“Our client is the inspiration for this informal powder room,” Josh Evan says of this Greenwich, Connecticut, space. “She loves butterflies and collecting art.
We didn’t want the space to feel fussy, so Warhol‘s graphic and playful kaleidoscopic print worked perfectly.” The vintage Emil Stejnar mirror complements the colorful wallpaper in the best way.
“I fell in love with the Moooi wallpaper when I saw it at Salone de Mobile in Milan,” Fern Santini says of the dramatic botanical print above the sink in this Austin, Texas, powder room. “The whole space was designed around the wallpaper. The cloudy blue-gray background is so Gucci. I just loved the whimsy.”
Santini flanked the vintage Jacques Adnet mirror with sconces by The Urban Electric Co. sporting shades custom made from antique Indian saris. The painting is by Mickey Mayfield, who, the designer notes, “was an Austin icon, a piece of local history and good karma.”
When it comes to a theme, Wesley Moon is not afraid to go all in. In Mantoloking, New Jersey, he created a sea-life-inflected powder room that offers more than enough escapism for one home. “The inspiration for the vibrant color palette came from the client’s sentimental collection of majolica ceramics, survivors of Hurricane Sandy,” Moon explains.
“In the powder room specifically,” he continues, “I leaned heavily into a motif. It’s a little bit over the top yet has a casual, cozy feeling to it.” Moon covered the walls in Pierre Frey’s Fond Marin wallpaper, supplying a vibrant backdrop for the bold Shayne Greco sink and FCK Paris sconces.
Jesse Parris-Lamb went for a moody look in a New York City bathroom, where a hand-painted tile wall takes center stage. “It has an almost watercolor-like quality that really highlights the value range within in each tile,” says firm cofounder Whitney Parris-Lamb.
“The goal,” she explains, “was to create a little jewel box of rich color, material and tactility.” And we’d say she and business partner Amanda Jesse succeeded.
“Despite having four boys, our client has a very feminine taste,” says Charlotte Lucas, explaining her design for this Charlotte, North Carolina, powder room swathed in a hand-painted de Gournay silk wallpaper.
The space, continues Lucas, “is on the main level of the home — just off the more masculine and moody bar — behind concealed doors covered in pink Gucci wallpaper. The striking wallpaper and antique sconces completely embody our client. It’s ‘her’ in powder room form.”
In deploying Art Deco detailing in this Manhattan powder room, Studio Sofield gave a tip of the hat to Steinway Hall, which adjoins the tower where the apartment is located.
The slender structure’s strongly vertical profile is mirrored in the bubble glass sconces and the veining of the gray onyx marble covering the floors and walls.
“It gets the most use when my clients entertain, so I wanted to create a space that was elegant and moody,” Nina Farmer says of this powder room off the entry of a Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, home.
Farmer achieved her desired effect with a slightly muted metallic Calico paper, on which she hung a vintage mirror paired with up-to-the-minute lighting: a lantern and sconces from The Urban Electric Co. and Urban Archaeology.
“This powder room was designed for a lakeside cottage in Indiana,” says Tom Stringer, who gave the petite Lake Maxinkuckee space a red makeover courtesy of Studio Printworks’ Animal Farm print. “My client adores woodland creatures, and Studio Printworks’ design had just the right vibe.
“We traded a very folksy framed pierced-tin panel for the more typical shutter at the window,” Stringer adds. “The bronze tree branch sconces are from Vaughan.”
Dan Scotti designed the powder room in his own East Hampton home around a vintage tramp art mirror, a 1stDibs find.
Not one to skimp on small but impactful details, Scotti installed hand-brushed and -waxed tongue-and-groove boards on the ceiling and covered the door in a high-gloss paint that pops against the reclaimed-wood floors.
“The design inspiration for this Los Angeles space was fun, daring and playful. Walking into this powder room feels like an optical illusion, and it’s a true feast for the eyes,” says Brigette Romanek, who set the scene by covering every surface, from the floor to the ceiling, with patterned tiles.
“We went bold here,” explains Romanek, who kept the furnishings simple, including only absolutely essentials. “The fixtures and accessories are memorable yet minimal to make the tile the star.”
