20 Powder Rooms That Pack a Punch

As Sally and Michel Perrin’s Mexico Shangri-la designed by Diego Villaseñor proves, subtlety belongs nowhere near a powder room. The hand-carved wood mirror is by David Hurwitz, and the sconces are custom.

Marble has its charm, but also an extreme ubiquity. Your powder room isn’t an iPhone, so try a stone that’s visually stimulating but less expected, like this blue custom Brazilian quartzite sink in a Los Angeles home designed by Ernest de la Torre. The mirror is by Roger Capron, and the sconces are by Max Ingrand. The walls are in a grass cloth by Schumacher.

Neon lights reign supreme in this artsy powder room designed by Nicole Hollis. It’s Dan Flavin meets Gaspar Noé meets Studio 54. Your guests will come for privacy and leave with an Insta-grid of wild selfies. The sink is by Sabine Marcelis for Etage Projects, the mirror is by Agape, and the ceiling light is by Johanna Grawunder for Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

Being at one with nature doesn’t require a window as evidenced in this powder room designed by Lily Dierkes. The walls are covered in Raphael Green by Sanderson Wallpaper, and the mirror is from RT Facts.

Here, birds make the ultimate statement, and the bigger the better: a Gucci wallcovering in a powder room designed by Summer Thornton depicting herons. The vanity is of Calacatta Violette marble, and the sconces are by the Urban Electric Co.

When you choose a hunk of high-drama Cassiopeia marble for your vanity, like this one by Michael K. Chen, it’s advisable to take it down a notch when accessorizing. The custom mirror is by Kin & Company, the sconces are by Lindsey Adelman, and the walls are sheathed in Venetian plaster.

The Eternal City inspired Filippo Chia for this calming space accented with an 18th-century Murano mirror and 19th-century Riggiole tile. You can’t go wrong taking design notes from the Italians.

Luis Fernandez created a high-brow rain-forest vibe in Beverly Hills with the help of Eco Outdoor tiles and a loud green-and-blue wallpaper.

Yet another choice alternative to marble, according to Alvisi Kirimoto, is white onyx. It’s a stone so wonderfully understated that the rest of the powder-room design should follow its lead. The sink and mirror are custom, the fittings are by Fantini, and the sconce is by Flos.

This powder room speaks in a decidedly modern vernacular. Designer Ryan Lawson used unfinished oak on the walls and added a custom soapstone sink from Vermont Soapstone. The antique French sunburst mirror was a vacation find, and the wall lamp is from Design Within Reach.

Is it a hunk of rusty iron? A hollowed-out piece of meteorite? Keep them guessing. In a chalet in Big Sky, Montana, designed by Shawn Henderson, the powder room’s sink fittings, mirror, and wall light are by Waterworks, the custom sink is stone, and the walls are clad in reclaimed whitewashed wood.

Where is it written that a powder room has to be bright and cheery? That’s right—it’s written nowhere. This one by by Re-a.d defies expectations by covering the walls in darkness. The walls and flooring are plaster in the style of a Moroccan tadelakt with a stained concrete finish, ConcreteStudio 7 by i-Faux; the hardware is the Kohler Vibrant Titanium series.

You can tell your friends it’s an Art Deco vibe, but secretly, you know you asked for this wallpaper to live out your Bruce Wayne fantasy. This graphic powder room, designed by Delia Kenza, includes a Duravit sink, Popham Design tiles, and Tom Dixon lighting.

Raffaele D’Alessio and Caterina D’Ambrosio’s home in Capri, says so much with so little. Just cover the walls in custom hexagonal tiles in two different colors to create a powder-room fever dream to remember. The pedestal sink is by Antonia Campi for Richard Ginori Laveno.

Heidi Caillier must have had so much fun finding this floral Scalamandré wallpaper for her project on Fox Island, Washington. It provides at least the illusion of an eternally sweet-smelling space. The vanity is custom, the fittings are from Waterworks, and the sconces are from Urban Electric.

Gilded is a look that doesn’t appeal to everyone. It’s territory where only eagles dare. But when Poonam Khanna offsets the bling with black ceramic tiles, all doubt dissipates. The mirror is by Studio Matter Made, tiles by Heath Ceramics, a sink and fittings by Piet Boon, and a hand towel by Coyuchi.

Powder rooms can seem so tiny. But just adding a mirrored wall, as here in the home of Tatyana Miron Ahlers, can double its volume, at least in your mind. The custom vanity has fittings by Waterworks, and the wallcovering is by Twigs through John Rosselli.

There’s a charm to having so many disparate elements colliding in a such a small space. Home Studios mixed geometric-patterned tile by Clé Tile, with a Kast concrete basin, Fantini fixtures, and a custom mural painted by Kimmy Quillin inspired by the fine art of Le Corbusier.

If you’re a Pisces with a powder room, it almost seems obligatory to cover the walls in a de Gournay fish print like the one here chosen by Ariel Okin. The vintage Piero Fornasetti mirror is from Bernd Goeckler.

Powdering your nose underwater is clumpy, if not impossible. But for those who still want to give it a try, Fawn Galli figured out how to make it work. The walls are clad in a Flavor Paper design, and the ceiling is in Dedar’s Wild Party. The mirror is by Desiron, and the Piet Hein Eek sconces are from the Future Perfect.