Concealed shower in guest WC of Georgian townhouse
Inspiration for a traditional powder room in London with open cabinets, dark wood cabinets, green tile, green walls, porcelain floors, a console sink, brown floor, a freestanding vanity and wallpaper.

Libbit

JJP Construction

Inspiration for a mid-sized traditional powder room in Los Angeles with furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a one-piece toilet, black tile, porcelain tile, white walls, cement tiles, an undermount sink, tile benchtops, white floor and white benchtops.

2015 Massey Home

Homesmith Construction, Inc.

Mid-sized traditional powder room in Richmond with raised-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet, blue walls, dark hardwood floors, a vessel sink, granite benchtops and brown floor.

Garden Lane Powder Room

Johnston Home Interior Design

Guest Bath and Powder Room. Vintage dresser from the client's family re-purposed as the vanity with a modern marble sink. photo: David Duncan Livingston

Compact Bathroom Remodel

Henrietta Heisler Interiors Inc

Thoughtful details make this small powder room renovation uniquely beautiful. Due to its location partially under a stairway it has several unusual angles. We used those angles to have a vanity custom built to fit. The new vanity allows room for a beautiful textured sink with widespread faucet, space for items on top, plus closed and open storage below the brown, gold and off-white quartz countertop. Unique molding and a burled maple effect finish this custom piece. Classic toile (a printed design depicting a scene) was inspiration for the large print blue floral wallpaper that is thoughtfully placed for impact when the door is open. Smokey mercury glass inspired the romantic overhead light fixture and hardware style. The room is topped off by the original crown molding, plus trim that we added directly onto the ceiling, with wallpaper inside that creates an inset look.

Traditional New Jersey Home

Home Surplus Of Keyport

Small traditional powder room in New York with furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets, beige walls, mosaic tile floors, an undermount sink, solid surface benchtops, white floor and white benchtops.

Garden Hills Residence

Rabaut Design Associates, Inc.

Chris Little Photography
Design ideas for a traditional powder room in Atlanta with a drop-in sink, furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets and wood benchtops.

Mill Pond Tudor

Rehkamp Larson Architects, Inc.

Photography: Steve Henke
Photo of a traditional powder room in Minneapolis with recessed-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, multi-coloured walls, mosaic tile floors, an undermount sink, black floor and white benchtops.

Traditional Tudor Style Home

Linda Fritschy Interior Design

Charles Davis Smith, AIA
Inspiration for a small traditional powder room in Dallas with a vessel sink, dark wood cabinets and furniture-like cabinets.

Jewel Box Charm

TRG Architecture + Interior Design

Bernard Andre
Inspiration for a small traditional powder room in San Francisco with a vessel sink, furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets, marble benchtops, a two-piece toilet, multi-coloured walls, medium hardwood floors and stone slab.

Stately Colonial

Teakwood Builders, Inc.

Design ideas for a mid-sized traditional powder room in Boston with shaker cabinets, dark wood cabinets, white walls, slate floors, quartzite benchtops, black floor, white benchtops, a freestanding vanity and planked wall panelling.

Executive Luxury Home in Roswell Georgia

Pedro Paulete

Photos by Mary Powell Photography Design by Karen Herstowski
This is an example of a traditional powder room in Atlanta with furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet, brown walls, dark hardwood floors, a vessel sink, brown floor and black benchtops.

1910 Foursquare

Vicki Simon Interior Design

When the house was purchased, someone had lowered the ceiling with gyp board. We re-designed it with a coffer that looked original to the house. The antique stand for the vessel sink was sourced from an antique store in Berkeley CA. The flooring was replaced with traditional 1" hex tile.

Chubb's Hill

Carpenter & MacNeille

Sam Gray
Design ideas for a traditional powder room in Boston with multi-coloured walls, marble benchtops, furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets and a vessel sink.

Greenbrier

Coats Homes

Design ideas for a mid-sized traditional powder room in Dallas with furniture-like cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet, multi-coloured walls, dark hardwood floors, an undermount sink, marble benchtops, brown floor and white benchtops.

Casa Verde Design

ROSEMARY MERRILL DESIGN

NKBA-MN, 1st Place Award Powder Bath with custom designed vanity and stone countertop. Custom Mirror and wall sconces with custom painted walls. Designer, Rosemary Merrill Photographer, Susan Gilmore

Starmark Lafontaine Inset Powder Room in Cherry Hazelnut

Cabinetry by Better Bilt

Cabinetry: Starmark Inset Style: Lafontaine w/ Flush Frame and Five Piece Drawer Headers Finish: Cherry Hazelnut Countertop: (Contractor’s Own) Pietrasanta Gray Sink: (Contractor’s Own) Hardware: (Richelieu) Traditional Pulls in Antique Nickel Designer: Devon Moore Contractor: Stonik Services

Bathrooms! Bathing Beauties!

Judith Wright Design

Creating a vanity from an antique chest keeps the vintage charm of the home intact.
Inspiration for a traditional powder room in Seattle with beaded inset cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a bidet, multi-coloured walls, marble floors, a drop-in sink, marble benchtops, green floor, white benchtops, a freestanding vanity and wallpaper.

Vista Bungalow

Kyle Build

Old world inspired, wallpapered powder room with v-groove wainscot, wall mount faucet and vessel sink.
Design ideas for a small traditional powder room in Other with open cabinets, dark wood cabinets, a two-piece toilet, grey walls, a vessel sink, marble benchtops, brown floor, yellow benchtops, a freestanding vanity, vaulted and wallpaper.

Powder Bath

Villa Moda

Design ideas for a traditional powder room in Tampa with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets and beige tile.

Traditional Powder Room Design Ideas with Dark Wood Cabinets

Think of your powder room as a small bathroom that’s always on display. Likely to be frequented by guests or used as a second bathroom by family members, it should always look its best. Consisting of little more than a vanity, toilet and sink, you could be mistaken that traditional powder room designs are easy to execute, but the tight space can be tricky to get right. As you plan your bathroom renovation, consider the following.

What’s the best way to collate small bathroom ideas?

Browse the photos on Houzz for small bathroom designs, and get acquainted with the specialist behind your favourite picks. You can bookmark and share your favourite photos with everyone involved in your renovation, and click through to Related Photos to broaden your scope. For even more traditional powder room and small bathroom ideas, check out the Stories section on Houzz.

How do I plan the layout of my powder room?

If you're building from scratch, an architect may be the best person to ask. There are three main objects to consider when planning the layout of your traditional powder room: the door, toilet and sink. Pocket, sliding or folding doors will give you more options for toilet and sink placement, while wall-mounted toilets will help save you a few inches of floor space, and make the room feel more spacious. To ensure ease of use, make sure the toilet has at least 38 centimetres of unobstructed space on either side, and 61 centimetres at the front. Powder rooms are primarily a place to use the toilet and quickly wash your hands, so unless you have the square meterage, you don’t need a full-blown vanity. Look for compact options, like a pedestal or wall-mounted sink instead.

What materials should I use in my powder room?

There’s not much space to work with when designing a traditional powder room, so keep your design fairly simple. Otherwise, too many different patterns and textures will quickly overwhelm the space. To avoid a disjointed design, opt for one statement piece or element, such as a fun splashback, benchtop or vanity, and choose subtle materials like stone, marble or granite for everything else. If you fear you haven’t created enough visual interest, fill the void with bathroom accessories such as hand towels and soap dispensers. High-quality bathroom fixtures – including everything from your toilet roll holder to faucet – with matching lines and style, will make a big difference in a such a small space, so if you have the budget, splurge a little!