Powder rooms are often an afterthought in home design, relegated to utilitarian spaces with little personality. However, these small bathrooms have great potential for making a stylish statement. This week we’re taking a look at three powder rooms with cheerful, smile-inducing wall treatments that add interest, color and whimsy. Read on for some fresh ideas to give your own powder room an uplifting new look.
Injecting Color with Illustrated Wallpaper
Illustrated wallpaper is having a major moment right now. These modern prints feature bright colors, fun motifs and a hand-drawn look that injects personality into any space. Using illustrated wallpaper to line the walls of your powder room is a foolproof way to transform an overlooked utility area into an irresistibly charming space.
Lively Botanical Prints Add Fresh Appeal
Botanical prints are a perennial favorite for powder room walls, and contemporary versions with vivid colors and stylized drawings have tons of appeal. Cover all four walls in the same print for maximum impact, or use it on one accent wall to spice up simple tile or paint. Modern illustrated botanical prints add an energizing splash of color and make a small powder room feel like a mini indoor garden.
Vibrant illustrated floral wallpaper transforms this powder room. Source
Whimsical Motifs for Playful Appeal
Powder rooms intended for guests can take a more playful direction with illustrated prints featuring fun motifs like animals, foods or abstract shapes in cheery hues. Whimsical wallpaper prints make a small bathroom feel lively. They also give guests something interesting to look at. Choose a motif that brings you joy when you need a quick smile.
A playful wallpaper print adds a fun backdrop in this powder room. Source
Free Up Floor Space with Floor-to-Ceiling Prints
Illustrated prints can also help a cramped powder room feel more spacious by drawing the eye upwards. Choosing wallpaper that extends all the way from floor to ceiling minimizes visual breaks and makes the room feel taller and airier. For serious impact, coat the ceiling in wallpaper too. Track lighting illuminates the print while freeing up precious floor space.
Floor-to-ceiling wallpaper helps this narrow powder room feel more spacious. Source
Textural Wall Treatments Add Visual Depth
While vivid color is one way to spice up powder room walls, texture is another excellent option. Layering tactile materials on walls and ceilings brings in visual interest through uneven surfaces, seam details and plays of light. Using textured wall coverings allows you to keep the color scheme neutral while still adding eye-catching style.
3D Wall Tiles Create Dimension
3D wall tile options like fish scale tiles, handmade Moroccan tiles and penny round mosaics make powder room walls shimmer. The tiles’ dimensional surfaces catch and reflect light from multiple angles, adding organic movement and making walls an artistic focal point. Pair textured tiles with neutral grout to keep the look cohesive.
3D tiles add sculptural style to this powder room accent wall. Source
Natural Materials Provide Subtle Texture
For a more subtle textural look, cover powder room walls in natural materials like bamboo, reclaimed wood planks or stone. The organic surface variations, visible cracks, crevices and imperfections in these materials add natural visual interest. Keep the space feeling serene and spa-like by selecting neutral wall materials.
Reclaimed wood planks with natural variations add subtle texture. Source
Embossed Wallpaper Offers Subtle Pattern
For powder rooms seeking a more polished look, choose an embossed wallpaper with a subtle raise pattern like cubes, stripes or abstract shapes. The textural pattern casts beautiful shadows on the walls and adds quiet visual intrigue without overwhelming a petite space. Pair embossed wallpaper with simple, matching bath accessories.
An embossed cube pattern wallpaper adds subtle texture. Source
Creative Paneling Transforms Walls
Paneling is back in a big way, offering yet another creative option for making a design statement on powder room walls. Both natural and painted paneling provide beautiful visual texture and allow you to highlight unique geometric forms. Modern takes on classic paneled walls bring dimension and elegance.
Crisp Painted Panels Provide Contrast
Painting clean-lined paneling in crisp, high-contrast colors pops against tile or wallpaper. Use painted paneled walls to delineate separate functional zones, or install a paneled wainscoting just 4 feet up from the floor to anchor the space. Choose contrasting paint hues from the same color family for a pulled-together look.
Bold painted paneled walls make a dramatic style statement. Source
Warm Wood Paneled Walls Provide Contrast
The richness of real wood paneling lends an elegant, organic feel. Use it to add warmth and texture when paired with sleek surfaces like stone tile or concrete floors. Choose wide planks for modern appeal, or more traditional tongue-in-groove paneling for a nostalgic cottage or farmhouse aesthetic.
Real wood panels contrast beautifully with concrete and marble. Source
Geometric Paneling Makes an Artistic Statement
Take powder room paneling to artistic new heights with unexpected geometric arrangements like herringbone, chevron or diamond patterns. Geometric panel layouts make ordinary walls into impactful focal features. They provide artistic interest even when finished in a neutral wood tone.
