Powder Room Refresh
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When we moved into this house, every inch of it needed to be remodeled and revamped. With Joe and I having a burning love for traditional design, we needed to add every bit of that to this 1970’s home. You see, it was a spec build and was not really supposed to be a forever home. But somewhere lines got crossed and it landed in the hands of one owner before us. So when we moved in, you could imagine, the house was in need of some serious loving, including our sweet little powder room.
So we started but doing a full gut, There wasn’t a bit of it that could be salvaged.
————> Insert demo photos here <————-
I started with the “easiest” part and immediately pulled down the dated floral wallpaper. If you have ever taken down traditional 40+ year old wall paper, you can definitely relate to how tedious of a task that was, even with such a small space. While I am a lover of wall paper, and one would maybe say masachist, as I have great plans of re-installing wall paper in this little space, this yellow floral mirage needed to go.
————> Insert me pulling down the wall paper photos <————-
Now we had a nice clean slate, ready for the cozy traditional elements to be installed.
To start with, our foyer floor flows into our mudroom and I immediately knew for this house I wanted a slate foyer floor. So the slate was installed. We fortunately have a great friend from our home town who is a stone worker and was gracious enough to make the drive to come install our slate floors.
Once the slate floors were installed, next was our wall paper installation. I had grand plans of installing this myself, however, after meeting with the coolest wallpaper installer, Ellen the Wallpaper Hanger, I discovered I was going to be WAY over my head with the print that I chose for the powder room. With Ellen’s amazing reputation, I didn’t hesitate at giving her the gig.
————> Insert wall paper install photos <———-
Next was installing the wainscoting and paint. My husband and I are suckers for wainscoting and panel molding. If you want to cozy up a room, add either either one of these, voila! So we worked with tongue and groove board to add our wainscoting and then finished it off with the chair rail. Now it was time to paint, before our wallpaper got installed. Now, there are a lot of fabulous chocolatey-reds to choose from! However, we were able to narrow it down to four fabulous red colors that you can read my review about HERE. However, the color we ultimately ended up choosing was Death by Chocolate by Behr in their Dynasty Marquee line. OH! She is beautiful. Deep, dark just like you want your chocolate and luscious enough to make your heart flutter.
———> wainscoting pictures <———
Now I am not one to toot my own horn, but I just might have to on the next piece that was installed, our bathroom vanity. In a world full of fast furniture, I have a terribly hard time buying furniture pieces and feeling like I made a great investment. Now that’s not to say I don’t partake, I love me some great pieces from Wayfair, Target and Amazon just to name a few, however, I wanted this vanity to feel like a piece of furniture.
So one day, I was driving through town and what I have learned is that I live in a little microcosm of very talented craftsmen. Well much to my surprise while at the stop light, a large truck pulled up with silhouette stickers of three labs and a logo on the side that read “Brown Dog Woodworks”. I immediately sped back home and proclaimed to my husband, “ I have found our guy!”. I honestly had no idea what type of work he did, but I knew he loved dogs and anyone who proclaims that in their business name is a friend and partner of mine. So after reaching out to Browndog Woodworks, and speaking to the owner, Henry, who is a super cool guy, we mapped out the vanity base of my dreams. With turned legs and walnut stained oak, it was a beaut!
We next worked back with a local stone shop and picked out a gorgeous remnant piece of marble. The marble shop was Bradley Stone located in Solon, Ohio and they were lovely to work with. I learned so many great tips for picking out and selecting marble for you home, which you can read about here. (Write blog about Marble Tips and Tricks)
We ended up going with remnant piece of marble that was absolutely perfect for the look and feel we were going for and finished it was an Ogee beveled edge and back splash.
Alright, wallpaper installed, wainscoting and trim installed and painted, and paper hung. This Place was straying to feel like the cozy, elegant powder room of my dreams.
With all of that finished, we need to make decisions on a few finishing fixtures: the toilet, sink hardware and the vanity hardware.
Now choosing a toilet will definitely be an entire blog of it’s own and quite honestly, I had no idea I could be so opinionated about a toilet, however we ultimately landed on the Kohler Memoirs 1.28 GPF Two-Piece Elongated Comfort Height Toilet . We landed here for a few reasons. The first being I loved the traditional design and look of this toilet, along with the comfort height. Currently in our home, our toilets sit about 14” off the ground which for tall people, which we are, feels like a free fall every time you went to use the loo. Second, I loved that it had a skirt that cut back immensely on those stupid nooks and crannies that are immediately arthritis inducing when you are trying to clean it (IYKYK).
Next we installed our faucet which was the Kingston Brass English Classic 1.2 GPM Widespread Bathroom Faucet in a Polished brass finish and finished the vanity off with a drawer pull bar on the front panel for hand towels to hang from Rejuvenation Hardware.
To finish off the space we installed two new sconces and a beautiful brass mirror, which then got switch out for the perfect mirror, a mahogany stained oval mirror which was just right. And balance out my traditional French toile wallpaper. Lastly, I found the most perfect trashcan in an all over English hunt print and a nice rectangle rattan basket to store extra refills in. Up top on the vanity I added a reeded glass hand soap dispenser and a LAFCO Reed diffuser.
