Powder rooms - your creative outlet!
Powder rooms (or if I'm being true to my English roots…downstairs loo's 😊) are a great place to express your true colors (embarrassingly enough…pun sort of intended) and really get creative!
There's a few reasons why powder rooms are an ideal space to let it all out….
It's a small contained space so even if you go all out and do some really cool look, the style doesn't have to spill into any other space. You can still keep your soft neutral vibes in the rest of the house and just have a pop of fun in that little space.
It doesn't need to be the most sensible room in the house, so you can sacrifice some practicality for some super cool (but maybe not so practical) aesthetics. It doesn't need to be waterproof like full bathrooms, it doesn't need to stand up to heavy use like kitchens, it doesn't necessarily need to be kid friendly (often people will keep their powder rooms clean and fresh for when guests are over, and the kids use the main bathroom). So the normal thought process of - “I absolutely love that, it's stunning/super cool/so unique/(insert favorite adjective here), but it's never going to last/it's impossible to clean/it's harder for the kids to use/(insert favorite ‘responsible adult’ phrase here)”, doesn't have to apply! Just imagine….you're in a shop, you see something you love and you think “I absolutely love it, it's stunning/super cool/so unique/(insert favorite adjective here), but…wait, no buts! I love it (turn to sales assistant), do you take cash or card.”
For such a small space, there's so much potential! (We'll elaborate on that below)
I love that you're turning something so irrelevant into this cool design feature in your house. It's kind of like free aesthetics, because you may not have been planning to do anything particularly exciting in there, and all of a sudden you have an extra space to add some artistic flair too.
It's a great ‘feature’ for guests. No one expects to even register what the powder room looks like, when they walk in, it's this interesting, great surprise that no one saw coming!
Here's some ideas and tips to get you started…
Style
First things first, if you want to do this properly and really give the bathroom a great look, decide on a style theme first. A powder room is often a very small space, so everything inside has a significant impact on the vibe. This can really work in your favour…if you consciously choose a style and purchase accordingly, you can get the theme going with just a few things. For example, just by choosing the ‘walling’ and the faucets you can already be halfway to creating the look you want.
Walls
You can really do whatever you want here, within reason. You're not limited to tiles like in a full bathroom, so can choose a great wallpaper, or do tiles with a feature tile in a niche, or if you're going for a more vintage farmhouse-y look then you could paint and panel the walls…really anything goes, just make sure it is in keeping with theme…and just keep half an eye on it being practical enough that it doesn't become a burden to upkeep.
Sinks
Truth is, you don't need to drive yourself crazy about the sink, you can go with a basic minimalistic model and it'll just be invisible in the look. BUT….if you are down to add a little more work to your (probably already overflowing) plate, a sink can add a lot. For example, for a modern-antique vibe, you could get a white ceramic sink on a gold frame with an exposed gold pipe. Or if you're going for a chic bohemian look, a white vessel sink on top of a wooden floating countertop would look great and add a lot to the space.
Faucets
The faucet is a great way to drive home the theme. Yes, you're a little more limited because there are function aspects you need to keep in mind but there's still a lot of great options out there. Even though the faucet is small, it's often very eye-catching and is a powerful way to lock in the look. Just keep in mind, as well as an awesome style, you do want to make sure it's a good quality piece that's not too hard to clean.
Mirrors
A mirror is such an easy way to add to the vibe. In a powder room where we can turn off our ‘responsible, practical brain' (or at least turn it down a little 😉) and forget about storage options, make-up lighting, functional positioning etc…we can focus on getting a really fabulous mirror that is totally on theme.
Built-in accessories
Think, towel rings, toilet paper holders, hooks etc…there's miliions of options out there! I would definitely recommend co-ordinating the color and style with your faucet, you don't need to buy it all from one brand but you should definitely see them all together in real life before commiting to using them. It can look quite out of place if the towel rail is a different shade of gold as the faucet. I know it sounds a little shallow and insignificant, but the mismatched-ness can be quite eye catching and irritating. (And yes, I know ‘mismatched-ness' is not a word, I make up my own when necessary…it's a thing, just go with it 🤭).
Finishing touches
Here comes the easy part…mainly because there's zero commitment and therefore a lot less stressful to purchase! By ‘finishing touches', I mean, hand towels, stick diffusers, scented candles, hand soap etc…fun additions to enhance the space. For all of you out there, who want to cry at the thought of choosing your floor tile and committing to it for the rest of eternity…this is your time to shine, go crazy!
Go get your creative juices flowing and have fun,
