These jewel box-sized spaces offer plenty of deliberate details to steal, from intentional pattern clashing to cutaway stone sinks
Photography courtesy Harper Harris
For some, bold prints and paint colors might be too loud for larger, high-traffic spaces like kitchens and bedrooms—but they do give powder rooms the perfect amount of oomf. These petite rooms are just the place to transcend neutrals and make a statement with riskier design schemes. In these nine half-baths, designers take imaginative leaps, treating each one as a canvas to wow.
Creative Tonic Design
Courtnay Tartt Elias of Creative Tonic Design treated this powder room like a jewel box, using plenty of pattern and reflective materials. Julie Soefer
During the renovation of a 1923 Spanish Craftsman-style abode in Houston’s Montrose area, Courtnay Tartt Elias, principal and creative director of Creative Tonic Design, transformed an architecturally challenging nook under the stairs into what she considers a jewel-box powder room. “We wanted it to be moody and chunky, to both disguise and play off of the size of the room,” Tartt Elias says. The custom sink, carved into a slab of Italian black marble, is the standout, buoyed by brass wall-mount faucets, an expanse of geometric-print Osborne & Little wallpaper, and splashes of Farrow & Ball’s saturated Black Blue shade. “Multiple mirrors, framed in gold and brass, expand the space as if adding a window,” she points out.
Annie Downing Interiors
Soft lighting was the key to success in this powder room by Annie Downing, who installed a pair of alabaster sconces to set the mood. Lindsay Brown
Since the powder room of this new build in Austin’s Barton Creek neighborhood lacked a window, local designer Annie Downing paid careful attention to the lighting. “Too harsh and it deters people from looking in the mirror,” she notes. “A softer glow is welcoming.” Her solution? A pair of alabaster sconces flanking a steel mirror. (All three pieces are from Arteriors.) The client, for whom Downing has now designed three homes, desired a mix of textures and materials, so she responded with designer Kelly Wearstler’s abstract graphic Graffito 2 grasscloth wallpaper for Lee Jofa, Watermark’s Brooklyn faucet with an onyx handle, and “a floating, integrated stone sink to achieve a combination that is both cohesive and interesting.”
Kate Figler Interiors
For a guest bath in Nashville, Kate Figler followed the client’s request for blue and white by applying allover pattern on the walls. Allison Elefante
Her client’s request to showcase blue and white in the powder room led Kate Figler to envelop the space in Quadrille’s Bali Hai wallpaper and paint the millwork a soft, matching hue. Part of a large-scale Nashville project the local designer oversaw from scratch, the guest bath is a whimsical contrast from the muted tones found throughout the rest of the house. She may have “brought the drama with pattern and color,” as Figler puts it, but it’s balanced with classic elements. The unlacquered brass plumbing fixtures were incorporated because “we love the way this finish patinas over time,” she explains, and the console sink “felt like a fun departure from a typical vanity and added the glamour that we were looking for.”
Mead Quin
Moody and romantic was the goal for Mead Quin when designing this dark powder room for a Lake Tahoe home. Lisa Romerein
Hand-plastered walls custom tinted a velvety gray wrap the powder bath in a San Francisco Bay Area family’s retreat on the east shore of Lake Tahoe. One of the few rooms in the home without a window, the room was an opportunity for designer Mead Quin to conjure an atmosphere that was “beautifully aged, moody, and romantic,” says the principal and founder of the eponymous Emeryville, California, studio. “We chose pieces and finishes that felt lived-in. The combination of movement and textures played a big role in making the small space feel special.” The Pyrolave lava stone vanity, for example, is anchored by a Quin-designed base brought to life by Rocky Mountain Hardware, and the Gregorius Pineo mirror finished in hammered metal is straddled by dark pewter sconces from Remains Lighting.
Studio DB
Gucci’s vibrant Heron wallpaper adds drama to this powder room in a New York apartment designed by Studio DB.
