Customized Powder Room Reveal
How we made a big impression for a small space
Custom-made items perfectly fit the people they’re created for, just like when you have a suit or dress tailored to you. Items such as furniture and fixtures can be custom-made when you’re looking for just the right look and can’t seem to find it in a showroom.
What comes to mind when you imagine something custom-made?
For some, it is a sense of comfort, richness or luxury; it’s that special feeling of holding something that was made uniquely for you. For others, it’s the high price tag on custom-made items that overrides their desire for opulence and makes them run back to normal everyday standards.
Let’s consider that high price tag for a moment and discuss what creating something one-of-a-kind really entails. When constructing a special custom piece, an array of experts will sketch out the form, seek out the perfect materials, construct the piece, and then install it.
From start to finish, several trade experts will typically be involved in the creation of a custom piece — interior designers, fabricators, upholsterers, plumbers, carpenters, and more. All of these trades, and the necessary stages of their processes, require the investment of time and money, which contribute to the high cost. But, in the end, your customized piece will reflect your style and personality. Best of all, you’ll have a one-of-a-kind showpiece for your space.
For every design project, I highly recommend that my clients choose at least one to two elements of the space to be custom constructed.
Personalized pieces are worth the investment because they become the focal point of the room, and they reflect your unique taste and style. Nothing is more signature or classier than a custom-made piece.
Let’s discuss a Powder Room we designed for the home of some long-time clients. We showcased their personality and style by creating a one-of-a-kind custom vanity!
A Powder Room is a place of possibility in your home; you can be a little risky in its design, which is always fun.
While it’s typically a smaller space blocked off from other rooms of the house, it is also a space you can almost guarantee your guests will visit. I always encourage my clients to use this space to be unconventional and reflect their true personality and humor.
When developing this room’s concept, I knew my clients wanted it to be impactful and striking. These clients are wonderful people who like to entertain and impress their guests, and I wanted to design a space for them that would leave a lasting impression.
BEFORE:
The space is very small (only enough room for a toilet and pedestal sink), and even with just those two items it felt cramped. With old wallpaper swallowing up the space, illuminated only by outdated light fixtures, and crowded by a sink and faucet with shiny gold accents from the 90’s, the space needed a dramatic transformation.
To create this unconventional Powder Room, three elements were suggested to create maximum impact.
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COLOR: We recommended a dark paint for the walls, one that would envelope you without making the small space seem smaller.
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LIGHT: In addition to an overhead recessed light, we wanted another source of ambient lighting to come from a wall sconce, but not over the sink and mirror.
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CUSTOM PIECE: Finally, the pièce de résistance. We maximized the amount of open floor space by having a custom-made cantilevered sink crafted from solid stone.
To inform the color scheme for the rest of the room, we searched for the perfect material to be used for the sink. It didn’t take long before a slab of Blue Mascarelo granite took our breath away. The incredible movement and vibrancy of colors in the stone mesmerized us, and we were sold.
Lucky for us, we were working with a very talented stone fabricator. In three weeks, he took our rough sketch and the flat piece of solid stone and created the custom frame for a small white porcelain sink. A seven-inch backsplash was incorporated to show off even more of the stunning stone material.
From there we used the stone to inspire the shade of blue to be used on the walls.
We considered painting the woodwork, trim, and ceiling the same colors as the walls to present a monochrome look. But, we ultimately decided to keep the trim work and ceiling white.
We then focused our attention on the light fixture and mirror style. By changing the orientation of the mirror, we could play with longer and larger light fixtures. It also gave us an opportunity to create the illusion of a longer and larger room.
Ultimately, we decided to use the pre-existing tall mirror shape because, (1) the light fixtures in this group were more interesting, and (2) this allowed a shelf to be hung above the commode for styling. Furthermore, the mirror was custom cut and framed so that it could be the same width as the new stone sink frame, and we made it higher than a standard mirror to draw your eyes up.
After we selected the light fixture, we got busy nailing down the faucet.
Due to minimal counter space, we knew having a wall-mounted faucet would not only be more practical but also would achieve the desired modern look. We wanted the faucet and light fixture to coordinate with the same finish, so we were very particular about matching the shade of the faucet: “Luxe Gold.”
I’m going to pause just for a second to let you know that I do not typically recommend trying to match fixtures in a Powder Room, or any room for that matter. Whenever you have the opportunity to incorporate two (or more) shades of metal in the same room, go for it. Not only does it provide more interest in a space, it alleviates the stress of trying to match the shades!
We settled on option two (Brizo), keeping things simple with only one faucet hole to drill into the granite backsplash. We also couldn’t resist the cute single-handle operation with the knurl detail!
After all of the details were finalized, construction began.
When we removed the toilet and pedestal sink, we discovered that the floor needed to be refinished. This was a quick and easy two-day process.
A small area of the drywall was removed and we killed two birds with one stone since (1) the plumbing needed to be modified to incorporate the wall faucet, and (2) we used two steel brackets affixed to the framing in the wall so that the custom-made sink could seamlessly rest on a cantilever. When the drywall was patched and painted, you couldn’t even tell they were there!
AFTER:
I must say that every inch of this Powder Room turned out absolutely dreamy. Photographs taken, framed and hung by my client only made this space more personal to them.
What has been your most rewarding home renovation project so far? Comment below to let us know how you customized your space for you and your family.
Are you excited and ready to start your next project?