A bold geometric paneled powder room wall. Source
Wallpaper Accents Enliven Plain Walls
Full walls covered in vivid prints or textured materials can feel overwhelming in a tiny powder room. For a more balanced look, consider using wallpaper just as accents against a backdrop of painted or tiled walls. Strategic wallpaper placements provide focal points without going overboard.
Frame Mirrors and Art with Wallpaper
An easy way to dip your toe into powder room wallpaper is by using it to frame mirrors, art or wall niches. Contained wallpaper panels add interest while keeping the overall aesthetic simple and serene. For intimate powder rooms, try framing the mirror above the vanity in wallpaper.
Framing a mirror with wallpaper makes it a focal point. Source
Line Niches for Pops of Color
Many powder rooms have niches for rolled towels or decorative objects. Lining these niches in colorful wallpaper contrasts beautifully with plain surrounding walls. The recessed shape also contains the pattern so it doesn’t take over the room.
Lining a wall niche in wallpaper provides a pop of color. Source
Graphic Stripes Make Small Spaces Soar
Vertical stripes help draw the eye upwards, making small powder room ceilings feel taller. Use wallpaper just on one wall or the lower half of walls. Pair with furniture and accents in solid colors to keep the look from getting too busy. Bold stripes add movement and dimension while maintaining a clean, crisp aesthetic.
Graphic striped wallpaper adds height. Source
Creative Paint Techniques Lend Depth
Don’t underestimate the transformative power of paint! Using creative techniques and multiple tones, painted walls can be just as captivating as wallpaper. The finished effects lend artistic flair and visual dimension to powder room walls done up in creative paints.
Color Washing Builds Organic Movement
The color washing technique involves layering translucent coats of paint atop each other to create blended, mottled effects. For powder rooms, stick to two harmonious tones. The finished wall has organic depth, like sunlight filtering through leaves. Color washing lends a relaxed, naturalistic vibe.
Soft color washed walls have a peaceful, blended effect. Source
Sponge Painting Adds Mottled Texture
For more pronounced mottling, try sponge painting. This technique involves dabbing different paint colors onto the wall with a sponge, creating a textured, multi-tone finish. The depth and handmade look lend antique charm to contemporary powder rooms.
A softly mottled sponge painted wall. Source
Faux Finishes Take Drama Up a Notch
For powder rooms that can handle it, go bold with a glazed faux finish in finishes like metallic, crackle or crocodile textures. Darker tones popped against bright whites prevent potentially heavy finishes from overwhelming the petite space. Limit faux finishes to one accent wall.
A metallic faux finish adds drama to this accent wall. Source
FAQ About Stylish Powder Room Walls
What colors are best for small powder rooms?
Pale, tranquil colors like light blue, green, gray and brown keep small powder rooms feeling open and airy. Bold saturated hues can overwhelm. Neutral walls also allow colorful accessories and fixtures to pop.
What wall tiles work best in powder rooms?
Glossy subway tiles, mosaic sheets, Moroccan fish scale tiles and handmade encaustic cement tiles all add visual flair. Large format stone-look porcelain tiles keep the look sleek. Warm natural stone tiles like marble provide an elegant backdrop.
How do I add interest to boring powder room walls?
Fun wallpaper prints, 3D tiles, shiplap or tongue-in-groove wood paneling, creative color washing and sponge painting techniques, framing mirrors or niches in wallpaper, and metallic or textured wall paints all enliven plain powder room walls.
Should you wallpaper all walls in a small powder room?
It’s best to limit wallpaper to one accent wall or wall panels in a petite powder room. Floor-to-ceiling graphic prints can make the space feel taller. Wallpaper inside framed niches provides pops of color. Too much busy wallpaper overwhelms though.
How do I pick wallpaper for a narrow powder room?
Opt for calming neutral patterns or solid prints rather than super busy designs. Narrow rooms feel more expansive visually with wallpaper that has organic movement, like illustrated floral prints, or vertical lines, like fineline stripes.
What wall treatments allow natural light into windowless powder rooms?
Mirror tiles, glass block walls, 3D tile patterns and real metal panels all allow light to filter through from adjacent rooms without compromising privacy. Hang wall sconces strategically to amplify available light.
Should you paint a small windowless powder room dark or light colors?
Stick with lighter paint colors if the powder room lacks natural light. Dark paint absorbs light and can make an already dim space feel closed in and cavelike. Bright whites keep things airy. Add task lighting as needed.
Key Takeaways on Smile-Inducing Powder Room Walls
- Illustrated wallpaper prints in vibrant colors or fun nature motifs inject cheerful personality.
- 3D tiles, natural wood planks and embossed wallpaper create captivating texture and visual depth.
- Painted, wood and geometric paneling transforms basic walls into works of art.
- Contained wallpaper sections on mirrors, in niches and
