The Powder Room REVEAL

Well today is the big REVEAL. My mini-makeover of our Powder Room is practically complete. There are a couple of special order items I'm waiting for but the majority of the make-over is done. If you remember from my design board posted earlier this month, I wanted to give the room some punch and I wanted to leave the textured, tan wallpaper intact on the lower part of the wall. Since I use lots of earthy, warm colors throughout my house, the eggplant upper walls were painted a lovely shade of dark red which flows much better with the entry, foyer and lower hall. Let's take a look:

Just to refresh your memory I've posted a couple of "before" pictures.

Here you see the dark eggplant walls. The walls were painted this shade when I bought the house and I knew I wanted to change the color. But one thing after another took priority over this little space. The Paris street scene border was replaced and a decorative molding was added at the bottom to add depth.

Kind of bland compared to the rich color of the makeover. I just love RED and animal print! For this little powder room, it was the perfect combination.
I found the cheetah print towels at Marshalls, the border and paint came from Lowe's, the mirror is a vintage piece from Home Interiors. I moved it from an upstairs bedroom.

I added a plate stand and placed a decorative plate with a Palm Tree motif ringed with cheetah print over the towel rack. I also added two metal scroll-work sconces and ball candles.

Here is a close-up of the wall border. I really love the colors and pattern. I am on the hunt for more Zebra print accessories. I just love those stripes!

This wall cabinet holds a collection of decorative accessories. Since this space is used infrequently, I did not have to be concerned with practical issues such as storage for toiletries. A metal stand is used below to store extra tissue and hand towels.

I found this giraffe statue and added him to the mix. His coloring and pattern fit nicely with my exotic "safari" look.

I love the antique finish and crystal finial on the towel rack.

We are waiting for the faucet and hardware for the flusher on the toilet. After these are installed my mini-makeover will be complete. All in all, this little project cost just a little over $125. The power of paint goes a long way in transforming any space. The fun border and accessories add interest and whimsy. I hope you've enjoyed looking around.

Tomorrow is Tuesday and our tablescape day has been moved to Thursday and I will be posting a new table featuring an unusual color scheme. I hope you will stop by to check it out. Until then,

Happy Decorating!

~Alisa

Powder Room Power - Our Design Board

Happy New Year Everyone! What a great year this is going to be! I am really excited about the new projects we will get accomplished, the tricks and tips we will learn, and most importantly the inspiration that will be shared in "blog-land". To kick of our first project of 2009, I wanted to feature a Powder Room "re-do". That's my term for reworking a space that is tired and outdated. About three years ago we bought the house we currently live in. The ONLY room in the house that the previous owner had decorated was the Powder Room. Go figure! Every other room still looked like the turn-key finish of the builder - creamy beige walls, white glossy trim, sandy white carpeting - but the Powder Room was not so neutral. Dark eggplant walls, a Paris street scene border and textural tan wallpaper on the lower portion of the wall. Let's take a look:

See what I mean? A little tired. The features that are redeeming are the pedestal sink - always a classic, the hardwood floors- still in excellent shape, and the white fixtures - no crazy decorator colors that would be hard to work with. So, basically this little room just needs a cosmetic makeover! With a little creativity, punches of color that will connect with the rest of the house, and a few thoughtful accessories, we will give this Powder Room panache!

Powder Rooms usually get overlooked in the decorating process. But they are the perfect place to add "over the top" drama! Because Powder Rooms are usually small and used infrequently, you needn't be afraid to go a little "wild" here. Bright or bold color will not be unlivable. It's also alot of fun to really add an element of surprise to this room. You want your guests to be "wow"ed! As I started to conceptualize the new design, the first thing that I looked for was an inspiration piece. I wanted to create a dramatic focal point on the first wall you see which is the back wall. Well, I found it and I will show you that in a moment. Having the inspiration and color scheme now in mind, I first began to shop for a mirror to replace the awkward square frame with the round center mirror. I wanted something chunky - a statement piece. I knew we were going to go with an "antique bronze" or "antique gold" finish.
Here's just a peek at the frame of the mirror that was chosen.



I also knew I wanted to get rid of the towel holder. The silver with white accent was too "cottage-y" for the new scheme. We will replace this with something more dramatic
and save this to recycle later.


Lighting was our next concern. This fixture was in good shape but the wrong style,
finish and size for the space. In the recycle bin it will go!

Below is a possibility for the new lighting fixture. It has an antique bronzey-gold finish and the size and span of the arms will work nicely in the space above the new mirror. This fixture is from Lowe's Home Improvement and is currently on mark-down.
Hey, I'm all for saving money!

Since we were changing the mirror and lighting we needed to change out the hardware on the toilet. The white tank and bowl are in great condition and will stay but the flush lever will be changed out.

The one we selected was the rubbed bronze lever shown below. Another find at our local Lowe's store. It is just a little darker than our light fixture and works well with our design scheme.

Next up, the faucet. The one below will be replaced. The shiny chrome just isn't what is needed. This is by far our greatest expense in the re-do. Faucets can get very pricey but if you shop on-line, check vintage hardware stores and do your research, you sometimes can score a real bargain. Unfortunately, after exhausting several sources, I could not find what I wanted, so back to Lowe's I go to find the right faucet for the Powder Room.

Here is the one we selected. As you see the rubbed bronze finish ties in with the new hardware on the toilet. The line of the curved faucet neck and the handles play off the line and curve of the light fixture that has been selected.

Next we turned our attention to the walls. Remember me telling you that I found my inspiration? Well, from that inspiration I came up with a Red and Chocolate Brown color scheme. Red, gold, black, brown and cream are used throughout the formal spaces of the house and the Powder Room is in close proximity to those areas and the Entry Hall.

Seen here are the two paints that will be used.

Both of these colors are from the Eddie Bauer Home collection of paints.

The red is called GRENADINE (EB38-3) and the brown is called CANOE (EB46-1).

The red will be painted over the current eggplant walls and the brown will be used on a new decorative molding that will be installed. Now for the inspiration piece - go on, take a look below.

I LOVE this border! What punches of color and pattern! A very strong and dramatic statement in a very small space. Most of the time I stay away from using wallpaper and borders because I hate having to strip them when it's time to "re-do" a room. However, in small spaces like a Powder Room, I'm game! The border features a cheetah, lion and zebra - Oh my!

The plan is to replace the existing border and reposition the new border slightly. A decorative molding will be added below the border and painted brown. The wall above the border will be painted red and the wall below the molding will be left as is - wallpapered in the textural tan paper currently used. It's a perfect match to the tones in the body of the lion and the texture adds interest and depth to the wall.

Lastly, we will add layers of color, pattern and texture with hand towels in red, cream and cheetah print. Wicker baskets will give us some needed storage

for extra bathroom tissue, soap and lotions.

I think I'm gonna love the finished result. It's British Colombian meets the Ritz Carlton.

Taping off the space and painting will begin this weekend. It will take a day or two to treat the walls, then another day to change out the hardware, lighting fixture, faucet and to accessorize the space. I'll post the finished product as soon as possible!

I hope you have enjoyed reviewing my "design board". It's always fun to pull the pieces together and work the decor puzzle. Starting with the border helped me to define my color pallet and theme for the room. Once that was established, the rest was easy.

Tomorrow I will share a post about decorating with mirrors. I hope you will join me.

For more inspiration go on over to http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/ and check out a Powder Room makeover that Rhoda completed for a client!

Happy Decorating!

~ Alisa