Photo of a mid-sized traditional powder room in London with a one-piece toilet, red tile, subway tile, grey walls, mosaic tile floors, a console sink and multi-coloured floor.

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.

Edwardian Jewel by The Bay

Marta Carvalho Design

This is an example of a traditional powder room in San Francisco.

Lakeside

Holloway Quinn Interior Design

Design ideas for a traditional powder room in Chicago with furniture-like cabinets, black cabinets, a two-piece toilet, red walls, an undermount sink, multi-coloured floor and black benchtops.

Allegro Builders + 6 1/2 Street

Allegro Builders

Felix Sanchez
Photo of a traditional powder room in Houston.

Howards Point

Designs by D

Design ideas for a traditional powder room in Minneapolis with white cabinets, engineered quartz benchtops and white benchtops.

Douglasville Plantation Home

Greg Love Homes

Saunder's Real Estate Photography
Design ideas for a large traditional powder room in Atlanta with a pedestal sink, a two-piece toilet, red walls, medium hardwood floors and brown floor.

Winchester Twist on Traditional

PEGASUS Design-To-Build LLC

This is an example of a small traditional powder room in Boston with a two-piece toilet, pink walls, a console sink, marble floors and grey floor.

Fox Chapel Private Residence

Astorino

Design ideas for a small traditional powder room in Other with a drop-in sink, furniture-like cabinets, medium wood cabinets, granite benchtops, red walls and marble floors.

Historic Remodel

EDAD studio

Photo of a traditional powder room in Tampa with recessed-panel cabinets, black cabinets, red walls, medium hardwood floors, an undermount sink, brown floor and grey benchtops.

Concord Avenue Residence

Paredes-Grube Architecture

This is an example of a small traditional powder room in New York with a two-piece toilet, ceramic floors, a pedestal sink and red walls.

Powder Room with Pizzazz

Kelly Brasch Interiors

This is an example of a traditional powder room in Chicago.

Colonial Revival Restoration + Addition

Brad Cox, Architect, Inc.

A collection of vintage hand mirrors is displayed against custom red and white wallpaper in this powder room. The pedestal sink echoes the shapes of the mirrors and makes the room feel more spacious.

Eclectic Mix

Robin Gannon Interiors

Michael J. Lee Photography
Inspiration for a traditional powder room in Boston with raised-panel cabinets, red cabinets, a two-piece toilet, multi-coloured walls and an undermount sink.

Traditional Powder Room

Small traditional powder room in Other with a pedestal sink, a two-piece toilet, red walls and porcelain floors.

Astor Street Residence

Jessica Lagrange Interiors

Astor Street Residence, Jessica Lagrange Interiors LLC, Photo by Tony Soluri
Photo of a small traditional powder room in Chicago with a pedestal sink and red walls.

Traditional Powder Room

Adentro Designs

Photo of a traditional powder room in Austin.

Coral Powder Room

Cristina Jane Design

Small traditional powder room in New York with furniture-like cabinets, black cabinets, a one-piece toilet, orange walls, mosaic tile floors, white floor, white benchtops, a freestanding vanity, wallpaper, an undermount sink and marble benchtops.

Traditional Sophistication

Paxton Place Design

Gary Logan
Design ideas for a mid-sized traditional powder room in Dallas with raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, a two-piece toilet, multi-coloured tile, multi-coloured walls, medium hardwood floors, a pedestal sink and brown floor.

Carretta Bathrooms

Kitchens of Diablo

Red Powder Room WIth Iron Sink Base
Design ideas for a small traditional powder room in San Francisco with a pedestal sink, a one-piece toilet, red walls and medium hardwood floors.

Traditional Red Powder Room Design Ideas

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!