Hi Everyone,
I’m back in New York for a few days to spend the holiday with my friend Mary of the gorgeous kitchen with the Calke Green pantry.
This time, other members of her family are here, and my son is in town, as well. It is such a treat!
I had plans to redo this post I originally wrote five and a half years ago. That was when we had just finished Mary’s Jewel box powder room.
The powder room was part of the extensive renovation that Mary and her husband did back in 2015-16.
Remember her fabulous dining room drapes?
Off the kitchen, there’s a powder room that was pretty sad back in 2015.
Clearly, it needed some updating. On the wall is a little foreshadowing with the two wallpaper samples.
Mary had a vision of a fantastic jewel box powder room.
She wanted it to be smokey and enigmatic and shared this showstopper image with me.
We couldn’t do it exactly like this because of the wonky wall to the left. So, the wall was the first piece of business to address. The contractor added a lovely curve. (the staircase is behind the curve.)
We knew that we had to have the black wainscoting.
Next, came the wallpaper.
I ordered samples of the Romo paper shown in the inspiration bathroom above. However, it left both of us feeling it wasn’t quite the right look.
We tried the green colorway, and it too fell short.
We both felt that there should be more black. So, I looked for some more inspiration photos.
We loved this Chinoiserie wallpaper with black and gold accents.
I also picked up a mess of other wallpaper samples. (Two of them are in the first shot of the old powder room)
Several of the wallpapers were lovely.
This is a cool wallpaper from Thibaut, but we think it’s too busy for the powder room.
Above and below from Cole and Son.
All very nice but not quite right.
But, after several weeks, Mary decided that she had fallen in love with Nina Campbell’s Birdcage Walk Wallpaper.
Then, we had to decide the rest of the room.
Mary wanted to keep the sconces which I felt was fine.
And, Mary had already purchased this beautiful crystal pendant from Currey & Co.
The sink.
I’ve never done a console sink before and was excited about that because I love them, and so does Mary.
I sent several images over that she also liked.
This is a sleek one from Waterworks.
The console sink Mary liked the best for the powder room is by Kohler; however, it was too large by one inch!
So, we did the always fabulous Memoirs pedestal sink and toilet.
We chose a beautiful cinnabar red for the ceiling from Benjamin Moore, which picks up the same shade in the paper, and selected the perfect black for the wainscoting. It’s Benjamin Moore Black Panther, one of the shades of black in the Laurel Home Essential Paint Collection.
The funny thing about the cinnabar red ceiling color was originally; it would be the under paint for a gold-leaf ceiling.
However, we liked the earthy red so much that we decided to forego the gold leaf.
These sconces came with the home. But, since these are a little grannyish, we selected new shades in an art deco style. Please see The Granny Decor Mistakes You Might Be Making.
I suggested a new glass shade from Rejuvenation, and they have a large selection of plain and art glass shades.
I couldn’t find any shades like that at this time, but there are numerous art deco art glass shades and fixtures on Chairish.
So, I’m redoing this post because I wasn’t too happy with the photos I took back in 2016. So, I thought I would try again with a better camera.
Above is an image of the renovated powder room from 2016.
And, yes, this is the SAME powder room!
Above and below are images I took today. (11.23.2021)
Above and below are images of the powder room from 2016.
See, very grainy.
Above is a new image taken today. While they’re not perfect, I think they’re a lot better.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed being in this small jewel box powder room, and it is a sublime experience.
The rest are all new images of the powder room.
The lovely Nina Campbell wallpaper is available at Burke Decor!
Looking back at a shot of the door painted in Benjamin Moore Black Panther.
Remember Mrs. F.? She loves this toilet and sink too.
The Kohler Memoirs Pedestal Sink
Memoirs Stately Lever Handle Widespread Bathroom Faucet in polished chrome
Please click on any image for more information about items in the jewel box powder room
Below are two more inspiration black or almost black powder rooms. Black or a deep rich color is great for a powder room or small bathroom. It’s a great place to experiment with something dramatic.
via Mad About The House – it’s actually an ad from Corian Dupont.
This one is not quite black, but I seriously love it!
If you love small dark bathrooms as much as I do, please also check out this post.
Please have a joyous and wonderful Thanksgiving!
Big PS: Because this is a huge shopping week, in case you haven’t been bombarded enough. haha
First, please check out the main HOT SALES page. There, you will find a promo code for 25% off – EVERYTHING!
Second, the new edition of Laurel’s Rolodex (#8) was just released over the weekend.
The Etsy Guide has also been updated, and there are well over 200 sources in it now. We did remove a few shops that are gone, or their product line was virtually nil. There are one or two shops that we left in, hoping that they’ll return.
