely out of our price range to also buy and install historically accurate subway tile with trim tile in the quantity needed to recreate the wall trim. 

I am looking for either affirmation or advisement: how bad is it to demo this bathroom to improve the basic infrastructure but likely lose a lot of aesthetic charm? Any advice about low cost ways to add some charm?  I think we’d likely put in 1” hex tile on the floor. When I did my kitchen, I was able to make a cool pattern and I might do something like that again. What else can I do? We really want the kids to have a functioning bathroom (and selfishly I want to have our bathroom back!) 

How best to update?