Powerful Powder Rooms

How's your Monday morning going? Welcome back!

I've never forgotten a statement made by one of my design instructors...

"Don't neglect the powder room/guest bath in your design work. It's the one room that all of your guests will visit at one time or another."

Wise words from an experienced, knowledgeable, and PRACTICAL professor!

Jamie (Eagle Nest Custom Homes) and I spent a lot of time analyzing the plans of our Parade Home. Before the slab was poured we met to make any "adjustments". Communication is SO important between the builder and decorator... let's just say that Jamie and I have communicated a lot during this process!!!

One thing that we "adjusted" to the house plans was the layout of the powder room. The original plan showed the toilet on the back wall and the vanity on a side wall. We decided to show-case the back wall by switching up the placement of the vanity and toilet. Now, the first thing you will see when you open the door is the beautiful vanity instead of a toilet. As you can see in this picture, we've marked up the plans reflecting this change.

So, how do we make a powder room special? Let's start with the vanity: we decided to order a premade vanity from one of my furniture lines. It's a piece of furniture with a white marble countertop!

The vanity will provide ample storage for toilet paper as well as hand towels.

Now, who says a designers' life is glamorous?! There's SO much that we handle behind the scenes... like broken items! The sink on our vanity was damaged during shipping!! Good thing we ordered early. I had to contact the company, send pics of damages, then wait for the new one to come in..

As I've told you in earlier blog posts, I sourced all of our lighting at market in High Point, NC. I found the perfect pair of sconces for both sides of the mirror above the vanity. They are gorgeous and really carry on our French Quarter feel for the home!

Next, what about the back wall?? What can we do to make it special? In one of our previous homes, we tiled the wall in order to make it a beautiful focal point.

See how your eyes are immediately drawn to the beautiful glass tile.. what a statement! Needless to say, we had no problems selling this detailed spec home to some very lucky and appreciative homeowners.

Jamie and I have decided to install wall-paper in our powder room. Wallpaper?? Yes, wallpaper is back in style and is making a huge comeback. I found a fantastic wallpaper that combines all of the colors that I've used throughout the house.

This subtle colored, yet bold pattern will definitely capture your attention... in a good way! I decided to only paper the back/focal wall and I have the remaining three walls painted Sherwin Williams Greek Villa. Here's a pic of the focal wall with the wallpaper installed..

I am in LOVE with this detail!! The large pattern but soft colors make a dramatic statement!

So what does it look like all together....?

Wallpaper is up, vanity is installed, faucet is mounted, and sconces are lit! I can't believe how fabulous it all looks together.. The new homeowners' guests will surely be impressed.

Come see for yourself on April 14th and 15th as well as April 21st and 22nd at the AHBA's Parade of Homes!