5 Easy Ways to Make the Powder Room Your Favorite Room in the House
One of the best and worst things about a builder grade home is how Plain-Jane it starts out. On one hand it’s boring, but on the other hand it’s a completely blank canvas that you get to paint with all of your beautiful ideas. Our downstairs powder room was one of those rooms: nothing but four walls, a sink and a toilet. Today I’m sharing five simple tips on how to turn your tiny powder room into a mighty space that you’ll actually love to spend time in.
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1. Put up wall trim
Wall trim just sounds like an intimidating task to take on. I get it. But I promise you that there are ways to put up wall trim that don’t require very many tools or experience at all. From the Japandi style that is booming as of late, you could create an accent wooden slat wall behind the toilet. Another option could be buying strips of tiny picture frame moulding that come ready to tack onto the wall. Whatever the case may be, there are levels to this DIY project and that means anyone can do it, no matter their skill level.
The wall trim I decided to go with for our powder room was a bit above my skill level, if we’re being honest, but nothing a little stubbornness (and extra caulk) couldn’t overcome. I chose examples of wall trim that I’d seen online and through a variety of sources and mixed them together in my own way on SketchUp. I also decided to paint it a different color than the rest of the wall–Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige. It’s subtle, I’ll admit, but the difference it made in the feeling of the powder room was massive. You can achieve the same with something much simpler or even more challenging than this.
2. Upgrade your lighting
You may be completely surprised by how insanely easy it is to swap out a light fixture. Small electrical jobs like these are fun to do and can make the most incredible difference in the overall look and feel of a room. Some of the most enjoyable parts of decorating a room are selecting the decorative lights. Whether you go in a moody direction and have a vintage-style, low-wattage bulb or choose a light and airy feel with sconces flanking the vanity mirror, your lighting is going to make a greater impact if it gives off the right vibe.
Our powder room was lacking character before its makeover. As much as I love the clean and airy look, sometimes it can feel a little bland. I chose a light fixture that added a bit of flair and dimension to the room with the fantastic detail of its glass lampshades. The antique brass parts inserted extra warmth and color onto the blank walls and really lit up the room in a new way. You can find fixtures that make sense for your decor by finding the warm or cool tone that you love the most and complementing it with the hardware and metal details in those fixtures.
3. Coordinate your finishings
Coordinating the tone of your fixtures like the faucet, towel ring and toilet paper holder can have a surprising effect on the eye. It draws in your attention and really pleases the mind. You might think “that’s way too much matchy-matchy-ness”, but I don’t necessarily mean matching them exactly. Coordinating and mixing metals can be done! I swear to you it is one of the most effortless ways to make the room feel complete and cohesive. Matching them is, however, much easier to pull off and feels very straightforward.
That is ultimately what I chose to do for our powder room. Once I found the beautiful light fixture, it was clear to me that I loved the antique brass look and wanted to carry it throughout the room. You can easily find a set of these small bathroom fixtures that make matching their finishes really simple. I just happened to decide that I wanted a differently shaped towel ring and a fun toilet paper holder, so mine are not completely perfect matches. They still give that same connected sense, though, and that was all I really wanted.
4. Paint or wallpaper the walls
If I could pick just one thing from this list that I feel makes the biggest impression when you open the door to a room, it would be this. The color, texture or pattern on the wall gives a feeling that is indescribable. You can sense the moodiness of a dark and deep tone and the brightness and airiness of a light tone. We are much more affected by color than we even know, so if you want to get the biggest bang out of your buck, I would absolutely choose to buy a can of paint and a paint brush and go to town. Wallpaper is taking that just one step further. A wallpapered room is such an elevated and beautiful statement to make in a home. Doesn’t it just feel like someone is saying “this is my home”?
I have textured walls, so I decided that wallpaper was for another day. Instead, I went for the paintbrush. Not only was painting the walls painless, it was quick! What’s great about testing your DIY skills on a powder room is that it is usually a very small room and a secondary toilet room. With other toilets in the house, you can really claim this room as your own until you’re done with it. While painting can seem daunting and feel like a mountain of work, one afternoon is all it takes for a powder room. One afternoon to make a world of difference. I know you can do it.
5. Add a personal touch
A powder room is a frequently-overlooked part of your house that you don’t realize just how often you have to look at. Why not make every visit more enjoyable by incorporating something memorable to look at? A personal touch could be something as small as a vase that your kids painted for you at a pottery store or an antique mirror your grandmother gave you. The way to give your powder room that extra bit of warmth comes from more than just paint color.
I added my own special “hint of heart” by hanging two custom-framed watercolor paintings above the toilet. I’ve held onto these paintings since my days of studying abroad in the South of France. They were made by my French host mom and myself. I have been planning for over a decade to frame them and a perfect reason to do so finally turned up. With the tools to build my own, I cut custom-sized mats and oak wooden frames. I think they make the perfect little addition to our powder room.
What I always like to say is, no matter what you do, you will feel an immense sense of pride and the “wow, I did that” feeling at the end of every project–big and small. That feeling never goes away and never gets old. So if you’re sitting there, reading this and thinking “I should really do this”, just do it! You will not regret making these small changes in a room that you probably go into every single day. You and your family can feel the gravity of your hard work in as little as two or three steps from this list. What a beautiful way to enjoy the everyday!
