6 Tips to Make your Powder Room Stunning!

Powder rooms can break the rules. They don’t have to fit in with the rest of the décor of your home. They can be fun, exciting & different. Whether your powder room is dated, or a basic boring builder powder room, redesigning your powder room is an inexpensive way to make a dramatic or fun statement and add value to your home at the same time. 

6 Tips to make your Powder Room the talk of the street!

1. Start with an inspiration piece

Powder rooms can make a definite statement. You can go wild in your powder room and even break a few rules. Going into a powder room is like going through a cracker jack box and wondering what surprise is waiting for you there.

One big tip for making your powder room pop, is to start with an inspiration piece. It can be fun wallpaper, an interesting fixture, mirror, a wall or floor tile, or a light. Once you have your inspiration piece, then you build your design around your inspiration piece.

For one of my bathrooms, I chose a vanity that I loved. It was trendy AND had room for storage which I needed. Then I built my design around it. My mood board for my design is pictured left.

Read: Why you should start with a mood board for your room design

As with any good design, start your design with an inspiration piece. For your powder room, that can be fun wallpaper, a drop dead gorgeous vanity, or stunning floor tiles! Then build your design from there.

2. Decorate Your Walls

The thought for small bathrooms was to keep the walls light & neutral because you would feel closed in if the colors were to dark. Thankfully, we no longer think that way and are not confined to a few neutral colors.

Select a dramatic paint color or wallpaper for your wall  to make a dramatic impact and surprise  people when they enter the room.  Bold paint colors are trending right now and the powder room is the perfect place to surprise people when they enter the room. 

Color trends in small powder rooms can be calm and serene or bold and beautiful. Bold paint colors are trending right now and the powder room is the perfect place to surprise people when they enter the room. 

Bold paint colors and dramatic or fun wallpaper is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to transform your powder room from drab to fab!

Another option to transform your bathroom is by tiling your walls. Its more expensive and labor intensive option, but nevertheless, a worthwhile one that would elevate your room and a value to your home.

Photo: Lauren Konrad, Designer Unknown

Sage green in all shades is very popular right now. I love this moody powder room in a deep & moody sage green color. Notice how the bathroom door is painted the same color as well? It would look awkward if the homeowner had kept the door white.

I updated this boring powder room with a fresh coat of sage green Sherwin Williams Sea Salt. Sage green is a trending color right now and the lighter sage greens like above, can create a spa like feel.

Photo: The DIY Nuts

Eric and Erin from the DIY Nuts drew, yes drew, this fun creative design on their bathroom wall to update their plain bathroom. Can’t draw? Try stenciling or wallpaper.

Photo: Pinterest

This traditional powder room makes a beautiful & bold statement in navy blue & white.

Update your bathroom quickly with peel & stick wallpaper.

With so many great choices with peel & stick wallpaper, it makes it easy to update your powder room in a week-end.

In my last house flip, I ordered this boho peel & stick wallpaper from Amazon to give the room a bit of a punch to the all white bathroom. Even though I had to match a pattern, it only took me a couple of hours to put up this wallpaper and transformed it.

Read: How I updated my powder room in a week-end for under $1,000

Not sure you want a whole wall of wallpaper? You can add decorative paneling on the bottom half of the walls and wallpaper on the top half to break up your space like the two design below.

These two bathrooms above have similar styles. Both have board and batten on the lower half of the walls, wallpaper on the upper half, similar styled vanities and scones on either sides of their mirrors. The one in the gray & white tones is calm, serene and relaxing. The other one using tried & trued white & navy is bold and memorable. Neither style is right or wrong. They both make beautiful statements in their own individual way.

3. Fixtures

Have fun when choosing your vanity & fixtures. There’s no need for the boring traditional looking sink in a washroom anymore. Your vanity can also make a statement!

Quite often, powder rooms are squeezed into a corner of the house which can make it challenging to find the right sized vanity & toilet for your space. But fortunately, there are alot more choices now for smaller two piece bathrooms.

Your sink & toilet need to be space appropriate for the size of your room. There are alot of options out there for smaller vanities and toilets. Look for condo sized fixtures if you have a small space. Larger spaces can accommodate larger fixtures.

Photo: MichelleBerwickDesigns.com

Paint Your Vanity a Color!

Is your vanity in good shape but just dated? Paint it! With the proper paint and technique, you can turn a dated wood cabinet, or even a cheap white laminate one, for that matter, into a stunning piece that no one will know the difference.

