How to Design Your Small (but Mighty!) Powder Room (2024)

We typically think of bathroom as sleek and durable, but a powder bath offers the chance to relax the rules a bit thanks to less daily usage. Here, an antique dresser-turned-marble-topped vanity brings a weathered warmth to the powder room. Designer Shannon Bowers finished the space with antique crystal sconces and soft botanical wallpaper to add a feminine touch.

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Wallpaper: “Beech” by Lewis & Wood

Last year, natural wood vanities overtook white vanities in popularity for the first time, according to the 2023 Houzz Bathroom Trend Survey. By repurposing an old dresser or table into a base, you’ll create a one-of-a-kind statement piece.

Just make sure you work with a carpenter and plumber to ensure proper installation. Heavy marble-topped pieces like this one may require structural floor support.

To keep the focus on the nature outside in this postage stamp-size powder room, the mirror hangs on a side wall. A salvaged wall-mount sink also maximizes space.

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Wall Paint Color: London Clay by Farrow & Ball

RELATED: No view? No problem. The best indoor plants to add to your bathroom.

In order to keep this all-white bathroom from feeling too sterile, designer Heidi Caillier added a splash of pattern and color via the roman shade in a bold climbing vine motif. She also added a whimsical floral detail underfoot with one-inch hexagon tiles in Carrara and Nero Marquina marble.

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Curtain Fabric: “Grace-Willow” from Michael S Smith Inc

With a whopping seven windows, this small bathroom presented a serious design challenge: where to hang the mirrors?

The ingenious solution: Suspend simple wooden mirrors from the ceiling with pulleys (purchased from a hardware store and spray-painted black) and thick sisal rope (also from a hardware store).

Singer-songwriter Holly Williams had her work cut out when renovating the bathroom in this Tennessee farmhouse fixer-upper. Green toile wallpaper and a white trough sink were fitting choices, but her signature hint of rock-and-roll came from the unexpected inky painted ceiling. The high gloss finish adds extra drama (and durability!).

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Ceiling Paint Color: Black Blue by Farrow & Ball

RELATED: More ideas for adding soul to your bathroom remodel.

Matching the color of the baseboard to the wallpaper gives the powder room a monochromatic look, which adds character to this new build in Sulphur Springs, Texas. For the full color-drenching effect, don’t forget to paint the ceiling!

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Trim Paint Color: Academy Gray by Valspar

The warm gray walls in this cottage bathroom create a subtle contrast for the warm wood tones of the hand-crafted oak double vanity. The tonal effect creates a sophistication that feels warm and inviting, especially when paired with an unlacquered brass faucet and wall sconces.

Get the Look:
Trim Paint Color: Elephant’s Breath by Farrow & Ball
Brass Sconces: “Vendome” by Visual Comfort

This 1907 converted barn on Lake Michigan went for a decidedly rustic feel in the powder bath with an industrial utility sink, chippy mirror, and quirky game-paddle collection. The painted wood floor adds subtle interest with a neutral, but graphic pattern.

For maximum durability, consider using a floor-friendly formula such as Benjamin Moore’s Floor & Patio line or give them a topcoat of Rust-Oleum Parks Pro Finisher in Crystal Clear.

RELATED: See more painted floors ideas that add tons of charm.

Any room that’s heavy on hard surfaces can benefit from some softness, not to mention stealth storage. “There are so many utility rooms in a home that become all cabinetry and appliances,” says New York-based designer Lilse McKenna. “Why not break it up a bit with a lovely fabric element?”

Here, a bright ochre linen provides a happy contrast with the green and pink ditsy floral wallpaper.

Take a note from this Maine cottage and embrace built-in architectural elements like exposed rafters. Painted in the same white as the walls and vanity, they add interest without any bulk.

Touches of green, like the homeowner’s pine tree cutout shutters (original to the house that was passed down from his grandparents!) add a nod to the outdoors.

RELATED: See more of this summery 1940s Maine cottage.

Beadboard (either installed as individual boards or as pre-made panels) is an affordable way to add instant character and charm to small spaces like a powder room. Painted in a bright, happy green and dotted with antiques, this powder bath is nothing less than show-stopping.

Get the Look:
Wall Paint Color: Bunker Hill Green by Benjamin Moore

Skirted sinks are already an economical alternative to cabinetry, but you can double down on savings by creatively repurposing vintage textiles like large tea towels, accent rugs—you name it.

Here, designer Emily Henderson used a vintage Japanese Boro Curtain to allow for storage underneath and add some texture with a textile. All you need is a tension rod paired with curtain ring clips—no sewing machine or seamstress required! Or, if you prefer a cleaner line, fold over the top edge and sew a simple rod pocket.

The homeowner of this 1904 Craftsman in McKinney, Texas spiffied-up a vintage trough sink with shiny nickel faucets that are perfectly balanced with matching chippy mirrors and a how-smart-is-that vintage tin for storage.

RELATED: See more of this charming Texas home filled with vintage finds.

An old metal basket lined with linen houses extra rolls of toilet paper beneath an antique wall-mounted sink set on cast iron legs. Other vintage vessels boasting storage cred? Baskets, crates and trunks!

RELATED: Get inspired with 20+ more ideas for bathroom storage.

Almost everything in this rustic powder bath is reclaimed—from the wood beadboard walls to the wall-mount sink. Corrugated metal paneling subs in for the usual tile wainscoting for an unexpected hit of texture.

RELATED: The best places to buy or find reclaimed wood near you.