Powder Bath Pickiness

Hello Christine,

Thank you so much for your wonderful blog!  I eat it up like chocolate.
My last email got lost last year so I have finished that remodel and
started on a new one : )

I am a first time home buyer and I have gutted out my kitchen, full
bath and now I have redone my powder room but I am not sure how to
complete it.  I have included the items I would like to put in there
but thought I would run it by you first.  I won't bog you down on how
it looked and how I changed it already but I am trying to go bold with
wallpaper (which I am scared of) but I am taking your advice on the
powder room.  Now, should I do the whole wall, half way down, put a
chair molding, just use gray or white paint on the bottom below the
chair molding, help! : )

I only put a temporary vessel sink which you can see in the mirror
until I install the attached vessel sink because I was missing the
drain stopper on that one.  I would like it to have a Victorian feel,
I think.  I want to put a oval mirror with a silivery/gray ribbon at
the top to coincide with the color scheme.   Lastly, I am looking for a complimentary piece of granite to replace the top of the sink.  As
you can see, it was damaged and I got hundreds off of it, (yaah).  How
should the shape of the granite be to compliemnt the vessel sink?  The
faucet is a nickel finish and so are the sconces (I'm not really
loving the sconces though).  I just had my contractor put them in and
tear out the one vanity light over the mirror temporarily.

Thank you so much,
Liz

Hi Liz,

Thank you for comparing my blog to chocolate- surely one of the highest compliments a girl could receive! 

Let me give you a few tips for a beautiful powder bath:

First of all, attention to detail:

(designer Samantha Friedman)

Notice the crystal in the little knobs?  The embroidered towels?  The tiny pleats in the cafe curtain?  If you want to bring a real atmosphere into the room, you can't only have a Victorian feel in 50% of the elements of the room.  Your gut was right on the sconces.  Personally, I would not try to go toward "Victorian" unless you actually have a Victorian home.  Your flooring is not Victorian, your wood trim is not Victorian, it's just too far of a stretch.  How about we just try to dress it up, so the bathroom is more consistent with the console sink you purchased?

The sconce above is from Lamps Plus, the Kathy Ireland Collection.

You might not want to hear this, but I would also say that your scones are installed too high.  The light bulb on a bathroom sconce should hit level with your face.  (an average person's height)  The idea with the light is to not cast shadows on faces.  Shadows are not attractive.  They make us look like characters in Tim Burton movies. 

Ideally, you will have some light coming from above as well as your sconces.  You might consider a small chandelier. The lantern below is from Shades of Light: 

Look closely at the reflection in the room below, and you can see a third source of light.  Without that, the room is simply inadequately lit.

2.  I know that I mention the word "scale" just about every day, but I'll stop when it stops being an issue.  I want you to remember scale in selecting your mirror.

The mirror in the bathroom above is too small for the room.  I'm sure it's some special antique or something, but that doesn't make it a good vanity mirror.  What has happened above is that you end up with such separated areas.  You have the sink.  Then separate from that you have the faucet.  Then separate from that you have the mirror.  (the lights are also too  high)  Compare that to the powder below:

Can you see how the mirror is larger, and the faucet comes up and bridges the gap, creating overlap that marries the sink with the mirror?

In the same way, readers of my blog have read me saying that wall decor hung above a piece of furniture should be hung close to the furniture, creating a relationship with the two elements.  It is no different with a sink and mirror.  When you have all this wall space in-between, it's like a guy whose shirt is too short and you can see his gut.  The shirt should meet the pants.  That's what I'm say'in!

(photo from houzz)

This sink mirror combo above is great- the mirror is hung very close to the sink, and then you have some overlap, with the vase of flowers, bringing it all together like one happy family.  Here are a few more examples of both unified and disjointed combinations:

(photo from houzz)

UNIFIED

(Photo from Do you think they want me to say when I am using it specifically as a bad example?)

DISJOINTED

(photo from houzz)

UNIFIED

DISJOINTED

I also wanted to mention your commode.  It doesn't go with your sink or wallpaper either.  It is a very contemporary style, and you are trying to go so much more traditional.  The contrast is glaring to me.  (Sure- the average person might not notice- and you probably just purchased it- so this advice is for all of those readers who haven't purchased theirs yet- don't just pick one up at Costco- go to a real plumbing source and select one consistent with your architecture!)

You need a more traditional one like the Kholer model above.

Your wallpaper selection is terrific.  Do the entire room, all walls- baseboard to ceiling- be sure to add crown molding.

I hope by "granite" you actually mean marble.  I would do a Carrera marble, or something similar.  Granite is way too "kitcheny."  Your marble should mimic the shape of the sink, just like your damaged piece.  Make sure you have an ogee or other style decorative edge on it.