This Q&A from a few months ago concerned a Tuscan style powder bath that was looking a little dated and tired. The homeowner was ready to update, but wasn’t quite sure what could be reused and what could stay. She couldn’t tear it all out but wanted a fresher look.

She had been working on de-Tuscanizing her home for awhile and was ready to work on this powder bathroom.

The travertine and granite tile floor and the very traditional vanity had to stay.

She made a list of the things she could possibly replace.

Powder Bath Items That Could Change

*Paint color (walls and ceiling) or add wallpaper (I love wallpaper and don't have any in the house).

*Light fixture

* sink and faucet (assuming that doesn't require getting rid of the cabinet)

*paint the sink buffet (but keep the piece)

*paint the tile around the mirror and paint the mirror frame.

*all accessories

*Window treatment / or add woven shade?

Travertine and black granite tile floor in diamond pattern made a bold statement in this powder bath. It had to stay in the remodel.

There is lots going on here at this vanity backsplash and mirror. A little simplification in the design is in order.

The traditional vanity cabinet had to stay in this powder bath redo.

Two Features In This Powder BAth Had Me Concerned

One thing that concerned me was the idea of painting the tile around the mirror. There was so much going on there, I couldn’t see paint as something that would fix that.

Another big challenge was going to be the floor. How could I make that work into a design that would feel more up to date?

I get a lot of these kind of questions where people tell me they can’t get rid of the biggest design problems in the room. Sometimes I can work around it, sometimes just changing a few minor items doesn’t cut it.

Well, I sort of felt like this was going to be one of those times. :-/

I decided to give her suggestions for something that would require a little more work than what she had intended because I couldn’t see that mirror situation working at all in a refreshed powder bath design.

My Suggestions For de-tuscanizing This powder BAth

If this were my remodel and I had to keep the floor and vanity cabinet, I would tear out the mirror, tile backsplash, countertop and sink. (Replacing the mirror and sheetrock behind there isn’t that big of an expense. If she was going to install some pretty wallpaper, then that mirror and backsplash would need to be addressed.)

That sink feels rather dated and something more simple and modern in design, would be a nice contrast to the traditional vanity.

I saw this vessel sink at KBIS this year. This is Murano glass from Italy.

I'd have a plumber come and lower the levers of the faucet to be all one level and then patch the sheetrock wall. (I didn’t think she needed to change the faucet, just lower the levers.)

I'd do a new countertop and backsplash in some dark natural stone, either a charcoal marble or darker marble, or even a honed black granite would work. I’d do a shaped slab backsplash that would cover the faucet area.

I would clean up some of the curves in that countertop shape too. You could likely find a remnant in a fabricator's yard to use.

I'd definitely try to put the wall mount faucet on the slab backsplash. A pretty curve would work well with the shape of the vanity.

Something like I did in this powder bath.

Then I'd hang a new, smaller round mirror, with a new light fixture above. A new wallpaper is going to make the biggest statement here in this powder bath.

Powder Bath Redo with new countertop and splash, wallpaper, sink, lighting and mirror.

When it came to the color palette, I felt that was dictated basically by the floor. I wanted to repeat the black in the floor by painting the vanity and trim black or even dark gray.

Then the pink-beige of the travertine could be enhanced by going darker on the walls with some pretty, warm toned wallpaper. I went to my wallpaper sample bins and found a few that seemed to work really well with the travertine.

I think these really look fabulous with the tile. The warm metallics on dark gray seemed to work well.

A toilet in a biscuit color would work better in this setting than the white one. :-)

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Click through for all the details and links to products that can update a Tuscan style powder bathroom!

Are you thinking about possible updates in your home in 2021?

I have some helpful downloadable pdf guides for sale to help you with some of those tough decisions. I’ve answered so many questions here on my blog, this is a good way to get all that info in one complete package.