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TOOELE - The view from Janell and Angelo Madonna's luxurious raised and jetted bathtub is serene, overlooking a private back yard where two dachshunds and an aging German shepherd enjoy being outdoors.

Should the Madonnas choose to shower instead of soak, a glass-enclosed double shower stall awaits them where separate controls adjust his and her shower temperature preference.

Welcome to the metamorphosis of "America's Ugliest Bathroom."

Some people might be offended to have their bathroom win American Standard's 2003 "America's Ugliest Bathroom Contest."

Not Janell Madonna. She likes to quote an Internet blogger who declared the old brown and tan mosaic-tiled bathtub in what was then their guest bath, "Proof aliens exist."

Besides, the bathroom came with the house.

"We did a few things when we moved in, like pulling up carpet and putting in wood floors," Janell said. Most of the work was done "on the cheap," she added, like painting dark wood kitchen cupboards white.

"The bathroom definitely was not a do-it-yourself project, so we lived with it."

When she found a flier for the contest in a Home Depot bill, she decided to enter.

"I sent pictures and wrote that the bathtub frightened small children and some adults. It was ugly," she said.

American Standard judges agreed, perhaps because of the itty-bitty ceramic squares that covered the tub, inside and out. Or even the brown sinks and wood faucets in the 1960s-style bathroom that earned it the "Ugliest" title over more than 6,000 entries. The toilet paper holder attached to the back of the tub probably helped.

No matter. American Standard sent Minnesota interior designer Barb Schmidt to Tooele to make plans for a new bathroom.

"Barb was awesome. The master bathroom off the bedroom was tiny. The [ugly] big bathroom was next to it but you entered through the hall," Janell said. Schmidt suggested reconfiguring the space, turning the ugly room into their master bath.

"We were told to go online and pick out what we wanted. It was so much fun," Janell remembered. But she held her breath when she picked out an expensive sculptured bronze countertop sink.

"But they said it was fine. American Standard provided most of the fixtures. The tub alone would have been $2,000. The Porcher chest with a marble sink was expensive, about $900. Plus, they gave us $20,000 to pay for floor tile, lighting fixtures, removing the old stuff, dry wall and tile work."

The carpet was replaced with tile; new underfloor pipes warm the floor. Replacing a small, high window with a picture window gives them the backyard view they love.

Then there is the oblong glass tile in the showers, a built-in vanity and custom-installed tile work. If anyone was adding costs for both the bathrooms, which were finished in November, the end figure would be $40,000-plus.

"We spent about $7,000 of our own money," Janell acknowledged, "but it was worth it."

The ugliest bathroom.From scary to serene

When pricing new tubs, toilets, sinks, etc., remember to add installation costs.

* Replacing fixtures means taking out the old ones.

* You probably will need to replace floor and wall tile.

* You can save money by not changing plumbing, i.e., moving a toilet.

* Moving walls or installing a new door means construction, dry wall, paint.

* White fixtures are less expensive than colored ones.

* Nothing dates a house like a colored toilet.

* Add light and take advantage of a view by enlarging a bathroom window.

* Placing the toilet in a closet, or making a half-wall alcove for it gives more privacy.

* Bathroom furniture, from clothes hampers topped with a cushion seat to glass-fronted storage cabinets or even heated towel racks, make a bathroom look inviting.

* Instead of using overhead lights all the time, use a table lamp on the sink cabinet.