Wild Powder Room

A Small Powder Room With Big Personality

I feel strongly that the smallest rooms can be some of the most fun spaces to design and often turn out to be some of my favorite projects. A powder room, a closet, a mudroom or entryway often gives you the opportunity to do something a little unexpected. I love mixing pattern and texture in all of my designs, and in a smaller space, you can take that idea one step further with a really fun pop of color.

For my client’s powder room, that was exactly the plan. We wanted to take advantage of the smaller footprint and create a room that felt fun and layered and fun, while still making thoughtful design choices about how the space would function every day.

Starting With the Wallpaper

We knew pretty early on that we wanted to go bold with wallpaper. As soon as I shared this tiger wallpaper with my client, we both knew it was the one (and I was secretly so thrilled to finally be able to use it in a project!!)

There is a lot happening in the pattern, but I love that the palette itself is actually very soft and almost whimsical. The blues, greens and warmer neutral tones gave us so much to pull from as we started choosing the other room selections.

Once the wallpaper was chosen, the other pieces started falling into place.

Bringing in Warmth With the Vanity

One of my favorite finds for the room was this Birch Lane vanity. I loved the reeded detail immediately, and the natural wood brought in just the right amount of warmth against all of the cooler blue tones in the wallpaper.

It also comes with the prettiest marble marble countertop and brass hardware, so it already had so many of the details we were looking for.

From there, we repeated the brass accents with the faucet and mirror. I love mixing different price points in a room, and this project was a great example of that. The vanity, mirror, sink faucet and hardware were all more affordable finds, which gave us room in the budget to invest more in the wallpaper and tile flooring.

I truly think you can design any room in your home with a balance and not everything needs to be the splurge. It‘s more about knowing where you want to spend and where you can find something beautiful at a better price-point.

Finding the Right Floor

With a wallpaper this bold, the floor needed to have personality without fighting for attention.

We chose this star and cross tile because it still felt whimsical and cool, but it was quiet enough to work with everything else happening in the room. We used a grout in a similar color to the tile, which gave the floor a softer, tonal look and more of a matte finish.

I love that you notice the floor, but it never takes away from the wallpaper. It adds another layer to the room without making the space feel too busy.

Pulling It Together With Color

Once we had the wallpaper and tile selected, we chose Manor Blue to color drench the built-in cabinetry, trim and interior of the door.

It pulls one of the blues from the wallpaper and helps everything in the room feel connected and balanced. I love carrying a color beyond just the walls, especially in a smaller room. Painting the trim, door and cabinetry the same shade made the space feel much more intentional.

Making Better Use of the Space

One of the biggest design decisions in this room actually came from something the clients were not using.

There was originally a shower along the back wall, but it was only used a handful of times. We toyed with leaving it but eventually decided to remove it and build the shelving unit in in its place, which ended up being such a better use of that part of the room. Now there’s storage for days, along with an opportunity to style the shelves (something you know I enjoy helping with!!).

I love finding ways to make a space prettier and more functional at the same time, and this was one of those changes that completely transformed how the room works.

The Jewelry of the Room

I always think of lighting as the jewelry of a room, and this semi-flushmount was the perfect finishing touch. It does not take up much space, which is important in a smaller room, but when it’s turned on, it sparkles and has such a pretty wow factor.

This powder room is such a good example of why I love working with smaller spaces. Tinier rooms give you permission to have a little more fun, take a few risks and bring in details you might not use throughout an entire home.

For this client, it was all about finding the right balance. Bold wallpaper, playful tile, rich color, warm wood and brass, along with storage that actually made the room function better for their everyday life.

And I think that is what makes a small room really special. Every single detail gets a chance to shine.

Michelle PulmanComment