Powder room designs can run the gamut from bold jewel boxes with punchy pops of color, to serene and minimalist spaces tucked away within a home. Whatever the style direction, these 14 designers made sure to keep things fresh and interesting in what could otherwise be an overlooked room.
POTOMAC, MD
Design: Annie Elliott Design
Photography: Jenn Verrier
“The client had found a hilarious painting of a dog in colonial dress, and we thought the powder room would be the perfect spot for it!” shares Annie Elliott of this fun space. “We chose a whimsical wallpaper from Brunschwig & Fils – Battle of Valmy – and continued the lighthearted spirit with blue penny tile on the floor. A sheer curtain provides privacy while allowing light to flood the tiny space, and the petite console sink is the perfect scale.” Floor tiles: Waterworks | Curtain fabric: Romo | Painting: from a vintage shop in Bethesda, Maryland
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Design: Cusp Interiors
Photography: Brad Knipstein
“We knew we wanted to bring an infusion of color and incorporate pieces by female artists,” explains designer Ashi Waliany of this Pacific Avenue condo. For the jewel-box powder room walls, botanical designs by decorative artist Caroline Lizarraga ticked both boxes.
GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY
Design and Photography: Nesta Studio
Paired with an elegant, handblown pendant light in a cloud-like shape, a woven silk wallcovering softens the weighty stone sink in this sophisticated powder room. “New York can be hard and difficult, and I wanted to create a calm space for [the homeowners],” says designer Larysa Sendich.
NEW ORLEANS, LA
Design: Hattie Sparks Interiors
Photography: Jacqueline Marque
This is a second home for the owner, and he wanted the space to reflect the vibrancy of New Orleans and pay homage to local artists. Designer Hattie Collins utilized color, texture and bold pattern to get the job done – including this Cole and Son wallpaper in the powder room.
AUSTIN, TX
Design: Studio Gild
Photography: Mike Schwartz
A jaunty powder room is tiled in Tierra y Fuego Eight Point Star Mudejar and Cross in this Austin home. To infuse a feeling of calm and unity throughout the residence, the palette was limited to soft white paint colors, such as Farrow & Ball’s Shaded White. To add warmth and age, burnished brass and oil-rubbed bronze became the metal of choice for all hardware and decorative lighting.
MONTECITO, CA
Design: Birgit Klein
Photography: Sam Frost Studio
No space in this home is too small to make a statement in the Montecito home of designer Birgit Klein. The dark and dramatic powder room, for example, is a favorite among Klein’s friends. “We sourced this old sink and built a base out of reclaimed wood,” the designer describes. “Then, we added more contemporary light fixtures and it’s just stunning. It’s like a jewelry box.”
AUSTIN, TX
Design: Killy Scheer
Photography: Ryann Ford
In homage to the family’s fondness for reading, this powder room is papered in a pattern of classic paperback novels, stacked one on top of the other, library-fashion.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Design: JKA Design
Photography: Christopher Stark
This powder room might be the smallest space in the home, but it may very well make the biggest, boldest statement of them all with its blood-red custom vanity, Damien Hirst Butterfly Kaleidoscope wallpaper, and stunning Keystone Prunella slab marble countertop, backsplash, and baseboard & floor border.
NAPERVILLE, IL
Design: Lauren Collander Interiors
Photography: Marina Storm
The design in this powder room is masculine and modern with a floating vanity, moody lighting, and a graphic black wallpaper.
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Design: Glenna Stone Interior Design
A whimsical painting by Donald Roller Wilson titled “Cookie” greets guests in this powder room. “‘Cookie’ is fun and cheeky, which is a bit of a departure for a powder room but definitely fits with the clients’ personalities and the liveliness of the wallpaper,” says Stone.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
Design: Dana Alpeter
Photography: Jeff Johnson
A Jim Thompson Ylang silk chinoiserie wallcovering makes this small powder room pop.
BROOKLYN, NY
Design: Jennifer Morris
Photography: Jacob Snavely
True to the homeowner’s love of pattern, the element takes on the hero role in several rooms of this Arts and Craft style home. Pictured here: JQLYN & Co.’s blue Gaia lines the walls of this powder room.
MANHATTAN, NY
Design: Michael K. Chen Architecture
Photography: Max Burkhalter
Paneling conceals a powder room with a spectacular blue marble vanity and integrated cove lighting. Stone vanity in figural Cassiopeia marble; Curved Venetian plaster walls with LED cove lighting; Sconces by Lindsey Adelman; Custom bronze mirror by Kin and Company; Faucet by Vola.
PARK SLOPE, NY
Design: The Brooklyn Home Company
Photography: Emily Gilbert
In this Park Slope brownstone, a sliding barn door of a powder room addresses the space challenge by not opening out or in. The gestural gold slashes on it reference Kelly Wearstler’s “Channels” wallpaper for Groundworks inside.
HOUSTON, NY
Design: Nina Magon
Photography: Julie Soefer
This powder room got a glam uplift with a wall of mirrored patterned glass tile cornering a concrete-like grey one.
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