More Powder Rooms Papered

Of course, wallpapers are style barometers. They are designed to be.

Powder rooms have a lot to say about who lives in a house and what they really are thinking. That’s because they are often special occasion spaces rarely used in those critical morning hours, or designed to impress guests. So it’s logical to see stronger colors, more pattern, and eclectic fixtures. People take chances with jewel boxes.

When I see a large-scale abstract pattern dominate the walls, it’s clear that we’re in a contemporary house. Kelly Wearstler’s citrine and ivory Imperial Trellis wallpaper, for Schumacher [top], blasts out in small spaces with a 6-3/4” horizontal and 14” vertical pattern repeat.  That’s huge. Every with the more traditional leaning Memoirs Stately sink (Kohler) it adds an Asian aura that pulls towards Hollywood Regency glamor.

Oversize Asian ceramic jars and parasols are blown up and rendered almost like woodblock prints in this densely patterned cocoa and cream wallpaper. Rather than fighting the paper, the geometric pattern of the tile floor supports it and dark baseboard frames them both. With such bold scale, keeping the mirror simple is smart, smart, smart. And doesn’t that Deco-style pedestal look silky sleek?

Nothing screams traditional more than blue and white toile wallpaper. So the task here was to add something unexpected, like the checkered vanity skirt. Still, I can’t help think that a vivid blue penny round tile floor, a minimalist sink and maybe even a blue ceiling would have gone a long way to making toile wallpaper look a little hipper. Always possible.

(Source: Schumacher, Pinterest)

Allison is taking this Thursday off.