Let’s Consider the Powder Room

Your powder room is perhaps some of the the most hard-working square footage in your house, used by residents and guests multiple times each day. This is particularly true as we enter the season of parties and house guests.

Following are some undomesticated powder room inspirations and ideas for making quick but impactful updates.

On the left is Rachel’s powder room. The center and right images are of Ann-Marie’s “bathroom lobby” right outside her bathroom.

Rachel’s powder room: Wallpaper is vintage, purchased on Ebay in the late 90’s and the fourth home where it’s been used. The lion rug was there before the wallpaper went up and she thought it would be overkill or too on-the-nose, but turns out she loves it still. Note elevated burlap-y texture in the Roman shade which also speaks to the 70’s vibe.

Ann-Marie’s “bathroom lobby”: decorated so that it feels like part of the bathroom and closet/dressing area. The wallpaper is Thibaut circa 2017 — she loves the way the pattern looks fairly traditional from afar, but up close is decidedly wild.

Ideas for Updating Your Own Powder Room

Powder rooms in general are mostly hard surfaces. We like to layer in textiles and textures of all kinds wherever possible.

Rugs: Our small vintage Turkish rugs can fit just about anywhere. Fun animal rugs are back in stock. Does anyone else feel like tigers are having another moment these days?

Windows: Layer the window treatment for privacy, light control, and just plain decoration. We’re having a love affair with cafe curtains right now.

Storage: We’ve seen bathrooms transformed by a simple sink skirt, which gets double points for providing oft-needed "storage” for TP, etc.