A powder room might be small, but its design potential is anything but. Because of the limited square footage, decor decisions can make a huge impact, which is why these Pittsburgh designers weren’t afraid to make daring choices. All ten let audacious wallpaper set the tone, and it’s easy to see why: it delivers a double hit of color and pattern that can inspire equally adventurous vanities, lighting, and mirrors. Even better, the compact space doesn’t need much coverage, so splurging on a pricier roll won’t blow the budget. Here’s how the designers used wallpaper in a big way.
Power Plants: Powder Room Ideas Featuring Extravagant Botanical Wallpaper
No shrinking violets here: large-scale blooms create the lush feel of a fantastical garden.
Brenda Friday
“I love a floral with an edge,” states interior designer Brenda Friday, which explains her choice of Malmaison-Opiat wallpaper by Christian Lacroix for Designers Guild. The references it draws upon are somehow both 19th century (like a Pierre-Joseph Redoute print) and 80s punk couture (like the heyday of Lacroix himself). Friday thought the house needed precisely this dose of irreverence. “Prior to the renovation the home was a dark 1920’s Tudor that needed a dose of cheerful and uplifting energy in order to bring in light. Every room now has an element of refined color.”
Like the skilled designer she is, Friday’s methods kept the now-lively powder room from any hint of madness: “The vanity needed to be more restrained to give the eye a rest. The beautiful mitered marble and the Newport Brass fittings added the necessary weight to balance the room. And, of course, the Nest Hardware peacocks were simply necessary.”
Discover other ways Brenda Friday reinvents a home.
Amanda Bock
Interior designer Amanda Bock chose House of Hackney’s Hollyhocks wallpaper for a recent client’s powder room for two reasons. It echoes the client’s previous and much-loved wallcovering, and, while it is bolder and more daring than the other choices Bock made for the home, it remains cohesive with the style and palette of the rest of the house. About the freedom many people feel when making choices for their powder rooms, she comments, “Most people are afraid to be bold or to use color and pattern and really go for it because they worry they’ll get sick of it. Because the powder room is such a small space that people only frequent periodically, many feel emboldened to get a little wild…I wanted this space to be fun and fresh and feel happy. How can you not feel happy when walking into a room that looks like this?”
Want to see what else Amanda Bock can do? Check out her custom bathroom redesign.
Molly Lucas
The powder room of this project was one of the first spaces to be tackled in an ongoing re-do by Molly Lucas. “This home had a classic early-2000s palette when we started, with lots of golds, reds, and browns. We are currently in the process of refreshing the first floor, and this Anemoni wallpaper by Missoni Home for York Wallcoverings was an intentional choice because it could bridge both phases of the design. The metallic gold connects beautifully to the warmer existing tones, while the blue introduces a fresher, cooler direction that will coordinate with the more modern updates still to come. So, in that sense, it supports the house as it is now, but it will also grow with the next phase of the refresh,” she explains.
“The wallpaper was really the star of the refresh here. Since it brought in pattern, color, and a bit of metallic warmth, the rest of the updates could stay relatively simple and strategic. We kept the existing vanity and countertop, painted the wood vanity, swapped the hardware, and updated the faucet. Those smaller changes helped the space feel fresh and intentional while still working with the brown-toned countertop that was already there,” Lucas continues. “Beyond beauty, one of the most important features of this wallpaper is that it’s vinyl, which means it can handle the wear and tear of a powder room while still feeling elevated and special.”
Laura Solensky
Starting with Indian Arbre wallpaper by Schumacher, and then adding a small custom-made vanity and crisp, classic tile, interior designer Laura Solensky created the perfect powder room for this project. “My clients love color and pattern and wanted to make this a “wow” space. They also love antiques and pieces with charm,” she says. The scale and complexity of the wall covering are both matched and contained by the Greek key tile border and the noticeable woodgrain of the vanity. “The room is small but mighty and gives whoever is inside lots of eye candy.” Solensky enjoys a powder room challenge, in part because it offers a chance to showcase a family’s personality. “The rest of the home has layers of pattern and color as well, but this is one of the bolder spaces. The powder room is a place you can lean into fun or drama.”
Wild Things: Animal Wallpapers to Give Your Powder Room Attitude
Upend expectations by monkeying around with impish baboons, mock-serious animal portraits, and King Kong and Godzilla teaming up in Manhattan.
Betsy Wentz
Playfulness is certainly a signature of Betsy Wentz’s style, but her powder rooms are next-level. “They are where I let the design rules bend a little. They’re small, they’re private, and guests only pop in for a minute — so I use them as the jewel box moment to go bold with color, wallpaper, or a wild mirror that might feel like too much in any other living spaces,” she exclaims. This eye-catching space is all about joy and surprise. The impish monkey chandelier vibes happily with the asymmetrical mirror. The red vanity underscores the seductive promise of the Pop Art to the left of the entry. Savuti wallpaper from Cole and Sons fans the flames with its dynamic pattern and color combo. This space is part of a full home design by Wentz that continues the energy, just at a slightly mellower temperature.
See Betsy Wentz’s playful design style continue with her family-friendly redesign of a historic home.
madDesigns
Is it possible that Maggie Dobkin Cham’s BFA in Graphic Design from CMU shapes her perspective on interior design? The simultaneous clarity and boldness of this powder room suggest that it does. She deploys a wallcovering with star power (UK design house Cole & Sons’ pattern Savuti in their “soot on tangerine” colorway) and then lets it occupy center stage by exercising restraint in her other choices. “This paper gives off major glam vibes,” she declares. “It is our lead player and everything else in the space is supporting cast. All the fixtures have elegant lines and are jewel like. Because they are clear crystal or mirrored, they don’t compete, but rather support the whole. The dark simple, soapstone floor is the perfect anchor for our jewel box surprise: a classic choice that completes the mood, provides depth and holds all the movement and color together.”
