Powder Room – One Room Challenge: Week 1

If you would have told me that the next room that I will be renovating is the powder room for the One Room Challenge; I would have laughed and laughed some more. I mean there are more pressing rooms to do then the tiny space that is so frequently visited by my kids and guests. Like our master bathroom that does not even have a functioning light by the vanity forcing me to use the guest bathroom. Or the more fun option of renovating the formal living room where the idea of having a custom shelves for a gorgeous library would memorize any guests. The more fun option was my top choice for this years One Room Challenge but with built in shelves being out of stock for 3 months already and no date in sight for re-stocking, this option quickly fell through. With my mind set on our master bathroom and doing a full gut renovation I quickly drew up some plans that involved taking down walls. Unfortunately, this type of gut rehab requires you to be ok with dust and dirt everywhere which I could not afford during the fall season with the kids celebrating their birthdays at home and family staying over for weeks.

Over the course of several weeks as I started thinking about other options, my thoughts kept coming back to the power room and how I always wanted to try installing wallpaper. The thought has since consumed my mind and lead into the jungle of wallpaper world. Before I go into details of the design, the wallpaper I chose was my main motivation for wanting to renovate the power room. I think it is the perfect place to display the type of art this wallpaper encompasses.

Ok, now before I show you my design concept, I wanted to show you what the powder room currently looks like.

Immediately when you walk in see the vanity. The vanity top is some cheap yellow stone, the mirror has not character, and the overall vanity color is way too dark for a small space like that.

The wall in the bathroom was painted when we first moved in to gray. I thought I could make it look decent by removing the yellow walls which I think helped. The interesting parts of this bathroom is the rectangular wall above the mirror. I assume there is some kind of duct work or electrical being stored there but it sure does not help with make it look aesthetically pleasing.

Now as you might wonder, is that it? That’s it! That’s all I have to work with which will keep this project interesting because with limited space every decision has to count and make an impact.

Now for the wallpaper that has completely motivated and inspired me to transform this space.

Ta-DA!!

Aren’t these lovely birds just gorgeous? I think the large size of the heron birds will really make the power room infinitely more interesting and will provide interesting proportions. This will also be a learning process for me as I have never installed wallpaper let alone one that is not peel-and-stick. Peel-and-stick wallpaper would have been the simpler option but I could not find these lovely creatures in the peel-and-stick option so I’m looking forward to learning how to install regular paste wallpaper.

Another big feature of the bathroom is going to be brass and marble. Every time I see those two combinations together I fall in love each time. Here are a few of my favorite power rooms that have the brass and marble combination.

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As you can see from the images above not only do these have gorgeous marble and brass features but all of them also have a stunning baroque like mirror which is going to be the focal point of the power room. I’m hoping I can find a vintage gold mirror on Facebook marketplace which is where I have sourced all of my vintage decor items. If you have not tried finding something on Facebook marketplace, you must but the key is searching frequently and making offers on items you like immediately.

Anddddd here’s the design concept, which I should note, is not final. There is always room for adjustment and inspiration but for the most part this is what I’m inspiring to create.

Just looking at this design makes me happy. I look forward to sharing the transformation process and all the details as to how I’m going to get from the very first picture I listed of my powder room to this one.

Here is a quick to do list:

• Remove towel and toilet paper holder
• Remove vanity and light
• Install trim work
• Prime and sand walls
• Install wallpaper
• Paint ceiling
• Install vanity
• Source vintage mirror
• Install lighting
• Install vent

If you have missed my spring One Room Challenge room transformation, you can find it here.

If you are on Instagram, follow me on @design.playbook to watch my progress in the “ORC Powder Room” Instagram story highlights. Also don’t forget to check out featured designer and guest designers to see how they are progressing through their transformations. If you are interested in learning more about the One Room Challenge all the details are here.