Powder Room and Bathroom Ideas

Go Small And Go Bold

Don’t let their size fool you. Powder rooms and small bathrooms can be showstoppers. Despite their lack of square footage, these small rooms can pack a very stylish punch. Their tiny footprint can be a great canvas for some of your brightest and boldest design ideas and inspriation. In addition, because they are smaller spaces, you can typically update or renovate your bathroom for much less than you would in another room of your home. From renovation cost, wallpaper ideas, and fixture options, here are two power room remodels to inspire you.

Powder Room Makeover Idea: Go Bold

Before we dive into two powder room makeovers, let me sing the praises of powder room design. As an interior decorator, I often will nudge my clients to go bold with their powder rooms because powder rooms don’t need to be as practical as other spaces. Their small footprint in most homes can lead to a more playful or vibrant design. They aren’t the spaces people gather in or even gravitate too, so let them serve as a space to make your boldest design choices. My clients often gravitate toward more edgy elements in their powder rooms using design elements they might otherwise tire of – or not be willing to spend on – in a larger space. 

Powder Room Renovation Cost

The cost to renovate this concise space is not always in parallel with its size. Like any home renovation project, there are plenty of ways that you can turn this into a costly project. However, powder rooms can be one of the least expensive rooms to remodel in your house, especially if you can keep the room’s main elements in their current location. To keep costs low, consider how you can redo the room while leaving the main fixtures in place, namely plumbing and lighting. Moving electrical and plumbing are two design decisions that can quickly add to the cost. If all you’re doing is updating fixtures, changing wall colors, and adding lighting and faucets, this is a project than can easily be kept under $5,000. There arent’ many other rooms in your house that can come with that same price tag.

To get your wheels turning, here are two client powder room projects we did that resulted in much more useful, beautiful spaces.

Powder Room Inspo

These homeowners were desperate for storage, surface space, and style in their powder. As you can see in the before image, this powder room’s pedestal sink lacked any storage or counter space. In addition, the cabinet they were using for storage wasn’t the right size for the room and lacked the functionality this space needed.

(PIC)

We brought in storage with the simplest of cabinetry knowing the cabinets’ contents would be covered by a lovely curtain.  The openness of the cabinetry below provided any necessary wiggle room for jogging the p-trap over if the sink location changed at all (it didn’t) while also providing tons of storage. 

(PIC)

Powder Room Lighting Decisions

We chose a wall sconce that did not require moving the electrical box, a decision that saved tne and money on this project without sacrificing style or function.

The counter in this powder room is a recurring hack of mine. This IKEA “butcher block” has been used in so many of my projects. I have found it performs beautifully when not used as a true butcher block because it’s constructed with veneers over pressed wood.  Using it in a bathroom requires a drop-in sink, so we coordinated the overall style accordingly.

(PIC)

Powder Room Wallpaper Ideas

The wallpaper provided the wow factor for this small space, and the matching fabric no the cabinetry brought it all together as only one cohesive pattern can do.  In addition, we painted the trim and ceiling in a coordinating putty color that was the perfect soothing tone against the patterned wallpaper. 

We upped the elegance factor in this powder room by restraining the palette and patterns. While we used a wallpaper with big print, the colors and patterns overall remain understated. The end result is a beautiful and practical powder room – one with more style and storage than it previously had.

Wallpaper was the main focus of our next design.

Showstopping Wallpaper For A Powder Room Renovation

(PIC)

This second powder room required a few more design considerations than the first. By comparison, this powder room of roughly the same size required quite a bit more specialty items to accomplish the client’s goals.  Their main goal was to figure out how to use this incredible wallpaper the client had been eyeing for years. I was so excited to incorporate it in this powder room redesign.

(PIC)

Although we generally lean towards polished nickel or brass in a bathroom reno, the very cool undertones of this paper called for chrome. To make the wallpaper the showstopper, we considered how to thoughtfully bring other colors into the space. We determined that black with a pop of red would really make the blue wallpaper sing.

(PIC)

With that color scheme in mind, we started by purchasing a black retail vanity without a top. We wanted to do a custom finish with the stone countertop.  The client selected quartz, as this is a very active powder room that also services the mudroom.  We knew quartz would be a material that would hold up to the demands of this well-used space.

My client wanted a mitered edge for interest, which I agreed would make a nice touch. We replaced the hardware that came standard with the vanity with (WHAT) to help us achieve the overall aesthetic we were going for.

For this project, we did have to touch the electrical. The original electrical boxes had to move to accommodate stylish wall sconces, but we offset that necessity by using cost-effective, yet still very stylish, sconces from Pottery Barn.

(PIC)(PIC)

As you can see, the wallpaper steals the show in this space. But the red grasscloth mirror from livenUPdesign was the final touch that finished the space.