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freshen up your powder room

Welcome to All in the Detail... I am so glad you are here!


Use Your Powder Room to Make a Statement  
I have to admit that bathrooms and kitchens are probably my top two favorite design projects for a home. There are so many layers, textures, surfaces choices…. all in one compact space. For example, with just a few simple decisions and a little careful planning, you can give your small half bath lots of personality. 

floor plan 2

The best powder rooms serve the basic functions of a bathroom, but they do so with grace and charm. Their small footprints have no correlation to their overall importance. The powder room is one space where items might be examined up close and personal. All guests at one time or another will see your powder room.

Design it well, and you put your best foot forward. The trick is to turn the challenges of designing a powder room - the small size, the mundane functionality, the all-too-common lack of windows - into opportunities.

Use the space to display art that is better viewed up close; to experiment with layered lighting; or to hang a striking antique mirror.

Above all, remember… make a statement.


make a statement 2
Because they tend to be small, powder rooms may pack more design punch per square foot than any other room in your home. You can make them spectacular and… even outlandish, if you want. They're ultimate accessory rooms, like little jeweled boxes. Want to go a little outlandish? An extremely ornate mirror can be appropriate for a powder room, where it can be admired up closely. You can anchor the small but elegant space with an antique chest that has been converted to a vanity and add antique sconces affixed to beautifully patterned wallpaper. 
up close  


Powder Room floor plan
Are you planning to update an existing powder room, transform a full bath into a half, or carve out a new spot within an existing floor plan? A larger space may have more design leeway, but in a tiny room, every item must function, fit, and contribute to the aesthetic. 


master plumber
I highly recommend that you talk to a master plumber. All sorts of obstructions - joists, ductwork, and electrical lines - lurk behind walls and under floors. Before you site or move a sink or toilet, ask a plumber if you can run pipes through the wall and if your old pipes are up to today’s building code standards 


 

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One way to add more punch to a small space is to include an oversized mirror to make a space feel larger and instead of a heavy vanity, add a sink bowl on a wall so that it appears like its floating in midair. This won’t take from the floor space and will deceive the eye into visualizing a small bath as a larger bath. 
small bath
 


complete-half-baths-09
If possible, avoid placing the toilet where it's visible from the front door when the powder room door is open. When the hostess gestures to the second door on the left, one should not be staring at the toilet. 
toilet 

 
classic
A Classic Powder Room can be created by combining clean lines and an elegant vanity with crystal light fixtures and tone-on-tone wallpaper to please your classic taste. 


mixed lighting
Mixing lighting sources is a great way to add warmth and character to a Classic Powder Room. When there are no windows in a Powder Room, I like to go with a moody, atmospheric feeling. Try enhancing the lighting with rich, patterned wallpapers such as damask.

You can give your small bath lots of personality with a little careful planning. The trick is to turn the challenges of designing a powder room into opportunities.

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