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Let’s take a journey to another forgotten space in your home.  The Powder Room.  These little bathrooms are cute and quaint, but if they are located in an out of the way corner of the house, they sometimes get ignored. If we break this room down to its most basic components:  we have a toilet, small base cabinet and sink, a mirror and a vanity light fixture.  You know the lighting fixture I’m talking about, they look like Hollywood dressing room lights and I hate them.  See below:

Exhibit A: Public "Bathroom" Enemy Number 1

Seriously, is there anything more "blah" than these all too common light fixtures in your bathroom?  If you’ve recently bought a new home or moved into a home that has these lights, I recommend you switch them out immediately (if you have the means, of course.)  There are so many more decorative vanity lighting options out there.  No one should have to suffer with these. Whether your bathroom decor is modern or traditional, there are innumerable fixtures to choose from.

Ok, now that we can see, because we have our new light fixture turned ON, let’s talk about the largest feature of our tiny powder room, the base cabinet. The base cabinet usually sits right there as we enter the door.  And it probably takes up a significant portion of your powder room floor space.  If, however, you’re looking for a space saving, yet decorative option; consider an Elegant Pedestal Sink. These interesting small lavatories work perfectly in any powder room; even giving it a slightly upscale look. Can you think of anything more awesome than a shiney, porcelain pedestal? I mean, there’s the Pieta, the Mona Lisa and your Shiney Pedestal Sink.  The community aspect of the powder room allows more flexibility to use a pedestal sink, since no one needs a place to store their personal toiletries. The only thing to worry about is where to hide that extra roll of TP.  (Just in case you run out while on the can.)

Very Basic, You can do better!

Perhaps a pedestal sink does not fit in with your decor or tastes.  There is nothing wrong with a Base Cabinet and Vanity in your Powder Room.  I mean, my plain, old, boring base cabinet and vanity with integrated bowl and 3" splash certainly is lovely (see above).  But we can get more creative than that.  Base Cabinets come in a lot of different styles and configurations.  If I were to upgrade my bathroom, I would look at one of two trends I’m noticing in powder rooms.

This article continues on (Powder Rooms Part 2)

Continued from (Powder Rooms Part 1)




The last item you need to finish off your Pedestal Sink or Vanity Sink is a really great Faucet to bring water to your world. Just as the Pedestals and Base Cabinets come in all different styles and configurations, so do Faucets.  Its imporant to note that not all faucets fit on all sinks.  Some faucets have unique knobs on the handles. Some have twisting hot and cold knobs.  Some have levers.  So whichever interesting faucet design you choose, make sure it is compatible with the sink you buy.

If you’re going to have a sink, you will also need a item to help you fix your hair and put on your makeup. Yes, a Bathroom Mirror is vital to the powder room experience. Now, if you are like me, you may have a flat, frameless mirror that is glued to the wall above my my plain, old, boring base cabinet and vanity with integrated bowl and 3" splash.  And that is all well and good. But if we’re more design oriented with our new lights and sinks and vanities and stuff, we’re going to want a better mirror than that.  There’s no real thought provoking advice on selecting a powder room mirror.  But basically:  1. make sure it matches your theme, 2. make sure it fits the space that is alotted for it, and 3. make sure leaves room and compliments the the light fixture you put above or around it.

Please, have a seat…your Highness!

Let’s consider the most likely reason we go into the bathroom: The Toilet.  No need to be blunt about it.  If you’re queen or king of your castle, you’re going to want a Great Throne.  Toilets, like every other plumbing fixture out there, come in some very unique and interesting designs.  Most people are fine with an every day, ordinary water closet.  However, you can get creative with some unique fixtures that fit well into your newly renovated or upgraded bathroom.

So, if you have forgotten about that little powder room in your home and are thinking about upgrading it, you have many things to consider. Look at the overall theme and use that as a starting point for every design decision you make. Every piece of this puzzle should be chosen with care to create a cohesive look that builds on and compliments this space.  Styles, colors and decor are all unique to our personal tastes.   If you stick within your theme, you’ll put together a terrific space that helps the overal goal of enhancing Your Homescape.