But, here’s my special holiday offer.
From now until the end of the year, if you order at least one of these guides (see info below about each guide) Laurel’s Rolodex, The Laurel Home Paint & Palette Collection, or Six-Figure Income Blogger, you will receive for free:
the updated Etsy Guide,
PLUS
333 Hard to Find Decorating Rules & Tips You Need to Know
for FREE.
You may also order either the Etsy Guide or the Rules and Tips by themselves individually.
Below is more information about the Laurel Home Guides
(Clicking on the links will send you to the pages to learn more about each guide)
.png "Please Help The Rest of Us With Low Ceilings!")
Laurel’s Rolodex is a unique shopping guide that shares hundreds of my favorite sources and, especially for decorators and designers, tells you the best sources that sell directly to the design trade, especially for decorators and designers.
.png "Please Help The Rest of Us With Low Ceilings!")
The Essential Paint Color and Palette Collection (two volumes)
This is a must-have guide for anyone struggling with paint colors. If you don’t believe me, there are dozens of testimonials on the Palette Collection page.
.jpg "Please Help The Rest of Us With Low Ceilings!")
Six-Figure Income Blogger. (This should be required reading for everyone every website owner who wishes to get more business.) You do not need to be a heavy-duty blogger. But, once or twice a month consistently will do wonders for your business. But, it would be best if you learned some other things, as well. Believe me, when I say in the early years, I made every mistake and then some.
.png "Please Help The Rest of Us With Low Ceilings!")
333 Decorating Rules & Tips You Need to Know – You’ll get a free Etsy guide with this guide, as well. There is so much information and much I’ve never seen anywhere else. The window treatment glossary alone is several pages.
.png "Please Help The Rest of Us With Low Ceilings!")
Or, order the Etsy guide on its own. It’s 200+ seriously cool vendors.
Etsy is known for exceedingly helpful, personable vendors and great pricing.
Please note: Some prices will be going up on January 1, and all free offers will end on December 31, 2021.
xo,
PS: Please also check out the newly updated HOT SALES and HOLIDAY SHOP!
Special Announcement: Serena & Lily Early Access Black Friday Sale.
And, it’s super good! 25% off EVERYTHING*, including items currently on sale!
*Gift certificates and art are excluded.
Please use the following promo codes
from 11.24 – 11.30 Use code: ITSHEREÂ
Of course, there’s much more coming on Friday!
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30 Responses
Delicious design work.
I painted my basement bathroom SW Urban Bronze. The countertop this kinda grayish brown color, so doing the walls dark took the focus off them. I love the color and since there’s not a lot of natural light anyway, the dark works. Your friends bathroom is pretty fabulous. The wallpaper and red ceiling , love!
Love that powder room with all the art on the wall.
Some years ago we did a similar update to my mom’s understairs powder room. She found this great mirror with a clear glass layered frame and we did a gold marble with black background for a black mirror effect on that outer frame. It’s stayed looking fabulous for all these years! Love a black powder room. It’s such a great location to do something really dramatic.
I chuckled too, as I had the same question she did. I strongly associate this style seat with public restrooms – and ‘boys’. Probably because of drips(to put it delicately) by careless public restroom users. :O
Love that you reference BM Black Panther! Especially gorgeous in high gloss. Everyone who enters our BP (Black Panther) BP (Butler’s Pantry) asks about this color. Happy to share a pic but copy and paste not working.
Mary, the floor to ceiling wallpaper in our bathroom has been up for 20 years with no problem!
The cinnabar ceiling is everything! We are remodeling a long narrow guest bath and I am using the Ronald Redding Bird and Blossom chinoiserie wallpaper. Trying to decide if all the wood work should be white or do black? So ready to complete this project that was started last MARCH! (had to rip out a bad tile job and fire a contractor.) The marble tile floor is White Thassos marble. Also how do you decide on the size of the molding and chair rail for a small bathroom? Look up the paper with Mary and tell me what you think! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends!
Thanks so much, Laurel : )
That bathroom is so dreamy, I’d never come out! Maybe only to ogle her stunning kitchen. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Hi, Laurel! I’ve been up to my ears getting ready for Thanksgiving, but just took a minute to read your post…another treat!
I’m chuckling after reading Lisa’s post…I always call toilet seats with a space in the front “boy seats”, and I refuse to use them if I have other options!! I have horrors of falling in, maybe from when I was very little? So silly, I know!