This powder room in a family’s prewar apartment off New York’s Central Park is conveniently adjacent to a bar and dining area. Britt Zunino, partner and principal of Studio DB, knew that Gucci’s vibrant Heron wallpaper would make a dramatic impact in the tiny lair, since her client works in fashion. “They love the feel of older Parisian apartments with traditional architectural details juxtaposed with contemporary furniture, art, and vintage pieces,” explains Zunino, who layered in refined materials like colorful marble and unlacquered Waterworks brass fittings. Those dressier finishes marry with the likes of a playful concrete tile from Popham Designs to create what she calls “a polished space, but nothing too serious.”
Maya Williams Design
Combining emerald quartz, rich colors, and golden accents, Maya Williams created “something completely unanticipated” for the powder room in this Trousdale Estates residence. Todd F. Goodman
For a bright-white modern residence in Beverly Hills’ Trousdale Estates development, local designer Maya Williams had plenty of powder room ideas. Williams was keen to do “something completely unanticipated,” so she designed a sink and vanity fashioned out of “mesmerizingly gorgeous emerald quartz, which I also used on the corresponding walls,” she says. The quartz is “naturally reflective, so it adds an illusion of depth, while the dark, rich colors play on the psychology of relaxation and intimacy.” Additional jolts of sophistication come courtesy of a custom Area Environments wall covering, a gold mirror from Made Goods, Jiun Ho sconces, and German photographer Ellen von Unwerth’s black and white snapshot of a carefree Naomi Campbell.
Scheer & Co.
Set underneath a Paul Ferrante mirror, a bespoke wood-and-stone vanity makes a statement in this Texan powder room.
Austin–based Scheer & Co. weaved unexpected moments throughout the remodel of a local abode, and the powder room was no exception. It was once a “boring, beige space,” says Killy Scheer, founder and principal of the firm. “Now, it’s a jewel box that encourages a sense of discovery.” Set underneath a Paul Ferrante mirror, the bespoke vanity references wooded cabinetry found elsewhere in the residence. But the marbled peach-and-wine wallpaper from Cat Alexander Design Studio “became the foundation for the room’s palette,” says Scheer. Chocolate-hued Ann Sacks tile matches the mood while “introducing a pattern that contrasts with the scale of the wallpaper.” Marble on the sink also meets hardwood floors for a true lesson in mixing materials.
Altra Studio
Ceppo di Gré stone makes a statement in this Tribeca powder room. Photo by Petrini Studio
For the revamp of a Tribeca triplex in New York, local practice Altra Studio crafted a powder room defined by bold stone. Sleek and jagged slabs of Italian Ceppo di Gré from ABC Stone clad the wall, cascading down the sink and onto the floors. “While the clients liked marble, they felt that many options appeared overly polished or visually dominant,” says principal Alessandra Travaini. “Ceppo di Gré stands out for its natural character and organic texture, which bring warmth and calm to the space.” When balanced out by Flos lighting and House of Rohl fixtures, the edgy statement becomes approachable.
Harper Harris
Considering the rest of this Alabama house is “light and airy, this room catches you a little off guard,” says Amanda Hickam. Photography courtesy Harper Harris
Prior to Harper Harris’s renovation of a home in Birmingham, Alabama, the powder room was located just past the front door. “It was about the size of an airplane bathroom—and about as charming,” says Amanda Hickam, studio owner and lead designer. She relocated it to a new corridor off the transformed entry, “where it feels far more private and intentional.” Then, she swathed the space in charcoal grey Clé Zellige tiles and installed a floating Calacatta viola marble vanity. The traditional, handmade texture of the tiles “keeps the dark color from feeling flat or severe,” says Hickham. A vintage brass bowl and Pindler black linen café curtain heighten the drama, as does Kelly Wearstler’s antique-burnished brass and etched crystal sconces for Visual Comfort.
Architectural Digest – Alia Akkam,