Sage green and various shades of blue are currently trending for bathroom vanity colors but your vanity needs to compliment the other existing elements in the room. So you can go trendy or classic & timeless.

Photo: flawlessrooms_

Kathleen from Flawless Rooms updated their bathroom by painting their vanity in this beautiful rich sage green color, Sherwin Williams Retreat and used Sherwin Williams Alabaster on the walls. Notice the tiled floors in a herringbone pattern. The herringbone pattern is a nice touch to update floors.

Photo: Maria Killam

Maria Killam used Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue on the vanity and Sherwin Williams Incredible White on the walls. Notice the attention to detail she did in her bathroom renovation. The walls match the matting in her pictures. The charming light fixtures & mirror complete the look. In her blog post here, she stated that her inspiration piece was her unframed floral pictures and she built the design from there.

 4. Let there be light!

Lighting has a huge impact on a space.  Choose lighting that blends with your design.  It’s better to over light and add a dimmer switch than to under light.

Have fun with your lighting.  There are a lot of great styles to choose from.  Getting the right light can have a huge impact on the overall design. Check out this cute farmhouse bathroom to the right. The light, mirror and trendy black faucet, makes this bathroom really stand out.

Lighting can be fun but function needs to come first. Often powder rooms do not have windows therefore your lighting needs to light up the room. Your guests don’t want to fumble around in the dark while they’re there.

Note the fun tiles in this powder room! Its a great accent wall.

Photo: Kate Lester Interiors

5. Flooring

You can have fun with your flooring in your powder room. It doesn’t need to be the same as your house here. Pick a fun tile you love and that could be your inspiration piece for the rest of your design. In this bathroom on our right, Stylist, Emily Henderson picked a fun floor tile which is dramatic and obviously her inspiration for this space since every other item in this room co-ordinates with the tile.

Powder rooms don’t experience the same moisture challenge that a bathroom with a shower or tub would therefore, your options for flooring open up. You’re not just limited to tile.

Hardwood floors are popular right now, as are rich materials such as marble, which offer an upscale look. Ceramic tile is always a popular choice.  You can run the same floor material from the hallway into the powder room to create a natural flow.

In my bathroom renovation above, where I transformed the bathroom in one week-end for under $1,000. I carried the luxury vinyl plank flooring from the other room straight into the powder room.

Photo: Pinterest

This neutral but classic styled tile, adds interest and texture to this powder room.

Photo: Shelterness

Black & white floor tiles seem to be quite common for small bathrooms but they don’t have to be. In this photo above, the homeowner has chosen a neutral patterned tile sprinkled with blush pink which ties into the wallpaper pattern. How fun it this?

6. The Final Touches

Pay attention to the small details like the mirror, towel rack, toilet paper holder, pictures and even the towels and knick knacks you might put on the counter | sink.  These items don’t need to break the bank but they do have an impact on the overall appearance.  What you choose can have a positive or a negative impact on the final look so you need to choose these final items carefully, and all in keeping with the overall design of your room.

Zoe from Crafted by the Hunts paid attention to all the details in the above powder room, pulling this room together and it paid off. How stunning is this powder room? From the brass handles, the gold vessel sink, the wood block counter and detailed accessories, this powder room is gorgeous. Read all the details here.

Photo: Cameron Custom Builders

This rustic powder room above is stunning! Notice the attention to detail the builder focused on from the very cool wood block that the vessel sink is sitting on, to the board and batten walls, the faucets, mirror, and those lights!!!

Hopefully you are now inspired and have lots of ideas to tackle your powder room this week-end!

Overwhelmed?

Does picking out furniture, finishes and/or a paint color overwhelm you? I offer several different color consult, design packages & staging packages. I guarantee my work. I will make sure you’re happy. Let me help you take the stress out of choosing a paint color for you.

Click here to learn more about my online e-design, color & staging consults.

Hi! I’m Debi Collinson. Designer. Color Consultant & Real Estate Investor. 

I grew up learning how to read blue prints, going on construction sites and helping my dad, an Engineer|General Contractor|Co-Owner of a Design|Build|Engineering firm pick out paint colors for his buildings. Since 2006, I have been styling & staging hundreds of homes to make them look like they belong in a magazine page whether the client is styling to stay or staging to sell. 

In my spare time, LOL, I buy “fixer uppers” to fix up & either sell for a healthy profit or to rent. I’m currently looking for my 10th “fixer upper.” Sign up to receive my e-mails of how to make your home stunning, how to sell your house for top dollar AND how to become financially independent one fixer upper at a time! Read my full story including my design credentials here.