VT Home: 3 Tips For Perfecting Your Powder Room

A powder room is the perfect opportunity to express oneself in the design field. While it is one of the smallest rooms in a home, it is also one of the most visible. Its small size means that you can really have fun with the design and make it a bold statement room.

While entertaining at home, whether you like it or not, guests will inevitably visit the powder room and use the opportunity to study the details of this special little room and form their opinions about your style. I like to think of it as the “jewel” of the home.

Below are a few tips to get you started on the design of your home’s powder room.

1. Make it Special

Try a bold wall covering in a print, or possibly a darker paint color than you might normally use. The powder room should not be the hair and make-up room but rather an intimate moment in your home—make it a good one.

2. Invest in Materials

Given the size of most powder rooms, the square footage is not as vast as a full bathroom. I recommend splurging with stone or other materials such as paneling or trim.

3. Pay Attention to Details

Look for special lighting (vintage or exotic), an extraordinary mirror, or possibly even accessories or an unusual rug. Remember, the powder room doesn’t usually have as much usage, traffic, or steam as your regular bathroom—go for pieces that are a little more special and possibly a little less durable.

Check out some examples of fantastic powder rooms that are sure to inspire:

A very chic powder room in black and gold. We’ve continued to discuss the trend of brass and gold fixtures in the bath and home in general. This chinoiserie wall covering ties it all together in a very sophisticated way.

One advantage of a small powder room or bathroom is that it affords you the opportunity to go super luxe with your use of materials. This all marble powder room looks quite important and not at all overly compact.

Make a statement with tile in your powder room. The new tile collection from Kelly Wearstler does the trick—masculine or feminine, it’s both young and fun.

The beauty of a small powder room is that you can treat them as a little jewel box and go over the top. This incredible powder room in three shades of gray used the beautiful marble veins as a guideline to set the stage for the color. The brass legs on the sink and long narrow pendant chandelier provide an added touch of luxury.

Chinoiserie paradise is found in this beautiful powder room. From the incredible gilding to the fabulous wall covering and gold and brass fixtures—it’s absolute high perfection.

Bold wallpaper and sculptural objects with a classic vanity and rug make this a warm and inviting powder room.

This gorgeous and almost brutalist lotus pendant chandelier in brass with the lotus wallpaper and rough edge cut marble sink are perfectly complimentary in this powder room. The masculine and feminine balance of brutalism with florals is a very sophisticated approach.

Invest in a special or bold mirror for your powder room. Think of this as jewelry for the guests to enjoy. Wearstler used one of her fantastic sculptural objects to accessorize this marble sink.

This dreamy powder room exudes luxury and modernism. The custom pedestal sink is cut from a single block of marble while the walls are of complimentary solid sheets of marble chosen to give a monochromatic feel in a small luxurious space.

Go bold with wallpaper in your powder room. This water color-esque study in earth tones by Porter Teleo is both luxurious and approachable.