In our former home the townhouse, we had a powder bathroom on the main floor that always came in very handy when guests were over.  However, in this house the only bathroom on the main floor was the master bathroom.  And if you’ll remember, it wasn’t that pretty…

So as you can imagine, adding a half bath was at the top of our checklist.  There was way more storage space in this house than we could ever use and not enought toilets, so we decided to combine the coat closet and a small linen closet into a powder bathroom.  Only one big problem… Have you ever tried to sit on the throne in your coat closet?  As it turns out, we needed 5 more inches.  Cue the sledgehammer!

If only moving a wall were just that easy, if it was only simply sliding it in place.  What we really mean is tearing down an existing wall and building a brand new one…literally 5 inches from where it was to start with..  Images of this demo were in our blog called “Ready, set, demo”.

Because the foyer was totally trimmed out, we didn’t want the bathroom to go neglected and seem forgotten.  We also didn’t want it to seem like a little trim cave up to the ceiling, so we did board and batton trim a little over half way up the wall, and finished with crown molding at the top.  The paint colors were the same that we used in the foyer:  Anew Gray for the walls and, of course, all the trim is Snowbound.

Since this is just a powder bathroom, there was no real need for a vanity with lots of storage so we chose to do a simple pedestal sink.  For the light fixtures and faucet finishes, we wanted something that spoke to the true era of the house–something not too modern but not antique.  We chose a mixture of antique brass and iron for the sconces and faucet; something we plan to carry throughout the entire house.

When it comes to decor in a powder bathroom, there’s not much, which means everything you use should be special.  Although we used a pedestal sink from Lowes, we didn’t want the details to look like they came from Lowes.  So for the mirror, our hunt took us to many stores and eventually online to etsy.com.  Here we found someone who could hand-make a mirror out of an antique horse bit and bridle.  We love that we have something unique in there!

Although there is no image of the toilet in the powder, it is there.  Not surprising, they don’t photograph very well.  “You just can’t make them look sexy”, says our photographer/realtor/friend Shaun Ring.

Even though the room is barely 3’x6.5′, we tried to add the detail that would make it special and interesting! It may be easy to think “Hey, it’s a small powder room, it doesn’t need anything special”, but we think that’s a lost opportunity for great detail. A few pieces of wood, great lighting, and accessories can make a big impression! Not bad for coming out of the closet! 🙂