When asked whether the client was worried about the bold impact of this small space, her response is as breezy as the room itself. “It’s easy to be brave with the powder room aesthetic. Clients are more willing to experiment in this contained space. Plus, how can you not be drawn to this whimsical paper in just the perfect shade of orange! The client immediately jumped on board for this adventure.”
Babb and Mack
Inspired by a 36-hour stay in London at a hotel designed by Kit Kemp, interior designer (and co- founder of Babb and Mack) Dana Mackey’s own powder room is a delightful combination of humor, chic, and personality. “I wanted it to feel like a tiny museum, a space that appeared thoughtfully collected over time, offering something quirky and unexpected for both our family and our guests,” she explains. “My hope was that visitors would linger a little longer, taking in the details and leaving with a smile and something to chat about.”
This little room is anchored by Kit Kemp’s Robina Dinner Plate wallpaper by GP & J Baker. The plates offer a playful nod to the kitchen just around the corner. Its splendid color and pattern support a glamorous ensemble: gilded light fixtures, a boldly patterned mirror, classic natural stone, and a framed collection of antique intaglios mounted on Florentine marbled paper. “My hope is that the powder room showcases the same thoughtful, collected approach found throughout the rest of the house, but in a concentrated dose of eclectic fun,” says Mackey. We suspect it also reveals something about Mackey’s approach to work and life.
For inspiration more, see how Co-Founder Dana Mackey takes on a basement remodel.
Katy Popple
A sense of optimism and freshness animates interior designer Katy Popple’s work, and this powder room is no exception. The reflectivity of white walls makes the space naturally luminous. The vanity is lacquered a nicely urban shade of sky blue. And the King Kong motif of New York City Wallpaper by Milton & King provokes an immediate smile. “I was drawn to this wallpaper because the homeowners were relocating to Pittsburgh from NYC,” comments Popple. “The wallpaper dictated the direction for the black plumbing and accessories to play up the graphic nature of the pattern, and we pulled the vanity paint color from the wallpaper as well. I was looking to establish a feeling of whimsy and give visitors a reason to linger,” she adds.
Popple is right to call out the simplicity of the black fittings and towel ring because they recall the crisply inked details of the cartoon-inspired wallpaper pattern without distracting from it. They also create a visual connection to the rest of the house, which is “generally more neutral.”
Besides her touch on powder rooms, see how Katy Popple brings together an entire house.
Pattern Play: How to Use Bold Abstract Wallpaper in Your Powder Room
Dynamic and graphic, op-art circles and a trippy, hazy tie-dye dial up the sophistication in unexpected ways.
Hoodridge Design
“Powder rooms are spaces where our clients can show guests a more playful side without committing to something they have to see every day. I always think of it like wearing a vintage concert tee under a beautifully tailored blazer — it’s classic, but with a little wink,” declares Hoodridge Design co-founder Katie Skocik. For the powder room shown here, Skocik chose Pink Standard wallpaper from Lindsay Cowles. “This wallpaper has almost a tie-dye effect, but in a more abstract artful, elevated way. Adding classic elements, like the white wainscoting and a traditional marble sink, really helped tie the powder room back to the rest of the house. It softened the almost graffiti- like wallpaper, making it feel more refined and delicate. I think the juxtaposition of the two feels classic and comfortable, yet artfully unexpected.”
But that’s not all Hoodridge Design can do, check out their makeover of a Mt. Lebanon family’s kitchen.
Marvista Design + Build
Michael Jacobs, Owner and President of Marvista Design + Build, sees this powder room in the context of the whole interior project he undertook for his client. “They were drawn to a bold, geometric look with plenty of color. The home embraces a mid-century modern aesthetic while incorporating traditional elements that honor its architectural character,” he says. “For this space, we wanted to create a sense of excitement and surprise. It is one of the first rooms you encounter upon entering the home, so it sets the tone for what lies beyond and offers a glimpse into the home’s distinctive personality.” The San Francisco wallpaper from Jupiter 10 fit the design brief perfectly.
“In a powder room with limited natural light, a vibrant wallcovering like this can make all the difference, adding depth, personality, and a sense of brightness to the compact space,” comments Jacobs. Its strong and structured use of black informed the choice of plumbing fixtures. And its playful but composed pattern helps establish a cohesive visual experience throughout the home.
In case you’re planning an out-of-the-box renovation soon, see what samples and materials Marvista recommends.
Looking for more design inspiration and resources? Check out our guide to interior designing.
About the Author
Keith Recker is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Owner of TABLE Magazine. A color and trend forecaster for nearly 20 years, his clients have included Pantone, WGSN, Stylus, and the Color Association of the United States. He is the author of three books on color, including Deep Color: The Shades That Shape Our Souls and True Colors: World Masters of Natural Dyes and Pigments, and PANTONE: The Twentieth Century in Color. He is co-founder of the Open Source Colour Association, a new organization devoted to inclusive and transparent color forecasting. Earlier in his career, he was a vice president of home merchandising at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Gump’s San Francisco. Listen to his podcast appearances at The Color Authority and EcoFashion Hub.
Read more of his work here or contact him at keith@tablemagazine.com. Follow him on Instagram as @TheChromosapien.
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