A pink 1950s bathroom, brought back

The customer had a cracked fiberglass tub surround that had been patched more than once and was letting water past. What they did not want was to lose the bathroom for a month, or to lose the original pink tile that gives the room its character.

So the surround came out and the alcove got tiled properly instead — white subway laid level off a fresh backer, two recessed niches built into the wall where the old plastic soap dish used to hang, and a new valve and trim while the wall was open. Everything below the tub line and the original floor stayed exactly where it was.

The result reads like it has always been there. That is usually the goal.