Monday, January 9, 2023

Wallpapering Powder Rooms For Drama and Style

 

Traditionally just off of the entryway where a guest might pop in for a quick glance and review, the powder room today might also be tucked into a corner or even a mudroom. Many homes have a powder room/half bathroom included somewhere in their floor plan.

With wallpaper and maximalism making a huge comeback, a small powder room is the perfect space to make a major design impact by decorating with dramatic and bold wallpaper. It can be your opportunity to try something more daring that will impress any of your guests.

Wallpaper can totally transform any room by adding pattern, color, and texture to the walls in a way which paint simply can't do. In today's market there is a wallpaper pattern to suit every taste and the possibilities are endless for letting your personality take flight. Consider which pattern complements the style of your house and hopefully you will pick up some tips from this post to help make your powder room look more spacious and expensive.

Be brave, go bold, and have fun!


We will take a look at different styles of beautiful wallpapered powder rooms. From chic......


.....to packed with surprise!
Hopefully something will catch your eye and inspire you to create the powder room of your dreams.


Powder rooms are considered slightly more feminine spaces. But that doesn't mean they have to be saccharine and frilly. This beautiful peony wallpapered powder room in the home of Anthropologie founder, Colleen Bashaw is feminine but stylish and chic.


The large floral wallpaper definitely gives this powder room a feminine feel and the black background brings the drama!


Try papering your power room or small bath with a colorful Chinoiserie selection if you want femininity but not too over the top.


Small powder rooms and even baths can be virtually transformed by the use of bold wallpaper and good small space decorating knowledge.

Source: @ninamarienash on Instagram easterlingandlong.com

The Chinese floral wallpaper in this powder room is romantic and feminine all while adding the exotic to the equation.


Let's get three misconceptions out of the way right now. 1. Wallpaper is not just for large open spaces. The right paper can help to bring smaller rooms to life. 2. Dark wallpaper doesn't necessarily make a room look smaller. Actually the right paper, with unexpected drama, will make the eye focus on the room itself rather than it’s size! 3. A small space like a powder room doesn’t mean that you cannot make a style statement.
Now enjoy this elegant, old world, exotic powder room!


Be brave and experiment with darker and bold colors that actually gives this room it's character.


Although this powder room is small, it CAN embrace dark color!


For an eye-catching powder room try bold visual elements, especially with modern accents. I love the play of this interesting gray and gold wallpaper with the natural roughness of this stone sink.


Install wallpaper with a big pattern on all the walls and the ceiling of your powder room and watch it expand in size. Warm colors visually contract the eye, pull in the space, and consider it small while darker colors recede from the eye, visually enlarging the room.


Don't be afraid to choose a colorful wallpaper for your powder room. With the return of the maximalist interior you can add paintings and other design elements even if your paper is busy. Just make sure they are curated and not just clutter.


There is nothing like large wallpaper "art" to make a confident style statement. The powder room is a great place to express your personality. 


Remember that no matter where your
 powder room might be located, just make sure it flows harmoniously off the room it adjoins.

maddiehughesdesigns.com via decorpad.com

A lovely powder room with French toile patterned wallpaper. There are many other old world and traditional styles to choose from.


There are also many exciting tropical wallpapers out there. This designer has broken up the bold leaf design with black marble tile. Adding in the harlequin floor even gives an old world feel to the space.


I like to wallpaper the ceilings of small spaces like powder rooms as well. The room will appear taller because the eye will continue upward. White ceilings break the flow of the eye and bring the ceiling down.



Such an interesting choice of wallpaper. Large scale designs make a space feel larger. This is a small powder room but it does not present as a small space.




Wallpaper doesn’t have to be boldly patterned to be powerful. In this powder room a smaller scale print makes the space smaller and cozier. This is an example of how small prints scale down a space while the larger ones open the space up and make it appear larger.


You can buy a simple, pretty wallpaper and still add texture, color splash, and dynamics to any small powder room.


Since the traditional look is becoming popular once again, choose from the many wallpaper patterns that will go a long way in creating a vintage style powder room.


The wallpaper adds to the other elements that makes this a fun and vintage style powder room.



And then there are always the timeless classics like this wallpaper pattern by Brunschwig & Fils called Bird & Thistle.


If you have decided to be brave and try a bolder wallpaper in a small powder room but don't want the pattern to be overwhelming, a good choice may be to panel the lower part of the room. Then pick out a color found in the pattern and paint.


You can even panel higher on the wall and use your bolder wallpaper closer to the ceiling for a lovely powder room interior.




The popularity of the 1960's and 70's use of grasscloth is enjoying a current revival. With fresh designs being used in exciting new ways, this paper offers stunning visual texture for walls of small spaces like this powder room.



Textured wallpaper will go along way in packing a lot of style into a single decorating element.


With the right textured wallpaper, you can transform your powder room into many decorating styles from urban, to rustic, from traditional to Asian. In other words this kind of wallpaper adapts well to a variety of styles.


Wallpaper even allows for the opportunity to have your powder room walls mimic natural materials like marble, agate, or malachite.

Although papering can create stunning powder rooms, it can be expensive. Most good retailers will offer samples of their wallpapers so you can test them on the walls of your space. Look for how they look in YOUR light and see if the texture and color works for you. Always "live with" the sample for several days. Everyone involved wants you to be happy!!

There is no powder room too small to be excluded from a wallpaper makeover!







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This blog post was published by Lisa Farmer

In the event that I have not credited the correct source of an image, please contact me at lisafarmerdesigns46@yahoo.com and I will be glad to correct it.