| Your guest bathroom, or powder room, presents a | | | | If you need to replace the toilet, which only needs to |
| great place to start with your home makeover. This | | | | be functional because the other details will outshine it, |
| small room takes less money and effort to decorate | | | | look for a toilet which blends in with your home's style. |
| than your larger rooms. Plus, you get a chance to | | | | Powder Room Makeover Tips |
| develop you personal home interior design skills without | | | | Besides the bathroom fixtures, your flooring, walls, and |
| committing to a huge project. | | | | ceiling offer the most economical home makeover |
| Because guests view this little space privately, visitors | | | | opportunities. Because of the small area, you can use |
| take more time to notice the interior design details. For | | | | large ceramic tiles that mimic stone, marble, or even |
| this reason, you want to showcase great design to | | | | wood. Also, linoleum comes in a multitude of interesting |
| make a good impression. Also, hospitality shines in a | | | | patterns and has the benefit of being warmer to bare |
| well-appointed guest bath where it takes just a couple | | | | feet than tile. |
| of splurges on extravagant fixtures to make a huge | | | | The area that makes the greatest interior design |
| impact that your guests will remember. Company may | | | | impact, the walls and ceiling, give the best place to |
| not remember your living room walls because they're | | | | have fun with your home makeover. Decorative paint |
| focusing on the people in the space, but they will | | | | finishes, like subtle layering of glazes, add the designer's |
| remember your powder room. | | | | touch without the expense. Choose colors that |
| What if you don't have a powder room and guests | | | | harmonize with the rest of your home to reinforce |
| use your children's bathroom? | | | | your color theme. Use color psychology to make your |
| Children appreciate being treated as adults and don't | | | | powder room present a cooling oasis or a warming |
| need a childish bathroom. Don't use juvenile-patterned | | | | shelter. |
| wallpaper or accessories. | | | | Use an essential oil diffuser to help your powder room |
| Keep bathtub toys in the bathtub (in one of those | | | | smell as good as it looks. Avoid unnatural sprays that |
| plastic-coated wire baskets) and hang a ceiling to floor | | | | cause irritation to those with sensitivities. |
| curtain in front of the bathtub. This curtain can be hung | | | | The final interior design detail, exquisite lighting, doesn't |
| in front of the normal plastic liner from the ceiling. For | | | | need to kill your budget. Perhaps your dining chandelier |
| small bathrooms, where the daylight comes in over the | | | | would make a better statement in your bathroom than |
| bathtub, use white or another light-emitting fabric. A | | | | it does in your dining room. If you life in a climate with |
| curtain made of soft gauze or cotton does double | | | | high humidity and hot summers, a ceiling fan helps keep |
| duty: it softens the space with fabric while masking the | | | | the room cool. Look for a fan with lights that point |
| bathtub, which is not a guest-bath feature. | | | | upward. Lights shining down on you in a small space |
| Powder Room Basics | | | | feel over-powering. Also, use wall sconces on either |
| To finish any proper powder room, you need a great | | | | side of the vanity mirror instead of the usual builder's |
| sink, faucet, and cabinet with a large mirror, plus the | | | | light fixture above the mirror. |
| toilet. If you're working on a budget, look for sinks on | | | | Finishing touches, guest towels, hard soaps, and lotions |
| sale at a warehouse store or at Habitat for Humanity's | | | | make your guests and yourself feel pampered. |
| thrift store, ReStore. Don't buy a poorly constructed | | | | Choose generous, thick, and soft hand towels to add |
| cabinet; look for an antique dresser or buffet that | | | | softness to an otherwise hard surface space. |
| spans the wall space. | | | | Because people feel more comfortable in smaller |
| Dramatic powder rooms emphasize remarkable | | | | bathrooms which offer privacy, a guest bathroom |
| mirrors. You may be tempted to keep the ugly | | | | offers the perfect place to practice your design skills. |
| wall-mounted medicine cabinet, but if you truly want an | | | | Splurge a little on lavish wall finishes and guest towels |
| impressive guest bath, hang a spectacular mirror | | | | to showcase your home's interior design. |
| instead. | | | | Copyright © 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights |
| Store toothbrushes and other necessities in the cabinet | | | | reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety |
| below and move medicines to the kitchen, out or reach | | | | with the following author's information with live links |
| of children. | | | | only. |