I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest. As much as I adore perusing endless photos of perfectly designed and staged spaces, it’s also a cruel reminder of the work that’s left to do in our home. My “Bathrooms We’re Drooling Over” board in particular delivers the stinging blow, reminding me that I haven’t taken a bath in our home in over four years. Yep, you read that right. Four. Long. Years.

Despite not actually starting the master bathroom renovation project four years ago, we slowly stopped using our 1980s monstrosity due to a faulty tub stop, leaking shower due to improper installation, and finicky toilet. It had come to serve as a large, ugly storage room, which doubles as a space to brush our teeth.

In the time since my last real bath, we’ve done so much while feeling as if we've achieved so little. In addition to actual progress we've researched, dreamed about, planned, and saved for the day that we could complete a transformation of the space into a room of my dreams. Heck, nearly ten years ago we started buying for this space when we saw a killer deal on eBay for a salvaged cast iron tub.

As we've mentioned previously, the tub has sat dormant in our subterranean nightmare, otherwise known as the basement, covered in mounds of junk, just waiting for its time to shine. If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of his beautiful curvaceous sides at the bottom of the photo below.

Despite not being ready to relocate this several hundred pound hulking beast just yet, that doesn’t mean that I don’t often go downstairs to visit him (the tub, of course) and start to formulate my plan of attack. Heck, after the goose vs. telephone debate I pulled the trigger and purchased the hardware for my friend. I liken it plunking down the money for a gorgeous engagement ring only to keep it hidden away until the day I can profess my endless love (for the tub) and put a little bling on it for all to see.

But before he (yes, the tub) can come upstairs and show off his bling, there’s quite a bit of work to do. After all, he’s currently covered in dirt and grime, which can only be partially attributed to the time spent in our lair. His outer sides are painted in varying ghastly shades, including green and yellow. And I’m not talking about a beautiful butter yellow, like the clawfoot tub Sarah Richardson used in the renovation of her Canadian farm house.

We’re talking more post late night drinking binge bile yellow. Sexy.

And what about my clawfoot’s feet? Once caked in layers of paint, now painstakingly cleaned and stripped by my better half a number of years ago. He was so ambitious in those early days. He was sure the installation of the tub *had* to be right around the corner.

This honest and no holds barred assessment of the tub leads us to what we have today, but the question I wrestle with is what his new look will be in the future, especially the color of his sides and feet. There are a lot of choices out there, and I’ve been carefully considering our options for many years through extensive online research.

Photo Credit: Advanced Refinishing LLC

The following are the various options we've been considering:

White Sides, White Feet

Although one might argue that this is a boring choice, I don’t see how this can go out of style. A white bathroom is often viewed as a classic, and my hope is that this simple and traditional choice will never cause a future homeowner to contemplate my color selection. (Ahem, see note above about current green and yellow paint job.)

Photo Credit: Lonny

White Sides, Silver Feet

Alex is a fan of this look, although I’m on the fence about it. Silver feet are a popular choice no doubt, but they might be a bit too much for my taste. If we were to go this route we'd actually need to find somewhere that does metallic plating Alex refuses to accept the option of spray paint. We'd send the feet out to have them plated in polished nickel to match the rest of the hardware, but that might end up running about $400-$600 for the whole thing, far more than the $150 we paid for the tub. Not my favorite approach. 

Photo Credit: lushome.com

Black Sides, White Feet

Painting the sides of the tub in gloss black would definitely ground the room, but without the addition of black elsewhere in the space, i.e.the vanity or accents, the tub might stick out like a sore thumb. I really like this classic choice, but I’m not sold that this is the right choice for our bathroom.

Photo Credit: Salvage One

Crazy Colored Sides, Crazy Colored Feet

I could throw caution to the wind, and make a true statementin my choice. After all, it’s only paint we’re talking about here, not something more permanent and expensive to change out like tile.

Photo Credit: Design Sponge

We could get really crazy and do more than a solid color. Perhaps painting the feet like a tiger or eagle claw, or even painting the toenails. 

Photo Credit: Sacremento's Hometown Tourist's Blog

I've even seen some people do multicolor stencils on their tub. Not sure I have the courage to try this look in our home, but it's a cool idea for the right space.

Photo Credit: Kammy's Korner

Gray Sides, Gray or White Feet

I’m nearly 100% certain that my floor tile of choice will be a 1” Carrara marble hexagon tile with dark gray grout, and the upper walls will be painted in a mid-tone gray. I’m toying with the idea of using a soft gray paint on the tub sides, and painting the feet white. The gray sides will be a more interesting choice, but it might be too much gray in the room. Hmm. Jury’s still out on this one.

Photo Credit: Country Living

Thought I’m probably favoring the plain Jane white on white option at this point, only time will tell. Perhaps once I see the new space in the flesh, the answer will be that much clearer. But until that day, I’ll lay in my dirt-encrusted clawfoot tub, in the dingy light of my Hoarders-esque basement, and dream of the day I can float in my clean tub like a beached whale, enveloped by hot water and lavender scented bubbles, with a celebrity magazine in my hand, a glass of wine at my ready, and the smooth sounds of Dave Matthews Band or +Live+ filling the space. As you can probably tell, I haven’t given much thought to this scenario at all.

What's your vote on the color scheme? Should we play it safe? Perhaps be more daring? Even drop some serious coin on this project? Maybe there’s an option I haven’t considered? I’d love to get your two cents on the matter.