The day I walked into our powder room and groaned audibly was the day I decided something needed to change. The walls were builder beige, the mirror was so spotted you couldn’t see yourself well, and honestly…It just looked tired. Cheesy.
Like something you’d find at a gas station. The thing is, powder rooms are the perfect spaces to practice designing. Because let’s face it, small bathrooms have low stakes!
You can really make any change you want to, and you literally cannot mess up that much space. It’s like 40 square feet.
How small can you go wrong?
I had been procrastinating on updating this bathroom for months. I was overwhelmed by the process and the presumed cost. But truthfully… Both were misconceptions I had about revamping a small space.
A few of the smallest changes really made the biggest difference, and you can really update your powder bathroom without breaking the bank. Mirror The first thing I switched out was the mirror. I was actually at an estate sale- don’t you love local Saturday morning garage sales?-when I stumbled across this beautiful oval mirror with a thin brass frame. $25.
The woman running the sale told me it had been in her daughter’s apartment and was basically brand new. I snapped a photo with my phone alongside our builder grade, rectangle mirror in our bathroom. Something just clicked and I KNEW it would look perfect.
Literally took me fifteen minutes to unscrew the old mirror with a drill bits, and some elbow grease to pop off the old mirror. I hung my new oval one with some simple L brackets. Boom.
The space instantly looked more thought-out. Expensive. Paint Here’s the thing.
I looked at those beige walls every.single.day for TWO YEARS and assumed that I could only paint small bathrooms white. News flash. You don’t!
I was catching up with my good friend Sarah over coffee when she mentioned that she painted her half bathroom (loo, if you’re British) dark navy blue. “Won’t that make it feel smaller?” I asked her. The answer was yes. And no.
While white may open up the space more, dark colors can make your bathroom feel cozy and luxurious instead of tiny and cheap. After comparing all the paint chips I could fit in my purse that weekend, I settled on this beautiful shade of sage. And let me tell you, changing the paint color was the HARDEST and MOST DIFFERENT thing I noticed.
Before I painted, the room felt off and unfinished. After, it felt crisp and inviting. Tip about painting small spaces: Take your time with the prep work.
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Any flaws in your wall will show when you paint a small space. Trust me, I spent an entire day filling holes and patching up uneven areas. Lighting This was an unexpected game changer.
Our original light fixture was a builder basic dome light that hung down low and created shadows under everyone’s eyes. When guests would stay over I would always avoid waking up on the side of the bed closest to the mirror! Swapping out the light was easier than I expected, and really changed the room.
Most ceiling fixtures aren’t anything special- they simply screw into the electrical socket in the ceiling. If you can change a lightbulb, you can change your own light fixture! (AND always turn off the power from your fuse box when working with electricity. You don’t want to become part of the light fixture.) I found this beautiful brass fixture with a white glass shade at my local lighting shop that was going out of business. $30, down from $90!
The warm glow from this fixture changed how I saw my green walls. It went from flat and dull to rich and inviting. And the round pendant allowed for more negative space around the mirror, which opened up the entire room.
Storage Powder rooms suck. They are small and usually hold all of your extra toiletries, cleaning supplies, extra TP and god-knows-what else. I opted to add some floating shelves above the toilet, but painted them the same color as the walls.
When the shelves and walls are the same color, they really disappear which allows for extra storage without feeling cluttered. Heated Towel Rails If you haven’t heard of towel warmers, they are essentially heated bars that keep your towels fluffy and dry. I swapped out our boring chrome bar for a small heated ladder towel warmer in brushed brass.
It wasn’t the cheapest upgrade ($80 vs $15 for the bar we installed with our house), but it was totally worth it to keep our towels warm and dry. Plus, it just FEELS like you’re staying at a fancy hotel! Plants Okay hear me out.
I get it. Plants in a bathroom? With no window?
Crazy town.
But hear me out. I picked up this gorgeous trailing pothos plant that can survive in low light and humidity.
I grabbed a small ceramic planter to hang it in from my local pottery studio, and teared down in the corner near the ceiling. Not only does it bring life to my tiny bathroom, it creates texture and pops of color that compliments the wall color. Total, this little makeover cost me about $300 and took me around three weekends (spread over about a month!) to complete.
I wasn’t looking to spend much on the space since we would likely only get a few years of use out of it before selling, but moral of the story is…I wish I would have done it sooner. After living with my old boring bathroom for so long, I truly enjoyed stepping into my updated powder room. The space made me feel calm and relaxed during my rushed morning routine.
If you’re just starting out, I would focus on painting ➞ lighting ➞ mirror ➞ then storage. As pretty as that towel rail and plant are, paint, lighting, and a new mirror can take your boring bathroom from 2020 to 2021 in a weekend! Mirrors ✔️ Paint ✔️ Lighting ✔️ Happy bathrooms!
