Bathtub refinishing is the obvious solution. Many people decide to get it replaced, but this is a major repair that costs a lot of money. It's also wasteful. Why get a new tub when all you have to do is a little work on the old one?
(1) Walk-in tubs are a necessity, not a luxury. If you are in the home you hope to stay in, a walk-in tub re (or a slide-in or transition tub) is, without question, the single most important "first step" to being able to achieve independent living.
That same house had a Florida room addition. None of the rest of the house had wallpaper, but this room did, and it looked very tired. Because the room did not look perfect to begin with we decided reglazing tub not to spend labor cost on removing the wallpaper. Instead, we took some of the same paint color we were using in the rest of the house and painted over the wallpaper (after using an appropriate primer first). Before painting over wallpaper, it's good to glue down any unsightly seams. This solution worked wonders.
Needless to say, because Carol had just spent her life savings on the purchase of her home, there was not a lot of money in the budget to turn her eye sore of a bathroom into a place of escape and tranquility. Not knowing how to accomplish this task on a shoestring budget, she asked me if I would offer her some advice. So here is the advice I gave Carol.
Changing your cabinets can be the most expensive part of remodeling your kitchen. When I wasn't able to change my cabinets I decided to do refacing or refinishing. If your cabinets are in good condition then you can make a huge difference by refacing. It was surprisingly cheap and I changed my cabinets from a light color wood to very dark. Everyone who came to my kitchen thought I had gotten new cabinets. I did this work on my own which helped me save bath tub restoration the money on labor.
Your next job will be to use the bathtub cleaner to thoroughly clean the tub. This includes removing all of the old caulking and cleaning the areas where it was. A clean surface will help your new surfacing materials adhere to the porcelain better.
Sure, tiling the floor, adding a garden tub and tiling the shower are great additions to any bathroom, but they are also expensive to accomplish. It'll be a room you want to be in.