This infill house in Houston is sleek and modern, but a red fire…
This infill house in Houston is sleek and modern, but a red fired-clay sink in the powder room adds a surprising, hand-hewn accent. Project: 4412 Effie, Bellaire, Texas; Architect/Interior Designer: Edward Dumont, Studio RED Architects, Houston, Texas; Builder: Les Albin, Lacon Homes, Houston, Texas.
Robert Glasgow Studio
The homeowners have happy memories of their travels in Italy, an…
The homeowners have happy memories of their travels in Italy, and they wanted a sink that would remind them of the drinking fountains common to Roman piazzas. This limestone sink and its playful brass spout did the trick nicely. Project: Conrad Poor Residence, Maplewood, N.J.; Architect/Interior Designer: Marvin Clawson, Clawson Architects, Maplewood, N.J.; Builder: Venancio Ribeiro, COTA Corp. General Contractor, Newark, N.J.
Beth Singer
The underground level of this house needed a complete renovation…
The underground level of this house needed a complete renovation with finishes that would make it an appropriate place for throwing dinner parties and charity events. Corrugated steel walls add a sculptural feel to the powder room. Despite its being an industrial material, the steel actually looks elegant next to the more traditional finishes. Project: Franklin Residence, Franklin, Mich.; Architect: Robert Clarke, CBi Design Professionals, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Builder: Dan Sebold, Thomas Sebold & Associates, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Interior Designer: Jennifer Gilbert, Doodle Home, Livonia, Mich.
Matthew Millman
The tiny powder room in this San Francisco condo has fire-engine…
The tiny powder room in this San Francisco condo has fire-engine red walls and makes excellent use of corner space with a sink of Geocrete, one of the concrete blends that the designer is well-known for. Project: Zuckerman Residence, San Francisco, Calif.; Designer: Fu-Tung Cheng, Cheng Design, Berkeley, Calif.; Builder: Matt Blickman, 38 Degrees North Latitude Builders, San Rafael, Calif.
Paul Finkel
Sleek rosewood veneer, rough stacked basalt walls, basalt floor …
Sleek rosewood veneer, rough stacked basalt walls, basalt floor tile, and leather wall tiles make for a deluxe powder room that’s a collage of warm and cool materials. Project: Mountain Villa Residence, Austin, Texas; Architect/Interior Designer: Ulrich Dangel and Tamie Glass, Austin, Texas; Builder: Branson Fustes, Pilgrim Building Company, Austin, Texas.
Jason Kaldis
A resin inset lets light into this tiny powder room. Storage she…
A resin inset lets light into this tiny powder room. Storage shelves add depth and interest, and a glass sink adds texture. Project: Oakland House, Oakland, Calif.; Architect: Jason Kaldis, Berkeley, Calif.; Builder: Whitney Collins, Whitney Collins Builders, Oakland, Calif.
Just because a powder room is tiny doesn’t mean it can’t pack a punch. By its very nature, this little room is the place to be inventive (space is at a premium) and even edgy (it’s small, with a door that closes). Here’s the area where you can try something different, like a hand-crafted sink that might contrast with the architecture of the rest of the house. It’s a place to use materials like rosewood veneer that may have too busy a pattern to be used in open and oft-used spaces. A powder room can be the perfect place to spec in a touch of luxury, experimenting with materials that are too expensive to use on a larger area. Or, this might be the just the part of the house in which to set a fixture whose quirky design and spindly shape would be impractical for a high-traffic area. In all cases, a powder room is a great opportunity to make the most of a small space. These six designs offer ideas and inspiration.
Amy Albert is editor of Custom Home and a senior editor at Builder. She covers all aspects of design. Previously, she
was kitchen design editor at Bon Appetit;
before that, she was senior editor at Fine
Cooking, where she shot, edited, and wrote stories on kitchen design. Amy
studied art history with an emphasis on architecture and urban design at the
University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Los Angeles. Write her at aalbert@hanleywood.com, follow her on Twitter @CustomHomeMag and @amyatbuilder, or join her on Custom Home's Facebook page.
