Okay, so first off let me tell you about the moment I knew I had completely overlooked powder rooms. I was at my friend Emma’ downstairs bathroom during her birthday party a few months ago and walked into the bathroom to find… Well I didn’t walk into the boring white walls and basic mirror I was expecting. Instead I felt like I had walked into a miniature piece of heaven.
The walls were covered in dark green botanical wallpaper, the taps were vintage brass that I swear had been plundered from an upscale Victorian Hotel somewhere and the warm lighting made me feel instantly cozy in such a small space. I stared at it for so long that I am sure it looked suspicious to anyone watching. But I couldn’t help it.
It was akin to stumbling upon your own secret garden, only one that was about the size of our old toilet closet. That’ when something clicked in my brain.
Powder rooms are the “statement earring” of interior decorating.
They’re small, they don’t have to deal with all of the junk that comes with your main bathroom (ie. no shower gel shower curtain rings lined down your towel tossed on the ground) and every guest who visits your house WILL see it. And yet.. there I was. Me, who spent MONTHS deliberating over the perfect paint colour for our living room wall satied pretty much ignored our downstairs bathroom.
Beige walls and…. A diy mirror from B&Q. Yup.
Literally the cheapest light fixture we could find because “no one notices it anyway.” Geez, I shudder thinking about it now. Yes, it served a purpose. But memorable?
Please. Not unless you judge how memorable something is by how aggressively you avoid looking at it. The thing is, powder rooms are the perfect place to take risks.
You want to make a statement but you don’ want to go totally crazy on someone else’ s home. Say you’ ve always adored that paint colour you would never dare use in your bedroom because you fear it may be “too bold”? GO FOR IT on a small bathroom.
That funky wallpaper you have been pinning to your DIY Pinterest board for months but have actually YET to buy? PERFECT. Match it to a space where people spend two minutes at a time.
When we finally decided to take our bathroom remodel seriously I decided to go full_force in the opposite direction. Instead of picking another boring paint colour I went bold and painted the entire room a warm terracotta colour named Farrow & Ball’ s Red Earth. Yes, this paint was expensive ($) and yes I justified the purchase by reminding myself that you only need ONE can of paint to cover a space that is only 15 square feet.
But hey.. when Danny saw the newly painted bathroom for the first time and remarked, “ Hmm it’s kind of…orange? ” I already knew I made the right decision. While I do think bold colours can look stupid in large rooms, something about throwing paint on such a small canvas completely changes things. Rather than making it feel closed-off, it really gives you that cozy factor especially when you get the lighting right.
Speaking of lighting. Remember how I said that was another thing most people get wrong? Bar lights?
Blah. I found an amazing antique-inspired wall sconce at a garage sale near us for $15 – had to rewire it after purchase (which Danny had to do himself because I am mildly terrified of electricity after burning our kitchen tap last year) and it instantly elevated the space. Popping light off of the terracotta walls creates a faux sunset vibe that makes everyone look about 10 years younger.
No joke. Speaking of light off of walls. Mirrors are another thing most people overlook.
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Instead of grabbing yet another boring rectangle mirror I searched high and low through thrift stores until I happened upon this old brass porthole mirror for $8. Sure it has chips around the edges ( something that normally drives me absolutely bonkers) but in a small space like this, it adds personality without trying too hard. It also breaks up all of the straight lines from the vanity and doorway.
Likewise, what I like to call “ surprise details,” are small touches that your guests won’ notice but will definitely remember. While helping my brother decorate his powder room ( his girlfriend complained about it for YEARS) we decided to add some floating shelves in a weird nook we had and fill it with a few small plants, cute soap, and an assortment of vintage glass jars I had picked up from thrift stores here and there. Cost probably totaled less than $25 once we factor in the shelves from IKEA, but it turned a really ugly awkward corner into something that looked like we intentionally designed it that way.
Ok, I lied. Plants ARE something that work well in bathrooms if you have any sort of natural light. My little Pothos plant on the sink window sill has thrived even with the occasional splash it receives from the sink.
If you’ re unlucky enough to not have a window like we didn’ with our last flat, opt for a Snake Plant or ZZ Plant. They require basically NO CARE and yet still give off that fresh, lived-in vibe that helps a space from feeling too sterile. Alright, what doesn’t work?
Of course during my many trials and tribulations of creating a cute bathroom I have made mistakes. One time I tried hanging an itty-bitty chandelier because I had seen one in a fancy magazine that I thought was super glamorous. UGH.
Far too small for the space; too fancy; and EVERYONE who used that bathroom instantly felt like they were going to hit their head on it. Magazines lie to you sometimes, guys. Their lights and ceilings are just not average.
Ditched the little bugger for a basic pendant light instead and all was right in the world. Another detail I think people forget about is hardware. Holy smokes, hardware matters more than you would think.
We switched out all of our cabinet pulls and towel rack to these matte black ones – about $40 on Amazon – and it instantly made the space look ten times more expensive. It’ one of those things that feels like it would be pricey but really.. isn’t. Although I did order the wrong size the first time because I didn’t measure properly ( yeah, handles that were twice as big as they should’ve been were NOT acceptable so we had to wait another week for a refund. )Trust me, it’ worth the extra money.
Tile flooring is tough because you want it to coordinate with the rest of your home but also bring something unique to the space. I kept our original tile floors (low-and-behold they weren’t hideous once I stopped LOOKING at them 🙂 but added this awesome vintage-inspired rug that COULD be thrown in the washing machine if things get too messy. It brings a softness to the space and another pattern element without permanently changing the room.
Limited storage is another one of those things with powder rooms that I actually LOVE. I have one small wicker basket under the sink for my toilet paper and extra cleaning supplies – and thats.it.No medicine cabinets overflowing with bottles or ridiculous amounts of shampoo littering every surface. Compared to our upstairs bathroom which looks like someone smashed every bottle of Boots inside on a daily basis our downstairs bathroom feels.
QUIET. OK hear me out on something I kinda regret not thinking about when we were redoing our powder room.
The height of our toilet paper holder.
I initially placed it too low because I hadn’t really thought about it and ended up hitting it with my elbow every.single.time I used the bathroom. Changing the height required us re-poking holes in our drywall and painting over them. UGH.
Annoying? Yes. But tiny details like this are WAY more important than those fancy home magazines will lead you to believe.
Powder rooms should feel like miniature moments of joy. Rooms that wow and amaze you without trying too hard. Sure, they should flow with your home but shouldn’ try to match your entire house.
Powder rooms let you experiment; let you break the rules; let you add random moments of unexpected happiness to someone’ day. Because if you can’t go wild in a 15 square foot bathroom where ELSE can you? !
