If you like to tackle home projects on the weekends, leveling up your powder room is a really rewarding one. It can be accomplished fairly quickly because the space is limited.  Limited space also means you can afford to make it more special, because: less stuff and lower quantities are needed!

Powder rooms are almost always less involved than a full bath renovation.  If you have a vanity, it can often be salvaged with paint. Even if you need to change out dated fixtures, there are,  blessedly, only a few.

This powder room upgrade for a staging project 10 years ago was purely cosmetic, no renovation or moving plumbing, but oh, what a difference!  And since we used all classic choices, it STILL looks timeless.  Because this was purely for resale, to keep costs low we used all stock items from Home Depot for this project.

We swapped out the dark with cultured marble vanity and harvest gold toilet for white, removed outdated wallpaper and added bead board and paint, and replaced faucets and light fixtures.

Here are some ideas for your inner weekend warrior to transform a powder room…

New cabinet hardware

Easy to change in a spare few minutes, hardware is a quick update and a great place to indulge a trend.  There are SOOOO many fabulous options now for this “jewelry” for your cabinets.

Gold finishes are really trending and can be added to bathroom cabinets even if your faucets are chrome or brushed nickel finish.   

Mixing metal finishes in a room can be far more interesting and lends a curated look, just be sure to repeat them in more than one place to create a rhythm in the room.

Pro Tip: You can even use a longer cabinet pull on the false drawer panel of the vanity for a hand towel bar!

New mirror

Use a pretty decorative mirror rather than a medicine cabinet.  A powder room rarely needs the storage of a medicine cabinet since it is primarily a guest space, not a place to get ready. 

If you have a piece of plate mirror on the wall you can add a frame to give it a more finished appearance, or, better yet, take it down and swap it for a framed decorative mirror.  Match the frame to the cabinetry, a wallpaper color, the cabinet hardware, or the lighting finish.

New light fixtures

Lighting is one of the quickest things to look dated.  Changing out your builder grade lights for something more interesting can quickly level up any space.  I am personally not brave enough (or compulsive enough) to safely mess with electricity, BUT I know it is a very doable DIY project to change out a fixture if you follow all the safety protocols…maybe someday I’ll brave it :).

If you have space and the wherewithall to install them, sconces flanking the bathroom mirror are always preferable to a light above it.

New paint, paper, or millwork

Paint a vanity cabinet a bold color to add a jolt of personality and pizzazz.

Add a color or pattern to the ceiling - wallpapered ceilings are a big trend right now, but paint is a timeless option that can be just as dramatic and a bit easier to manage. (More on ceilings HERE and HERE)

Add millwork to create paneled walls or wainscoting.  Millwork ALWAYS elevates the look of a space.  Crown, baseboard, window and door trim, chair rail, wainscoting are all possible additions,  and can be casual as in board-and-batten, shiplap, or beadboard OR more formal with raised or framed panels. Millwork can also be painted a dramatic color to great effect.

Go for drama on the walls with bold or dark paint or patterned wallpaper.  Wallpaper is back in a BIG way, and powder rooms are ideal places to use it because not much is needed for a small space, and it makes such a huge impact.  Graphic geometrics, oversized florals, and mural papers are all potential showstoppers.  This is not your grandmothers ditsy floral wallpaper - and it is much easier to remove than granny’s too, should you tire of it.  There are even a huge variety of peel and stick temporary wallpapers that are meant to be easily removable - an ideal solution for rental situations!

Add artwork

A powder room is a great place for artwork because there isn’t the potential damage from shower steam.  If there isn’t wallcovering, a gallery wall covered in artwork OR large format pieces in a small space can both be interesting ways to embellish the walls.  Be sure to check HERE for how to get artwork right.

Accessories

Accessories are often an afterthought, but styling the powder room well will set the mood of the space.  Is it Artsy? Casual? Glitzy? Elegant? Let the accessories help tell the story.

Monogrammed linen, gilded chinoiserie tole, and china dishware might evoke formal elegance.  Flour sack textiles, whitewashed wood, and wicker containers denote a casual flair. What you choose should align with the mood you want to create.

Add a pretty soap dish, fresh hand towels, a covered tissue box, a decorative lotion dispenser, an attractive trash bin, and finally something organic like fresh flowers or a plant.

A note of caution: Please don’t buy a whole set of matchy-matchy accessories - choose one or two from a collection, and mix it up a bit within the genre. Vintage stores are a great place to find unique things to repurpose as a soap dish or trash bin!

The collections from Horchow below offer some inspiration (click on image for affiliate link):

Other Posts You Might Enjoy:

Inspiration for Powder Rooms that will WOW your guests

Wallpaper is Trending in a BIG Way

Project in Progress: Farmhouse Bathrooms