I couldn’t be happier with this space! It’s exactly the cozy, welcoming and full of character power room that I wanted. Considering the houses’ condition, this is the best spot in the house at the moment! While there are a few finishing details I have left in mind for this space, I am absolutely in love with this cutie little powder room!
Version 1:
Powder Refresh
When we first moved into this house, every inch of it was screaming for a remodel. With Joe and I having a deep love for traditional design, we were more than ready to bring that timeless style into this 1970s home. The house had been built as a spec home—not exactly meant to be a forever space. Somewhere along the way, it ended up in the hands of one owner before us, and by the time we arrived, it was in desperate need of some TLC. That included our little powder room, which—let’s just say—had a lot of potential.
We jumped in with a full gut job. Not a single thing in that room could be saved.
————> Insert demo photos here <————-
I decided to start with what seemed like the easiest part—tearing down the outdated floral wallpaper. If you’ve ever had the joy of removing 40+ year-old wallpaper, you know it’s not exactly a walk in the park, even in a small space. While I’m all for wallpaper (and may or may not be a bit of a masochist), this yellow floral relic had to go.
————> Insert me pulling down the wallpaper photos <————-
Now we were left with a clean slate, and that’s when the real fun began—time to bring in those cozy, traditional elements.
First on the list: wainscoting and paint. Joe and I are absolute suckers for wainscoting and panel molding. Seriously, it’s one of the quickest ways to add warmth and charm to any room—and trust me, this powder room needed all the cozy vibes it could get. We used tongue-and-groove boards to create the wainscoting, finishing it off with a charming chair rail to add that extra touch of classic elegance.
———> Wainscoting pictures <———
Next came the fun part—paint. Now, choosing a rich, cozy color for a small powder room can be a bit overwhelming, but Joe and I narrowed it down to a few beautiful chocolatey-reds (lwhich I’ll be reviewing soon!). In the end, we chose Death by Chocolate from Behr’s Dynasty Marquee line. Oh, she’s gorgeous—deep and dark, just like you want your chocolate, with a richness that makes your heart skip a beat.
With everything else in place, it was finally time to dive into wallpaper installation. After carefully sifting through countless options, I landed on a stunning French toile de Jouy pattern with a bit of a sporty, equine flair from Perigold. xOriginally, I had grand plans of doing it myself, but after meeting Ellen the Wallpaper Hanger, I quickly realized I was way over my head with the print I had chosen for this space. With Ellen’s amazing reputation, I didn’t hesitate for a second to hand over the reins.
————> Insert wallpaper install photos <———-
Now, I’m not one to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty darn proud of the next piece: our bathroom vanity. In a world full of fast furniture, it’s hard to find something that truly feels like an investment. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Wayfair or Target find, but for this powder room, I wanted a vanity that felt like furniture.
One day, while driving through town, I saw a truck with a logo reading “Brown Dog Woodworks” and a silhouette of three labs. I knew right then I had to find out more. I rushed home and declared, “I’ve found our guy!” I didn’t even know what kind of work he did, but I knew anyone with dogs in their logo was a friend of mine. I reached out to Henry at Brown Dog Woodworks, and together, we designed the vanity of my dreams. Turned legs, walnut-stained oak—it was a beauty.
We then headed to Bradley Stone, a local stone shop, to pick out the perfect remnant piece of marble. The folks at Bradley Stone were a joy to work with, and I learned so much about selecting marble for your home (look for a blog post on that soon, too!). The marble we chose was just right for the vibe we wanted, finished with an ogee beveled edge and backsplash.
With the wallpaper installed, the wainscoting and trim painted, and the paper hung, the room was starting to take shape—cozy, elegant, and just what I had envisioned.
With the big stuff done, it was time to select the final fixtures: toilet, faucet, and vanity hardware.
Now, I didn’t think choosing a toilet would be such a big deal, but trust me—there’s a whole world of opinions on toilets. After much consideration, we landed on the Kohler Memoirs 1.28 GPF Two-Piece Elongated Comfort Height Toilet. A few reasons for this choice: I loved the traditional design and the comfort height (since, as tall people, we were used to feeling like we were falling off our original 24” toilets!). Plus, the skirt design makes it so much easier to clean, and I’m all about minimizing those hard-to-reach spots.
Next up was the faucet—Kingston Brass English Classic 1.2 GPM Widespread Bathroom Faucet in polished brass. We finished the vanity off with a drawer pull bar from Rejuvenation Hardware for hanging hand towels.
To round out the space, we added two sconces and a brass mirror, which we eventually swapped out for a mahogany-stained oval mirror that felt just right. The mirror balanced the traditional French toile wallpaper perfectly. I also found the most perfect trashcan in a classic English hunt print and a lovely rectangular rattan basket to store extra refills. Up top on the vanity, I added a reeded glass hand soap dispenser and a LAFCO Reed Diffuser for that perfect touch of luxury.
And let me tell you, I could not be happier with how this space turned out! It’s exactly the cozy, welcoming powder room I dreamed of—full of character and charm. Considering the condition of the house when we first moved in, this little powder room is now the best spot in the house! While I still have a few finishing touches in mind, I am totally in love with this little beauty.
Affiliate Disclosure:
Fauxtalian Living is reader-supported. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links — at no extra cost to you. As always, I only share products I truly love and would use in my own home.