I am toying with a jewel-tone vanity base when we redo our master bath, but now I will have to think about a jewelbox! All my bathrooms are usually painted or papered yellow. Thanks for the inspiration…have a delightful Thanksgiving with Mary and Co.!
I was so inspired by your original post I modeled my powder room after it! I was going to upload photos, but it doesn’t look like I can do that here. Anyway, THANK YOU!!
Parnassus, I love your wicked sense of humour!
Happy Thanksgiving Laurel!
The powder room is gorgeous!!!! My gosh I love everything about it. It’s just perfect and timeless.
Hi Laurel,
I love this powder room! It’s so dramatic!
One question though. Is there a reason for the open toilet seat? My hubby, who is a plumber in NYC, once told me that those seats were for public restrooms and that closed seats were for homes.
Happy Thanksgiving!
A heads up – the link for the birdcage wallpaper is not active.
Love this post, both the reminder about that lovely kitchen and this dramatic powder bath. I do love that wallpaper!
We wallpapered a small bathroom that was the only one and it was used daily by three people. The wallpaper in the tub/shower surround only lasted a few years before starting to peel. We took that section down and painted that wall to match the background of the wallpaper. The rest of the room was wallpapered and lasted for many many years.
Happy Thanksgiving Laurel. I love all of your designs and your willingness to share. Big fan here.
I’m so glad you revisited this powder room! I loved seeing the original post and wished for more info and pictures of it.
I was inspired to do a “dark jewel box” for my powder room. I’ve picked out almost everything but it hasn’t been done yet.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Can you wallpaper in a bathroom that has a shower?
It is not frequently used. Maybe a couple times a year.
Your posts are always so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing all the great information that you have.
Happy Thanksgiving, Laurel and Mary! Thanks for sharing Mary’s gorgeous powder room again, Laurel. Every time you highlight her home, I’m inspired to use color more than I do. Her bathroom is simply stunning!
Hi Laurel, gorgeous powder room! I just bought this pedestal sink and getting ready to install in my powder room. Can you tell me if this sink is the 24″ or the 30″. I bought 30″ and worried it’s too big. I have basically the same setup as this powder room.
Hi Kim,
This sink is 24″
Wonderful bathroom! What serendipity to put the red Cinnabar on the ceiling before the gold leaf and find that the red worked perfectly with the wallpaper. I scrolled back to the image of the wallpaper alone and could put pick out the red in the blossoms. Just beautiful!
Interesting about the toilet paper holder. Was there not a convenient wall, or do you prefer the stands? In this bathroom I love it.
Hi Shelley,
We didn’t discuss it; or, at least I don’t recall discussing it. The toilet is quite close to the wall, so maybe it wasn’t feasible.
Hello Laurel, That is a wonderful powder room. All of the little issues I noted, such as keeping those sconce shades or switching out the electrical back-plates, were beautifully resolved by the final photos. I do question the appropriateness of the name of the Memoirs toilet–it calls to mind Proust getting hold of some bad madeleines.
–Jim
Laurel, Happy Thanksgiving! Love the powder room, just beautiful. If I could do ours again I would use your post as my inspiration piece. Was very happy to see the Kohler pieces were the same we chose for our master. However, the photo of the kitchen is to die for. I love my kitchen but would sell it in a heartbeat for your friend’s. Love it.
Hi Laurel,
The powder room is spectacular. I’ve always loved a black powder room, especially if it doesn’t have a window. It’s the perfect opportunity to get dramatic.
About 10 yrs ago I did our guest bathroom in black. It was fun to hear people’s audible reactions to it when they entered.
I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving. It’s my first one as a single lady. So it’s going to be different for me.
Hi Laurel! I’ve always loved this wallpaper. I remember seeing it a long time ago – might have been Traditional Home – in an article how Nina Campbell helped her daughter with her new apartment (in NYC?) and this wallpaper was chosen for her foyer. It was in a lighter colorway…but I fell in love with it!
I’d love to redo my powder room – but the other rooms say “get in line!” It’s an odd space – it has about 6-7 sides. I did a decorative finish on the walls that took me forever…a vertical stripe done with a raised stencil and a soft pale green metallic paint over it. Then I glazed it to push back the metallic a bit. Everyone loves it…but I’m over it. I can’t imagine having to skim like crazy over the raised portions before I could do anything.
But this powder room is giving me a lot of inspiration! Thanks for re-posting!
Linda
Gorgeous bathroom inspiration! Thank you. That bird cage wallpaper is perfect. And I love how you repurposed the sconces.
In the other inspiration — I’m intrigued with the gallery wall in bathroom concept. I suppose you’ve got time for contemplation in a bathroom, so why not surround yourself with art?
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!