5 Powder Room Ideas for Powder Room Designs

5 Powder Room Ideas for Powder Room Designs

Powder room ideas can help you create perfect powder room designs. Another name for a powder room is the 'half bathroom' or the 'guest bath'.

The purpose of a powder room is to provide a place to groom while main bathrooms are being used in busy morning and evening times. And the powder room can function as a bathroom for guests so they do not have to use your main bathrooms. The most basic powder room designs include faucets, a toilet and a sink and mirror. Powder room ideas could include using a pedestal sink, a small corner-mounted sink or small sink/vanity with a mirror over the sink or vanity.

If your powder room will only be used occasionally, you do not have to be quite so concerned about the durability of the fixtures as in the bathrooms that are used frequently. You can pay more attention to the powder room's appearance, using more elaborate fixtures. You'll definitely want the powder room to reflect the architectural style of your home. You would not want to have a Victorian home with a contemporary powder room, for example.

Here are five powder room ideas to consider for powder room designs:

1. Powder Room Designs and Square Footage - common dimensions of small powder rooms are 3x6, 4x4 and 4x5 feet, the size of a smaller closet or laundry area. You can easily find small bathroom fixtures designed for these sizes of powder rooms. Powder room sizes should be proportional to the square footage of your house. If your home is large, you may want to build your powder room with one or two sinks, more countertop space, tub/shower and ample storage space. Powder rooms designs with dimensions of 5x7, 5x9 or 6x8 are still modest, but they will provide you more room for storage and grooming supplies.

2. Locate the Powder Room Near an Existing Bathroom - another of the powder room ideas is to locate the new powder room near an existing bathroom. If your home has different floor levels, stack the bathrooms one over the other. This way, you will be using the same plumbing lines for both of the rooms which will save considerably.

3. Budget for Good Lighting - use both artificial and natural lighting if possible to avoid shadowy corners. A small powder room should have wall sconces, task lighting for applying makeup, general lighting and a larger well-lit mirror. If there's no window, consider adding a wall skylight or a roof skylight to allow natural light into the powder room.

4. Be Careful When Mixing Materials and Textures - small powder rooms should not have a lot of materials and textures as it can become overwhelming. Use light colors and surfaces to make a small powder room appear more open and larger. Avoid frilly curtains. Use light colors, small tiles and simple patterns to help your powder room appear more spacious.

5. Use Mirrors to Enlarge the Room - using mirrors along the walls can be an attractive way to widen the powder room. Mirrors will create a sense of openness in the room, making the space appear larger than it actually is. Mirrors will also enhance the lighting in the room because of the reflecting capability of mirrors.

If you decide to sell your home, adding a powder room can be a good investment as potential buyers will enjoy buying a home with ample bathrooms for their family and guests.

Planning is the most important part of powder room designs before you actually begin the work. Try to get a clear picture of your powder room design and look. Keep all your powder room ideas in a notebook as you accumulate them. Look at bathroom books and magazines, visit showrooms and show homes and search online for powder room ideas that you like. Above all, have fun as you create the powder room design that will provide you with a very special room to enjoy for many years to come.

See examples of powder room products available online and read more about bathroom layout, lighting, storage, bathroom vanities, small bathrooms, childrens bathrooms and more. Olinda Rola is President of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.yourdreamloghome.com - a popular website for those who love homes.