Powder Room Makeover
Oh my gosh. We actually did it. The powder room makeover reveal is here! I hope you’re as excited as me.
In case you missed the progress, you can catch up below.
Week 1 – The Before Pics // Week 2 – The Design Plan // Week 3 – The Progress // Week 5 – Demo & Progress // Week 6 – Beadboard and Wallpaper Progress
Before I go any further I have to thank my amazing husband, Brad. When we started this project I wondered if we’d make it to our tenth wedding anniversary. And we did! Although things got hairy a few times. We celebrate 10 years tomorrow. Without his help, this powder room makeover would not have happened. He participated against his will. From 0 to 10, his enthusiasm was a solid 1.5. And I can’t really blame him. But he did a superb job helping me execute my vision. So if you happen to come into contact with him, please praise his talents and hard work. Because yer girl has more room makeovers she wants to tackle.
Now let’s get to it!
Power Room Makeover Reveal
We started with our very, very basic builder grade powder room. Boring pedestal sink, boring toilet, boring mirror, bird-taking-flight-looking vanity light, and a toilet paper holder that fell out of the wall.
Before
After
Can you even!? Because I CANNOT.
The Powder Room Makeover Wallpaper, Beadboard, & Paint
Remember this boring wall with the giant towel holder that was clearly a man’s idea?
Boring walls and dumb towel holder no more!
I installed Rifle Paper Co. Juniper Forest peel and stick wallpaper on the top portions of the walls. Before installing the wallpaper, I painted the walls with a satin paint color matched to the background of the wallpaper. Click here to read why I painted the walls before installing the wallpaper.
I’ve never installed peel and stick wallpaper before. So before starting, I read this peel and stick wallpaper tutorial.
I also painted the ceiling with the same color but in a matte finish. I would have gone with flat, but they were out of flat paint. The ceiling was painted because the white ceiling stuck out like a sore thumb, and I wanted the attention to be on everything else in the room. Although now I’m tempted to add crown moulding and paint the ceiling white again to brighten up the room a little more. We’ll see.
For the bottom portion of the walls, Brad and I installed beadboard with a top trim consisting of 1x4s and 1x2s. I painted the trim, baseboards, and door Benjamin Moore Oil Cloth in a semi-gloss finish. The beadboard was painted with BM Oil Cloth in a satin finish.
The Fixtures
I chose a console sink with polished nickel support and legs because I wanted to keep the small room from looking too crowded. And I feel it accomplishes that. I love the classic look of the polished nickel.
The console sink comes with an optional towel rack. We put it on the right side of the sink for the easiest access. Fingers crossed our children are tame whilst toweling off their hands.
How about another before photo as a gentle reminder of how this room looked four weeks ago?
This corner of the powder room is a lot more sparkly now. The Kingston Brass faucet in polished nickel is such a timeless piece.
I’m slightly obsessed with the handles.
Onto the FFT– the fancy f*cking toilet. It’s what Brad called the toilet when he installed it on Father’s Day. The toilet is the popular Kohler Memoirs Stately in white. And those of you who follow me on Instagram know I did extensive research on toilet seats. I chose to go with the Cachet Quiet-Close toilet seat. Only the best for the bottoms in this house.
It really is a FFT. Just look at those lines.
The Powder Room Lighting
RIP seagull gliding in the sky, looking for stale French fries to gobble up vanity light.
And hello, new polished nickel vanity light. I went with clear shades to disperse light better throughout the room. But OMFG it’s hard finding attractive lightbulbs in the desired wattage and Kelvins.
The Accessories
Since two little boys will be using the powder room, a step stool was a necessity. But I couldn’t put our plastic IKEA step stool in the beautiful room. Blasphemous. So I bought an unfinished step stool and painted it BM Oil Cloth to match the beadboard. That way it could blend into the room and not take away attention from the console sink.
Everything on top of the toilet is stuff I already had. The wooden tray is a couple years old from H&M. The white hobnail milk glass vase is vintage and the crystals are from my personal collection. I don’t really consider my handful of crystals a personal collection, I just think that makes me sound fancier.
I just love chamomile flowers. Bless these little ladies for holding on for this photo shoot. I bought them at Trader Joe’s a week ago so I didn’t know if they would make it or not.
I’ll share more about the makeover in the coming days. I plan to break down some of the projects we accomplished in the space.
I honestly can’t believe we pulled this off in less than a month while we both worked full-time from home and had our two kids home full-time for summer break. We started demo on May 29 and completed the powder room on June 22. We’re celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary tomorrow, so we’re laying low this weekend with zero DIY projects.
The Changes
Some changes will need to be made in the room. First, the sink needs a functional polished nickel drain. I didn’t realize the drain pipe that came with the polished nickel faucet was going to be gray. Brad installed it, and I was all, “Oh no. No, this isn’t going to work.” He was all, “OMG, are you for real? It’s fine.” And I was all, “The under carriage of the sink is supposed to be polished nickel and sparkly. That’s why I forked over $50 for a polished nickel P-trap.” So I did what any determined woman who’s obsessed with details would do. I went to Lowe’s, bought a pipe, removed the gray drain, inserted the new pipe into the P-trap and taped it in place with Scotch tape. It was like one of those “No one’s gonna know” TikTok videos. Brad swears everyone reading this was going to know. But I told him maybe 5% would notice. Did you notice my MacGyvered pipe?
The mirror will also have to be switched out. It’s too tall and thick. And that beast weighs like 50 pounds. I need to turn the vanity light down (it’s currently facing up) so it can cast the light down. Right now it’s illuminating the ceiling. But I can’t because the mirror is too tall and thick. I’ll post an updated pic once I get a new mirror.
Lastly, we need to install a toilet paper holder. The one I ordered was defective and in our mad dash to finish the room, finding a replacement in time was thrown out the window. Getting the mirror hung > finding and installing a polished nickel toilet paper holder.
Thank You!
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement. Even you Susanne.
Huge thanks to everyone who organized the One Room Challenge! And congrats to all the designers and participants on creating beautiful spaces!
This is gorgeous!! I love all the details, especially the FFT.
Brad! You did AMAZING! You owe it to the world to continue sharing your gift of DIYing!!
And Chelsea too 😉 it’s pretty spectacular.
Girl! It’s gorgeous! That wallpaper and console sink 😍. I know you guys worked so hard on this and it totally paid off! It looks amazing!
Also, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
I’ve used too many exclamation points in this comment but I’m just going with it!!
This is amazing! Such a small room had a complete makeover and looks reborn! I applaud your vision and perseverance!
Gosh it looks amazing! That is one of my favorite toilets! Yes I have a list of toilets in descending order but I think this is a safe space for that kind of neurosis! I have toyed with adding a vanity like that in my New Orleans themed powder room and despite the pain caused to Brad, I am still game to give it a shot! It looks just fabulous!
It’s gorgeous! Congratulations on finishing and cheers making it to 10 years!
Bravo!!! Its gorgeous! Seagull light 🤣🤣 the paint colour is perfection! What a sink – its so pretty!
Wow what a great space! I love the touch of painting a step stool to blend in. Genius—we CAN have pretty, functional things!!
Brad! One hell of a man! That beadboard is so good. Chelsea, this looks beautiful!! It’s so fancy. You guys did such a good job. Can’t wait for a breakdown on beadboard. We want to tackle that in our dining room and I am nervous 😂
Gorgeous!! I can’t wait to see more DIY projects 😉
Wow!!!!! It looks amazing, every detail!! Great job!
This came out AMAZING! I love the wallpaper, and I’m obsessed with that mirror!
Everything about this room is perfection 😍
Wow!! The room looks beautiful! Im so impressed that you did it all yourselves and you’re still married 😉 Really great work. I want to do my powder room now. You two have inspired me!
Chelsea! Wow, I love the upgrade you completed. It’s beautiful! I especially love that quiet little step stool that’s painted to blend in, but makes the space practical for your little ones with out sacrificing style.
It’s simply stunning! I love it all. You and Brad make a great team.
Bravo to both of you! It’s absolutely stunning!
It’s perfect!!!!!
Wow! Absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations on the reno and 10 years!
What a lovely powder room! It’s absolutely stunning!!
From the picture you cannot even tell the enthusiasm level of your husband was a 1.5. 😂 you both did an amazing job and now I am going to do my powder room! (It has dead mice in the walls so I have some unique challenges ahead of me.) maybe a FFT will distract from the smell?? Nice work! Love it!
Wow!!!! It looks gorgeous!!!!! & Brad is right – love the FFT!
Wow! Chelsea & Brad, it’s beautiful! I love the color palette you chose and how the wallpaper gets its space to shine but doesn’t overwhelm the room. Painting the stool is such a great idea, too. Absolutely lovely space!
Oh I absolutely love this!!! It looks so good.
I am OBSESSED with this wallpaper and the paint color is perfect with it. Every detail is so perfect including the new outlet and switch covers😉
It looks so so so so good!! And what an accomplishment to do it in a month! Love everything about it – especially the FFT and the wallpaper. Happy Anniversary !
I feel your pain about the lightbulbs! I just switched out the globes on mine and it’s almost impossible to find bulbs.
Absolutely love it! You guys are Talented!!!
Looks fantastic!! Glad your marriage survived 🤣
So gorgeous! Love all the details.
Your writing cracks me up in the best way. Congrats! It looks amazing. I love the wallpaper.
It is beautiful!
Where’s the toilet paper ?
Ooooooh that looks so great! I love the dark wallpaper and that lovely sink! So happy your marriage is intact too!
It looks incredible!! Great job!!
Love everything! Can you loan Brad out?!
Great job!!! It’s beautiful. I really love the wallpaper.
So good!!!!!! Love the wallpaper! And even when I scrolled back to look at the p-trap I can’t see it!
Wow!!! It looks fabulous!!! I wish I had your diy skills!!
Chelsea, this is absolutely gorgeous. You are the queen of intentionality.
Brad, you did good too.
Ohhhhhh, it’s absolutely GORGEOUS! I love the wallpaper and beadboard, but it’s all about that sink and FFT for me!
I love it! That sink is gorgeous! Love that you painted the stool to match!
It’s so so so good!!!
So I admit when I saw the plan I was with Bon and didn’t understand you were replacing the perfectly fine, working toilet. Now that I see the FFT, I understand your vision. It really does elevate the space. Love the wallpaper, bead board, attention to detail, and the whole vibe. Never would have guessed the sink is MacGyvered..
It’s absolutely stunning!!!! The wallpaper, the beadboard, the trim, the color, the toilet, the sink, all of it!! I especially love the customized stool – what a great idea!! Enjoy your anniversary!!
Gorgeous! Amazing what some time, sweat, and tears can do to a room. This room was transformed into a beautiful area. Great job both of you!!
I love this color palette, it is absolutely gorgeous! We will be in a new home within the next year, so I will be pinning this for future reference! Also, I need to know what Susanne said/did. 🙂
Chelsea, this is just STUNNING!!! Amazing job, so much inspiration here!!
WOW!!! This is gorgeous and now I am coveting the wallpaper for my dining room … Funny how you finishing one project causes all of us to start a new one 😂 Thanks for the inspiration and hard work you put in (and Brad)!
Stunning! I also loved seeing all the blood sweat and tears that went into it. Congrats on finishing the project and staying married in the process.
Great work!! I can’t believe you got this all done in 3 weeks. I noticed nothing about the pipes haha. What a great toilet too hehe
I LOVE this!!!! It is just beautiful. The sink, wallpaper, paint color, etc. are perfect! Can’t wait to see the replacement mirror. Congrats to you and Brad too!
Love, love, LOVE!!!!
Are you freaking kidding me? This is a gorgeous makeover, Chelsea! Well done team!
Holy crap, Chelsea! This is amazing – the mirror with the wallpaper is perfection l. *chef’s kiss*
That wallpaper is to die for. Great choices all around!
Great job. It’s beautiful. I’ve always loved the Kohler Memoirs line. Nice choice.
Complete gorgeousness! The wallpaper, paint color, and sink are truly my favorites. Congrats on an excellent job.
WOW! Just WOW! Love the FTT and that wallpaper!!! All the details are just beautiful! Kudos!
Wow, wow, wow! I love it.
Such a beautiful little space, love the transformation!