Window Mural painted on a bathroom wall. Mountainous meadow and stream on view. Mural by Ellen Leigh

A new look for an old favorite

Powder Room Decor Update

Every now and then it is necessary to update the look of a home to keep things current. Decor goes out of style, things wear out, or you just want a change. A client of mine from 9 years ago decided that their powder room decor needed an update- the 90’s mauve laminate top had started to look worn and they decided a new granite top, new sink and bronze fixtures would add to the resale value of their home.

Granite wouldn’t go with the old wall treatment I had done in there, but they did want to keep the window mural I had done. Granite would look OK (meh) with the natural oak vanity, but they really wanted a darker wood now, they were tired of the oak. They were afraid that replacing the vanity would cause them to also have to replace the oak floor (which was continuous with the hall and kitchen), so they asked if I could change the color on it.

powder room update before
The powder room circa 2003

I love this kind of project! The whole look of the room changed, and now it looks so fresh and inviting. I began with the walls, sanding down the stripes, masking off the mural and rolling on two coats of base coat to cover the old ragged stripes and ragged walls and ceiling.

prepped and ready for the second coat before powder room decor update
prepped and ready for the second coat, stripes still visible

When that dried, I applied Valspar’s Tuscan Accents in a custom mix to coordinate with the gorgeous granite. Such a great look, I love it, and so do they. (Now discontinued)

new wall finish for the powder room decor
Tuscan Accents

The vanity got it’s doors and drawers removed, a bit of patching, a sanding and thorough cleaning before I dragged on two coats of a deep brown glaze to darken the oak. Two coats of water-based poly followed, and I let everything dry well before reassembling the cabinet.

Great look for the vanity in this powder room decor project by Ellen Leigh
A new look for the vanity

What a great look, and I was happy to see that the mural I had done 9 years ago still looked great and was the focal point of a whole new look.

Mostly new powder room decor by Ellen Leigh
What a lovely view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.