Way back in January before there was a worldwide pandemic, I started planning for a powder room renovation. It would be done by March! Before my book launch party. Yeah... the book launch party that never happened because a pandemic happened and no one could be near one another. That book launch. Needless to say, nothing about 2020 has gone to plan, but we did manage to finally get that powder room started... in June. The project is now finished (sans wallpaper), and I can hardly believe the results!
Note: many of the products featured were gifted by sponsors. See the bottom of this post for details. As always, I only use products I love.
The Concept
The idea for this room was to give it a colorful yet sophisticated Art Decor look with loads of light.
Here's a look at the original design board.
the design
In designing this space, one of the things I thought a lot about was contrasting elements and repetition of elements. You'll notice that the white vanity contrasts the tile, as does the gold hardware and lighting. But you may also notice a lot of repetition of shapes. The scallop of the tile is repeated in the scallop shape of the light. The mirror mimics this as well. You'll also see that I added vases with rounded shapes to again mimic the shape of the tile. Overall, there's an art deco/old Hollywood vibe going on in this space.
the tile
The original plan was to create a fan shape using the green penny tiles, but in the end that proved too complicated. We ended up going with a scallop or "mermaid" tile in a medium size, with the rounded part facing up to give it that fan affect.
Sponsor, Mercury Mosaics provided the plan (see specs at the bottom of this post).
the vanity
We had a custom floating vanity installed using gorgeous
Caesarstone Calcutta Nuvo. Caesarstone has an outstanding performance quality, and in a bathroom directly next to my studio where I paint, I wanted to make sure that if I happened to get something on the counter, it wouldn't be destroyed. (I have vowed to use the utility sink in the laundry room regardless, but let's just say I'm not trustworthy.)
the hardware and plumbing
To contrast both the tile and the vanity, we added gold accents. The faucet provided by Signature Hardware is the Vintage Widespread faucet in brushed gold with lever handles.
Along with that we installed a rectangular porcelain undermount sink. And even the plumbing beneath the vanity, which is visible is a gorgeous brass trim kit.
On the right wall, we installed a brushed gold towel ring in the same Vintage Collection from Signature Hardware. And even the TP holder is gorgeous. Signature Hardware also provided a toilet for this room. We got the Kaminsky dual-flush one piece elogated toilet. I specifically wanted a dual flush to save water.
the lighting
For some added Art Deco/Old Hollywood style, I added Hopper Sconces by Corbett Lighting designed by Martyn Bullard. Additionally, I added mood lighting beneath the vanity to highlight the tile at night.
natural light
In addition to the tile feature walls, a floating vanity, new lighting and gorgeous new hardware plus a new sink and toilet, we also added a wonderful new Velux skylight to this windowless room... a total game changer. The Velux skyight is no leak solar powered "Fresh Air" Skylight with a solar powered blind. That translates to... the skylight easily opens with a touch of a button and there's a light filtering blind that can be opened and closed as well. Making this even more incredible, there's a weather sensor on the skylight, so if I leave it open and it's going to rain, it automatically shuts. If you haven't considered skylights before, I HIGHLY recommend it. We only have to turn lights on in the powder room at night now, it creates a whole mood unto itself. And I don't know about you, but I crave and need light. So any windowless room or hallway is a candidate for a Velux product.
The To Do List
We did all of the following in this order. One note to make is that it would be easier to install the tile that goes underneath the sink before the vanity goes in, but Super Husband was unsure of where the plumbing below would end up, so he wanted the sink installed before the lower tile in order to be able to adjust if necessary. This meant the tiler would have to crawl under the vanity. Not fun, but it was the situation at hand.
1. Have skylight installed.
2. Demolish existing vanity.
3. Remove wall to wall mirrors
4. Remove toilet
5. Move plumbing so it's center on the wall.
6. Updated outlets.
7. Install electric for sconces.
8. Repair drywall as needed
9. Build frame for vanity.
10. Have new vanity installed.
11. Paint the room (Ideally, this wold have been better before the vanity was installed, but we missed the mark with our timing.)
12. Place French Cleat for mirror to hang over tile. (We wanted to make sure we knew this would go in a stud, and we would not have to hang something heavy directly in the tile.)
13. Install tile. (We planned on doing this ourselves, but when Super Husband got a load of the install plan and all the cuts he'd have to make he decided it was something to outsource.)
14. Install faucet.
15. Install new toilet
The following companies sponsored this project: