We’ve come a long way from the outhouse, I say with wrinkled nose and a preparatory holding of my breath. I once went on a vacation only to arrive at my quaint island destination to discover that there was no running water in the one bedroom house that I would be staying in – none. I remember it vividly as traumatic events linger in the depths of your being long after they should have said their good-byes, and allowed you to move on with your life. The drama of it all, the longing, not just for a room with a door, with a toilet – wait I’m not done yet, with indoor plumbing, and the whirl, rush, plunge and flush that comes with it.
Having a special place in my heart for the small nooks and sliver thin spaces that exist in tiny homes, it is no surprise that I adore the ingenuity of a powder room. Tucked under the eave or the underside of the stair, slotted between the kitchen and living room. A converted closet, an unused corner, a defunct pantry – any old space will do as long as it backs up to, or can tap into a water source. Otherwise fine friends, it will cost you a fortune, and I like to spend my money where you can see it.
When you open the door of a Powder Room it should transport you to a magical place – the inside of a velvet cushioned ring box for royalty, a first class cabin’s private quarters aboard the Titanic – before it sunk of course, or perhaps a secret garden. It should feel lush and private and very, very quiet. Just you and the sound of a tweeting bird, a distant orchestra, the lapping of the waves on the hull of a sound vessel bound for the horn of Africa. It’s a chance to do something special – really special.
The wallcovering that you wouldn’t dare drop the dough for, in the small space seems reasonable. The fifth wall – also known as the ceiling, suddenly seems to be begging for a bold hue, and while you may never have considered painting the base and/or the molding anything but white – why the heck not give it a try in this spec of a space within a much bigger space? Whether you paper or pad the walls, pour concrete floors or color your doors, the powder rooms the place to think like a kid, spend like a princess and experiment as if you were deaf to all critics. Do it up, do it over, but do something dangerously delicious.