One of the small side projects that homeowners often slide into a larger project is the powder bath.
POWDER BATH ROUND UP | Indigo blue walls and blue and white china bowl vessel sink | Carla Aston, Designer
Whether they are doing a kitchen remodel, an overall update reno, or a master bath redo, this little side project always seems to work its way into the job.
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Why you should add a powder bath remodel onto a larger remodel
It's hard to justify the expense of remodeling a powder bath all by itself. After all, you still need about 4 or 5 subcontractors coming in, one after the other, to layer in all the work. And for a general contractor, it is just not that big of a project to get them really interested.
It's a great idea to add it in to another part of a bigger project, to get the work done by the subs when they are already at the house.
It can also be the perfect place to use some leftover material, like some marble, so it makes a valid argument to expand the scope of the remodel here.
Where to spend the dollars in a powder bath
I personally love to see what people do in their powder rooms. To me, this is the place to be unafraid and unleash your inner designer. Go bold, go with some pattern, step out of the “builder basic bath” look.
The Walls
One of my favorite special designer touches in a powder room is wallcovering. I recently had a consultation where the homeowner thought doing some wallpaper only on the back wall, behind the sink, was enough. I told them to to all the walls. It’s such a small space, that wallpaper should wrap the room.
Sometimes I’ll do tile only on a back wall behind the sink to the ceiling. In that case, I don’t recommend wrapping the whole room in tile as it just feels a little too hard.
Either treatment can give the walls a nice custom touch.
The Mirror & Lighting
Upgrade the mirror and light fixture, working with the wall finishes you have chosen. A unique shapely mirror can be unexpected and sconces are always nice. If you must do a bar-type light above the mirror, make it special. I’ve even done pendants over the vanity, instead of a bath bar vanity light situation.
Especially if you are only painting your walls, an upgraded mirror can add some style.
The Floor
Often, I will run the flooring that is outside the bathroom into that space, to save a few dollars and some make the remodeling process a bit simpler. However, doing a special tiled floor in powder room can be fun.
This is a great place to add some mosaic tile or do a pattern. I have tumbled limestone tile floor in a 4 x 4 size in my powder room that I installed over 10 years ago and I still love it.
The Toilet
I would invest in a nice looking toilet here that has a quiet flush, but I would not go with a fancy bidet top or any kind of luxury automatic flushing. You don’t want your guests to have to come out and ask you how to flush your toilet after they’ve already used it!
The Vanity - Sink, Faucet, Counter and Splash
I love custom built vanities and often do these in my projects. I typically like the vanity to float between the walls, not touching on each side. It makes the cabinet feel more like a custom, found item.
Beautiful sinks and faucets, something atypical of builder standard, is always nice in a powder bath.
If you need to save money somewhere in your redo, go with a pedestal sink. It is a sink and counter all-in-one and to me, the walls speak louder for style in a powder room. I would put a quality faucet on a pedestal sink and be fine with that if I was upgrading other areas of the bath.
Vent fan
A good, quality vent fan is a must here, but don’t worry about getting one that is silent. Sometimes a little white noise is okay for this room. :-)
Make It Memorable
Powder bath seen in the New American Remodel at KBIS 2018
Just remember that a little powder bath still requires big love to make it special. There are lots of details here in a small space and regardless of the size, it deserves the time and care of good design to make it a beautiful jewel box of a space.
After all, the powder room is one room in a home where you know a guest or visitor will end up at some point. They will notice the mirror, the faucet, the floor and walls, the lighting, how quiet the toilet flushes......even the toilet paper holder. :-)
I'm sharing some of the ones that I've worked on over the years and some I've seen in showhouses across the country.
Don't forget to fold this special little space into a bigger project when it is time to remodel in another part of your home.
Powder Bath Round Up!
Go ahead.....pin away!
POWDER BATH ROUND UP | Teal grasscloth wallcovering in powder bath | Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer
POWDER BATH ROUND UP | Indigo blue powder bath with blue and white vessel sink | Carla Aston, Designer
POWDER BATH ROUND UP | Dark teal walls for this powder bath with a white marble mosaic wall and special quatrefoil wood mirror. | Carla Aston, Designer
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Powder room remodel with mosaic tile back wall and side sconces | Designer: Carla Aston, Photographer: Miro Dvorscak
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Powder room remodel with wallpaper, an arched backsplash, round mirror and side sconces | Designer: Carla Aston
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Powder bath with textured look tile wall in Guest House | Designer: Latrice Gentry Brooks, Chiffon Interiors, Seen at ASID Showhouse 2017
POWDER BATH ROUND UP | white marble counter with hammered nickel sink and slate blue walls | Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer
POWDER BATH ROUND UP | A mud room powder bath to be used mainly by the children of the house, with a vinyl wood look wallcovering and brightly colored custom vanity. | Carla Aston, Designer
POWDER BATH ROUND UP | quatrefoil mirror with limestone counter and curved backsplash | Carla Aston, Designer|Powder room remodel with arched stone backsplash, wall mount faucet and quatrefoil mirror | Designer: Carla Aston, Photographer: Miro Dvorscak
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Powder bath with brass hammered sink and faucet | Designer: Beth Lindsey, seen at ASID Showhouse 2017
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Powder room remodel with metallic wallpaper and pendant light fixture reflected in mirror featured in this home's remodel | Designer: Carla Aston, Photographer: Tori Aston
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Contemporary powder bath with asymmetrical pendant lighting and chunky vessel sink | CHA:COL Architects, Seen on Dwell on Design Home Tours
POWDER BATH ROUND UP - Powder bath w/ navy wallpaper, chubby white vessel sink, Carrara marble countertop and splash, antiqued mirror, and geometric motif | Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Powder room with marbleized wallpaper and swan faucet on the LA Design Trail, Casa Perfect
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |blue powder bath with porcelain concrete look tile floor, quartz countertop, chunky vessel sink, wall mount faucet | Designer: Carla Aston, Photographer: Colleen Scott
POWDER BATH ROUND UP |Gray powder bath with herringbone marble tile floor, Carrara marble countertop and curved splash | Designer: Carla Aston
An Elegant Powder Room Design You Can Put Together Yourself!
I'm sharing some links below to a pretty powder room that you could add into your next remodel!
Silver Powder Bath Design To Go!
I’ve got my handy Bathroom Design Guide to share here today. If you need some help planning your bathroom remodel, my project checklist can serve as your go-to source so you don’t leave anything out and can thoughtfully design the bathroom of your dreams!
Click Here >>>> Bathroom Design Guide
