After a long journey with a few different iterations, the powder bathroom is finished! I am so excited to share some photos and notes today, but if you just want to dive into shopping, all of the sources are at the bottom of this post!
Powder bathrooms, usually being the smallest room in the house (as it is in ours) are a great place to have fun! Try something new, pick a bold wallpaper, and let loose. It also makes for a great space to play in another way—in here, specifically with darkness and light.
Now, I’ve said it before, but I don’t really believe in the idea that you should paint small, dark rooms light to make them feel bigger. First of all, it usually backfires, because a light color in a windowless room often feels dingy, gloomy, and drab. Second, a room is the size it is! Leave it be. Why does a room always have to be bigger?
Okay, rant complete. Ready to see how we played with darkness and light? Let’s go:
Ta-da! I love it! Now, let’s dig into all the details…
Powder Bathroom Before and After
Previously, this room assaulted the eyes! I’m not really sure who would choose this orangey yellow paint color, but, thankfully, it was easy enough to cover.
We also had some bead board, which was just fine, but simply not my style. I appreciated the effort at adding some architecture, but it just felt cheap (I think this was the product they chose) and I really wanted to go floor-to-ceiling dark blue wallpaper in here! We even added some architecture back in by installing crown molding.
You can’t tell in this before photo, but we also installed new tile flooring (read more about that here!) and even a new skirted toilet. One thing we did keep? The vanity. I just gave it a new coat of paint, and I think it’s fine for now.
Wallpaper for a Powder Bathroom
Now, we really need to discuss that blue wallpaper. The word “obsessed” is overused these days, but…I am obsessed. As soon as I saw it in the Lulu and Georgia catalog when it arrived at our house, I knew it was going in our home. Luckily, Dustin also loved it.
It is a beautiful pattern by Malene Barnett and it has sort of a topographical map quality in a really lovely, geometric way.
The busyness of the pattern also served to disguise our weird little soffit in here, which I believe hides the fan duct.
You may also notice that the blue wallpaper is a bit dark. I love a dark room, so that was appealing to me, but I did want to balance it a little bit with a complimentary paint shade. We already had some Aegean Teal by Benjamin Moore leftover from the guest room, so I painted the ceiling and trim with it. I love the way it adds a little life, energy, and whimsy to this very classy wallpaper, that could feel quite buttoned-up. It really creates a balance that feels cozy but still fun!
Will I Repaint This Vanity?
While I am thrilled to have this space completed, and I don’t plan on working on it again soon, I do have some ideas of things I’d change—mostly, the painted vanity. I wanted to paint the existing vanity to save a little cash (and the headache of finding a new one, honestly), and I used Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter to match the doors and trim in the main areas of our house.
I do think it looks good with the blue wallpaper, but if I am being picky, I wish it was a darker grey color. Will I repaint? Probably. But I’ll wait a little while at least, enjoying this feeling of “done” before I give myself headaches over things that work just fine.
We also installed new gold and acrylic knobs on the vanity, as well as a new faucet that I love. It may seem simple, but it truly feels like such good quality and makes the experience of hand washing that much nicer. And couldn’t we all use a few more moments of joy, however small?
Bathroom Artwork Debates and Debacles
Let’s compare the mood board to the completed space now, shall we?
You may notice one notable and beautiful lady is missing in the completed result. Ah, the debate that ensued around her, you wouldn’t believe. It was actually very simple: our beautiful Jonathan Adler print of a Slim Aarons photograph (budget friendly version here) arrived, and as soon as I ripped open the crate (yes, crate), Dustin declared it too nice for a bathroom.
I’m just going to say quickly that he won the argument very quickly because the door would have hit the (not cheap!) print when opened, so for functional reasons the lady was moved to the kitchen.
But I think it’s so interesting to consider, no? What is “too nice” for a bathroom? What art deserves to be included in a powder bath? Sure, our guests are there for a good time not a long time, but where else does a piece of art have such an opportunity to have abundant individual attention directed at it?
In a previous version of this room, we had a small 3-piece gallery wall in here. It was nice, but I thought it would be better to take an opportunity to give one piece center stage.
Ultimately, it was a great spot for this Jaime McCarrier print from Etsy (yes, still available!). I love her work and hope to have the opportunity to snag an original someday!
Of course, the art in this room is always subject to change, but right now I’m liking the monochrome moment of the teal artwork with the shades of blue wallpaper.
Powder Bathroom Sources
Trim and Ceiling Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Aegean Teal
Vanity and Door Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
Towel Rack Shelf: Room and Board
Bikini Print (I used this frame)
Black Light Switch, Motion Switch, and Face Plate
Marble Tile (in our custom pattern): Carrara White Marble 12×12 Tile Honed; Nero Marquina Black Marble 4×12 Tile Honed; Bardiglio Gray Marble 4×4 Tile Honed
Our Lovely Dark Wallpapered Powder Bathroom
So, there you have it! Our beautiful, newly completed powder bathroom. I know wallpapered powder bathrooms are popular, and I am proud of the iteration that we created here. It feels like a nice combination of classy, cozy, and still fun—it feels like us.
Let me know in the comments: are you a wallpaper powder bathroom person? I’d love to know!
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