The Saratoga House: Before and After: Reinventing Pretty and Pink in the Powder Room

“Why does everyone call the little bathroom by the kitchen a
powder room?” The question, like most
that my 7-year old son asks, came a bit out of nowhere, yet I could understand the
inquiry. This whole notion that the sole
purpose of our main floor bathroom was for women to
“powder their noses” seems a bit ridiculous to almost anyone, much less a
soon-to-be second grader who’s main interests are legos and any activity that
gets one’s self wet and dirty. And let’s
face it–we may still call it a powder room, but in fact a main floor bathroom
acts as so much more. Besides its
primary basic function, this bathroom, located just inside the back door of our
house, serves as the go-to for bug spray, sunblock, and last-minute makeup
sessions, as well as doubling as our family laundry room…all within a 6X8′ box.
It not only serves the needs of our family of five, but a houseful at the holidays, the
neighborhood crew during backyard barbeques, a birthday party’s worth of
sugar-hyped children, and everything else in between. So how do you turn a very basic necessity
into something stylish and interesting?

The natural tendency would be to stay neutral and safe while
decorating a small space with some big obstacles (mainly a stacked
washer/dryer) so that everything might just blend and disappear. But for me,
the solution to this type of decorating dilemma is to go big and make a
statement. With this in mind, instead of playing it safe
I decided to choose a bold palette of colors that deviates from the hues on the
rest of the first floor to make this little room feel like a bit of jewel box
all its own. My inspiration: neapolitan ice
cream. J

With this confection as my inspiration, I went ahead and
painted the upper portion of the walls chocolate brown, bucking the conventional
wisdom that feels that dark colors make a space seem smaller. My results were the opposite–the dark color
refreshes the room and makes it seem much wider than it did with the 80’s
seashell motif wallpaper that we had inherited from the previous owner.

Next I addressed the window.
Originally, the window was covered with a dated lace valance and mauve
micro-blinds…and at least as far as the blinds, for good reason, since this
window, uncovered, is very open to our next door neighbors and anyone else who
might be walking along the sidewalk outside.
Obviously privacy is an issue, but there was also the need for natural
light, the ability to open the window, and of course, style. Because of this I went with a ringed café curtain
in a fun coordinating fabric that can be easily opened or closed when needed,
but always allows sunlight to come in the top half of the window.

Because of the color scheme as well as many of the
accessories in the room, this is a very feminine space, yet it works–I think because
that femininity enhances the style and colors in the room and hopefully pulls
your attention away from the big appliance in the corner. I considered curtaining off the washer/dryer,
but I was concerned floor-to-ceiling panels might make the room feel even smaller
than it already is, and since laundry is done on a daily basis in this house, I
needed easy access, so a curtain may have been more trouble in the end than it
was worth (darn you function over form!).
Once the room was completed I was actually pleasantly surprised that it
didn’t seem to need to be concealed as much as I thought–just going to show
that sometimes you need to see your final results before you know for sure how
you vision will come together!

In the end, I am very happy with my pretty pink powder room.
This space is fun and quirky…doesn’t
take itself too seriously…but is pleasing to the eye and a place I feel good
having guests in our home utilize. So
don’t be afraid to go bold in your smallest of spaces–no matter what your
inspiration or style might be, taking risks will always give you great results!