My good friend Arinn is updating her powder room. I've never seen it in person because I swear she hides it from visitors. She has asked me for some ideas and input on her project. I love sharing inspiration photos so of course I said yes.
It's a very teeny room, just 4'9 x 6'. There are no windows and, at the moment, poor lighting. She wants it light and bright. They're going to replace the mirror, tile flooring and possibly the lighting. And are either replacing the whole vanity with a new one that comes with a sink and faucet all together or keeping the cupboards and just painting them, replacing only the sink and counter.
Here's what she's working with
It's definitely an outdated box. You see it all from just the two angles from the door. The oak cabinets and laminate counter ledge are a real treat! It won't take much though to make this room pretty. The faucet looks nice and depending on its condition, it could be used in the new bathroom. I think a full mirror spanning across the whole back wall would open the space up and bring in more light but she could also paint the frame of the current mirror and add a piece of art beside it over the toilet for something interesting to look at. Two different options. Two different looks.
I too am dreaming of changing my powder room. Mine is equally teeny and dark. But it has good lighting and the beadboard lightens it up.
I'm not really complaining about my bathroom. The previous owners did a good job making it look nice but I want it to be
mine and this bathroom doesn't represent me at all. With the exception of the
Love print behind the toilet, this is all them.
Where Arinn wants light and bright, I want dramatic and bold. There's no consensus on whether darker colours or lighter colours make a space look bigger. Every month I open my House Beautiful magazine I see the designers are saying the opposite of what they said the month before. I believe it comes down to personal preference and good lighting. Today I will share inspiration for both the bright and the bold.
To start, this is as light and bright as I can find. It has no windows, is tiny as can be but is a beautiful, bright, clean room. I love the mirror cutout in the wall and the tall, to-the-ceiling mirror behind the sink. Together with the high gloss white cabinets and glass tiles on the wall the space feels bigger. The lighting is nothing exciting, pot lights, but they are a bright source of light. Even though it's an all white bathroom, it still has lots of character. I could live here. In this home I mean.
This bathroom is more traditional in design, with the wood panelling and campaign-style vanity. Even though it's a black vanity it is still a bright room, with warm white walls and warm metal accents. This room does have natural light and space to help it out but the same effect could be achieved in Arinn's bathroom.
This bathroom has quite a bit of details with mouldings and floor tile and wallpaper. And it's not that bright
BUT the layout is the same as Arinn's and I wanted to include it to show how simple, classic details and design can make a beautiful, calm bathroom and still be interesting. The large mirror spanning across the wall opens the space and brings in light. The chrome fixtures add sparkle and polish. She wants to use a marble tile on her floor and if she were to paint her walls with an off-white or light grey she would have a beautiful bathroom without too much fuss.
Another teeny tiny bathroom that is both light and bright
and dramatic. Wallpaper is a great way to add bold character to a room. It comes in all different kinds of colours, tones, shades, and finishes so it can work for both Arinn and me. I always enjoy perusing the wallpaper
bibles catalogues when I go to Benjamin Moore.
And here's what I'm thinking for mine
This is my first choice. I know we're not looking at a bathroom but I would love to paint this onto my walls. Just need to get the technique down. I would want my vanity to be sleek and modern, white lacquer. With brass accents.
Kelly Green. It was one of my options for the dining room. Even though I didn't end up using it there I still really, really, really want a kelly green room in my house. The powder room is the one room in the house where you can go as crazy as you want without really having to worry if you can live with it because you never have to live with it for more than a couple minutes at a time - hopefully.
Dalmatian Spots!!!!! Uh oh. Now I have three number 1 favourites. I need three powder rooms.
I'm sure an artistically inclined person could paint these on themselves but I am no such person. I would need to find a wallpaper. I absolutely love the look. I also like this style of sink. I would want either this or a pedestal sink for my powder room. They're not very practical for storage so I wouldn't want them in a bigger bathroom, but the powder room only has one function so I can get away with no storage. And no surprise here, I love the brass accents and gallery wall.
I love this high gloss all black bathroom. Again with the sink and the chrome fixtures. The wood panelling add visual interest and the high gloss reflects light making it feel brighter. I just did black in my laundry room though so I don't think I would go this route. For now.
Stripes are something I'm always thinking of doing. It was something I had considered doing in the dining room a while ago. I've seen some photos of people's entrance halls with black and white stripes that looked amazing. They also work as just a feature wall in a room instead of doing the whole room. I'm more partial to the thicker stripes. But can't decide between horizontal or vertical.
And then there's this craziness
Definitely not boring. But maybe for the more daring.
The problem with writing about changing my bathroom is that now I really really want to. But just writing about changing it took 5 days. Little girls take up a lot of time. Maybe Dave can take a fall break this month and I'll do it on impulse like
my laundry room.
Which do you prefer? The light and bright or bold and dramatic?
