How is it I can have so much to say about a powder room update for such a teeny tiny little space? Seriously, this powder room possibly could take the world record for smallest powder room ever. Our half bath dimensions are 3.6 feet by 4.9 feet (at the widest part). I do think our half bath size is the smallest I have seen with my own eyes. This house was a custom build by the previous owners, and I guess they just wanted to make use of the little bit of space under the stairs.
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Since we are not interested in a whole lot of construction at the moment, I wanted to at least give a cosmetic update to our powder room. And to coordinate with the rest of our home, I wanted the room to carry a modern global vibe. Indeed, this powder room update went global with a Turkish vintage rug, an artisan sink from Egypt, hardware from India, and original art from Mexico and Panama.
By the way, do you say half bath (half bathroom), 2 piece bathroom, or powder room? I have always said half bath, but I decided with our new modern powder room update, I would start saying powder room simply because it sounds fancier. Haha!
One of the projects this summer was for my husband to finish the interior paint of the house. Most of our house had not been repainted since we moved in six years ago. It is time to make this home feel more like ours. For our powder room update, we chose the same paint color we used in our updated office guest room combo and laundry room – Valspar Warm Putty. At this time, we aren’t touching the tile. I wish we were as I am not a fan of the tile backsplash or the floor in here, but with everything else being updated, the tile should be less bothersome…I hope.
Originally, I thought about a half bath accent wall with some tribal or bright geometric peel-and-stick wallpaper. But I decided to keep things more simple and add other surprise elements instead.
Here is the half bath before. As you can see it is teeny and nothing special at all. As you can see, the powder room pedestal sink is way too big for the space. And there is no powder room vanity at all – no cabinets, countertop, etc. It has been a tricky space.
Here it is after the updates.
The lighter paint really opened up the space which was needed since there is no natural light. It feels airier in person that these pictures relay.
Falling in Love with Vessel Copper Sinks
We searched and searched for small pedestal sinks for powder rooms. Unfortunately, most were too deep to work with our space. Ideally, we needed a sink or cabinet 15 inches or fewer deep. The few small vanity sinks for powder rooms that we found were rather cheap looking. It doesn’t help that our tiny powder room is fitted for a corner sink on the diagonal. It is extremely limiting.
One day, I decided to search on Etsy for unique sinks. I stumbled upon this Etsy shop called Copper Love Art with a variety of vessel copper hammered sinks. I stopped in my tracks. These artisan copper sinks, made in Egypt, are stunning!
Blah powder room no more with one of these bad boys! Within 30 minutes, I had ordered an oval vessel sink from the shop. Actually, the description for sink says it is a canoe shape. To me, it still looks like an oval vessel sink, and I do love a good oval! At only 10 inches deep and 14 inches long, it is a super small and narrow vessel sink – perfect for what we needed! I was worried with the pandemic that it might take a long time to arrive, but we received it in three days! The one I ordered has a stunning blue-green patina. If you prefer more of a pure copper hammered copper sink, there is this one.
Designing Our Custom Vessel Sink Cabinet
Sooo, typical me. I do everything backwards. Most people would probably have a bowl sink vanity in mind before actually ordering a bowl sink. But the thrill of the hunt makes it fun, right? And if you can’t hunt it, create it! After more struggle with finding a properly-sized vessel sink vanity, we wound up having a local wood-working shop make a custom one for us. I can’t believe how I described to him what I wanted, and here it is! The main problem we had was deciding what kind of vessel sink countertop to use.
Originally, we were thinking a granite top just because that is a typical bathroom vanity countertop. However, I really wanted a wood top. My concern was that it wouldn’t hold up to the water of the sink.
Our guy, Kyle from Curry Wood Working in Benton, Arkansas, was able to make us a (32 inches tall by 20 inches wide by 12 inches deep) very small vessel sink vanity. He made the vessel sink vanity top from a slab of walnut which he stained and sealed multiple times to help it hold up to the water. He was nice enough to come and install it for us, drilling in the holes required to accommodate the bowl sink and the water pipes, and anchoring the vanity unit to the wall.
That bright pop of color is Behr Blue Green Gem in Eggshell. This small powder room vanity is bright and bold and just right for me!
