Powder Baths
Fun pattern and beautiful details are the way to go in the powder bath
If you’re British like me you might be looking at that and thinking ‘What on Earth is a powder bath?’ - that’s your downstairs loo my lovely. The powder bath is what Americans call it and I, for one, think it sounds a lot more genteel than announcing that it’s the room that houses the most convenient seat in the house!
Sadly, the powder bath is an oft overlooked feature and a huge missed opportunity to add some fun into your home! Just because it’s a very functional space, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be beautiful - thinking of it in terms of outfits then the powder bath would be those earrings you add to your little black dress to let your personality shine through.
The first thing to keep in mind is that you go into this room for a specific reason, it’s not one that people are traipsing through constantly. It will have the door shut much of the time, so treat it like a little jewellery box of a room - make it special so you and your guests enjoy visiting it!
With this in mind you can afford to be a little bolder here than you might choose to in other spaces - this is the place for the brass taps you’ve clocked on Pinterest, that patterned wallpaper you saw on Insta and loved but thought there’s no way you could use it in your own home. I’m not saying go full Liberace (put down those lace swathes) but interior design is supposed to be fun, and I know that if you follow me and you’ve found your way to this blog post then you’re definitely fun!
With any room the most important place to start is how you want the room to feel - do you want drama, should it serve glamour, or is it the place you go to escape and spend 5 minutes scrolling through TikTok when the kids won’t stop asking for snacks and to borrow your phone to watch Blippi videos so it NEEDS to be tranquil?
Then keep in mind how the room is used (apart from the obvious), if people are doing makeup in here get some flattering lighting going on, not just your basic overhead. If the vibe is more chill then keep the kelvins low, we NEVER go for the cool white, got it?
Generally speaking powder baths don’t have a great deal of natural light so think about ways that you can bring in more light to the space - large mirrors, metallics, crystal, glass and other reflective surfaces like gloss paint and tiles with a sheen are all great ways of bouncing around whatever light you do have.
In terms of which colours to pick, think about where you’re starting from; do you already have an art piece in mind? Pull out colours from that. Fallen in love with a gorgeous wallpaper? Pick out a colour from that. Can’t resist those Zellige tiles? Pick a colour that works with them!
Finally, do NOT forget your ceiling! It’s the 5th wall and we’re being daring remember darling? Get that wallpaper up there or pull a colour from that wallpaper, if you just stick with a plain old white ceiling it will just look like you forgot about it. I would also strongly recommend a gloss ceiling if you’re going for high drama or glamour, just trust me when I say it’s fabulous.
Check out these hot takes on the powder bath and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
