Powder Room Refresh - Whoa Wallpaper!

For months now I have wanted to update my powder room. It always felt halfway complete to me or honestly not my best work. Here is the back story! About four years ago I wanted to try wallpaper in my own home so that I could knowledgably recommend it to clients. After some thought I decided to try it in my powder room. As the smallest room in my home it was the perfect place to experiment. Here’s a before picture of my powder room from five years ago (when we first moved in).

Before (5 years ago when we 1st moved in)

I knew it needed an upgrade but was still a little gun shy about using wallpaper back then, so I decided on a neutral vinyl grass cloth paper in a champagne metallic finish. It was subtle but beautiful. However, the install... not so much. My husband and I thought we could install it ourselves and boy did we struggled! Our super small powder room at 8 ft. x 3.5 ft. has many tight nooks and angles and it was tough to install to say the least.  See exhibit A below (yes that’s dry glue on the paper) 😊

It was time for a refresh! So when Graham and Brown reached out to partner with me on a new project, I knew right away that the powder room would be perfect space! Not only did my bathroom need it, but a half bathroom is the perfect place for a refresh in your home. It’s small, which means it’s typically a little less expensive to update, it’s usually closed off by doors and not opened to the rest of your home which allows you to to have as much fun as you would like with it and it’s one of the most used spaces in your home, especially with your guests.

As a sponsor of this project, I enjoyed working with Graham and Brown and with over 500 high quality wallpapers to choose from, the sky was the limit. My plan: GO BOLD OR GO HOME! I wanted to create a bold, high-end powder room for my guests. I wanted my bathroom to be an experience!

I started the design process by first selecting the wallpaper. It was so hard to choose from so many beautiful designs! I finally landed on Jardin by Graham & Brown in Black. It worked well in my home because of my nods to black and white throughout and it fit the mold for… BOLD! It’s a black matte paper with pops of teal (my favorite color), yellow and pink with birds and butterflies throughout. It’s interesting, beautiful and serene all in one. I love it! This time around, we hired a professional to install it and it looks perfect.

So with the wallpaper finalized, I just needed to do a few small touches to bring the refresh home. We decided to keep our current vanity which was about four years old to keep costs down and paint it. I pulled colors from the wallpaper and wanted to paint the vanity in a color that stood out but was not overpowering. I landed on Naval by Sherwin Williams. Naval was the SW 2020 Color of the year and it’s the perfect navy blue. I also decided to change the hardware on the vanity. We kept our existing vanity mirror and lighting (recessed can lights). When it came to flooring we decided to save there as well and went with a vinyl peel and stick flooring. It took about three hours to apply and costs $1.00 a square foot. $25 for a new floor! Can’t beat it. Here’s the exact flooring I used: Concrete look vinyl tile . It looks amazing so far. Lastly, after the wallpaper was hung and vanity painted, I stood back and realized that in order to really drive home the bold and high-end aesthetic that I was aiming for, I had to paint the white ceiling, door and base trim… black! The room is tiny and so to create a seamless look that felt harmonious, I had to finish the space with matte black ceilings and trim work. What a difference! Check out the after pictures below. I’m in love!

Jardin wallpaper with painted vanity, door and trim

Jardin wallpaper with a gray JuJu hat