Powder Room Before & After

Spiff up a boring powder room to be more welcoming for guests using things you already have in your house!

Do you ever get distracted from one project to the next?

This powder room mini makeover was the just that. I was busy finishing up a big One Room Challenge  project, but also needed to get the house ready for some evening company.

Hours before they arrived, it dawned on me that someone would probably need to use a bathroom during the course of the evening. Our powder room is conveniently located on the main floor, but didn’t exactly seem welcoming.

I set out to clean it up and disguise it’s most unappealing features using things I already had in the house.

How to Quickly Update a Powder Room 

Small Powder Room Before

Here’s where it started out:

It’s tucked just behind the laundry area and painted blucky beige.

(On a complete rabbit trail, I’m finding photography in these spaces without natural light to be really tricky. For instance, in that picture above, the walls of the laundry room look like a nice soothing shade of blue/green. However, in real life, they are the same beige as the bathroom!! Strange…)

Before remembering to photograph the “before” picture, I had already removed the long chrome towel bar that was the only feature of the space, leaving 2 ugly white squares on the wall…

Above the toilet is a jack for the telephone line…

As strange as that is, it ended up being a really good thing. It leads to the back wall of our garage, where the cable man was able to hang up all the gadgets and do-dads for our house and it’s hidden away! Bonus!!

And when you stand on the toilet in your warm fuzzy socks, the view of the dated pink sink and vanity is…well, a little sad…

I set out to try to change the look and feel of the place by using artwork to disguise all the negative aspects of the space.

After trying out lots of options, here’s what I ended up doing:

Hang art on the walls to disguise a paint color you don’t like.

Adding a feature wall of prints and frames added some interest, disguised the previous towel bar marks, and distracts from the color of the room (that I really, really don’t like!!)

Hang something pretty up on the wall behind the toilet.

Adding a display behind the toilet that was tall makes the tiny space feel a little more spacious.

Provide guests with the necessities that are easy to find.

Extra rolls of toilet paper are tucked into a basket on the back of the toilet. (I always want it conveniently located for guests…)

Add faux or real flowers and pretty lotion to the top of a vanity.

A hook for a hand towel, some greenery and lotion, as well as the reflection of all the other decor in the rest of the room are elements that distract the eye from the sad pink countertop.

This powder room is getting another makeover!

Since I wrote this post a few years ago, this little powder room is getting another – for real – makeover! 

I just recently put together a post of inspirational powder room ideas, and the first step of patching the vinyl sheet flooring.

The rest will be coming soon!

How to do Room Makeovers on a Budget

Room makeovers (on a small budget) are one of my favorite things to do! Do you want to do some in your house to, but are overwhelmed with where to start?

If so, I put together something FREE just for you!

After doing dozens of room makeovers over the years, I realized I’ve followed the same simple formula for each of them. I put together all the steps in a handy video series along with a FREE printable worksheets.

Click here or the button below for immediate access.