Finally, we needed to order a vessel sink faucet to go along with our metal vessel sink and wood vessel sink cabinet. We wound up getting this waterfall vessel sink faucet in oil-rubbed bronze from Wayfair. It can go low-flow, which is what we need to avoid splatters.
Isn’t this tiny vessel sink set up just the cutest? I just love the hammered copper sink!
Our Powder Room Lighting
Originally, I was probably most excited to find some new powder room lighting ideas. I spent hours and hours over the course of several weeks searching for the perfect new powder room light fixture. I came to the conclusion that I actually liked the base of the fixture that was already in our half bath. I find something appealing about the big curvy arms.
What I didn’t like was the flat brown finish (not really bronze, not really copper…what was that?!) and the dated globes.
The Hubs went on a scavenger hunt to Lowe’s to see if he could find some globes to my liking.
We decided on these large rounded, seeded glass globes. For the color, we decided to go for a spray paint light fixture for powder room lighting. We went with a shiny copper to coordinate with the vessel sink basin. We used Rust-Oleum Rose Copper spray paint which we also found at Lowe’s. I’ve noticed this Rose Copper spray paint has been more difficult to find as of late – probably supply and demand issues.
I don’t have a lot of experience with spray painting light fixtures. I mean don’t ask me what is the best spray paint metal and what is the best spray paint. I have no idea. But I LOVE how this look turned out for us – so much so that we tackled the girls’ bathroom next and did a spray paint light fixture in there. The Hubs did the actual spray paint jobs outside. He is good at getting an even coat of paint with spray paint.
Note the rose copper color is not a true copper. If you are wanting more of a traditional copper, this is probably not what you need. This one brings to mind rose gold jewelry with a hint of copper.
I know, I know. People are divided down the line on spray painting light fixtures. For me, if I can spend $8-$20 on a can or two of spray paint to paint something else to make it look exactly like I want, I’m doing it!
I LOVE how this copper powder room lighting turned out! It looks totally different now.
Our Teeny Tiny Vintage Turkish Powder Room Rug
Our powder room rug find was super exciting for me. I can definitely tell I’m middle aged when I’m this excited over a rug for a half bathroom!
But, folks, if you understood the plight I’ve had with finding a rug small enough for this room, you would get it. I’m also not a fan of a rug in front of a toilet. However, in this tight space, any rug that goes in front of the sink also has to be in front of the toilet.
To Etsy I went to source some vintage Turkish rugs because, well, I’ve developed quite a thing for them over the years.
I found this Etsy shop, named Rugstarug, with awesome small vintage Turkish rugs. They have some super small ones, which are basically larger rugs cut down to small sizes, I THINK (though I am not 100% on that). The rug I bought is 1.2 feet by 1.9 feet! It is an adorable vintage powder room rug!
Limiting Powder Room Accessories
One thing I can get a little carried away with is accessories. I tend to overbuy accessories for both my outfits and my home. While I was planning out our powder room update, I had to keep reminding myself to go minimal with powder room accessories. Such a tiny space can become overwhelmed so quickly. I decided all we needed in this space was a towel rack, a soap dispenser, a toilet paper holder, and a waste basket. Eventually, I also added a toilet brush holder that hides in the corner
I found the hexagon towel holder and toilet paper holder at Hobby Lobby. I wasn’t looking for them there, but I stumbled upon them and they just happened to be the exact shape and style that I had in mind. They were made in India and were originally an antique gold/bronze which I actually loved a lot. However, since the basin sink I had ordered was made of hammered copper, I stuck with a copper finish for everything in the room. We wound up spray painting the towel rack and the hexagon toilet paper holder with the Rose Copper spray paint.
At least in the updated 2 piece bathroom, we have a small cabinet in the vanity. With the old pedestal sink and tiny blueprint, we didn’t even have a place to store an extra roll of toilet paper. Recently, I stumbled across this over the tank toilet roll holder. That might have come in handy before.
Small Powder Room Mirror
No doubt, we have to have a small powder room mirror in here. The wall above the sink is very narrow so the widest mirror I can have is 22.5 inches across. As much as I love those great big round bathroom mirrors you see everywhere lately, that wouldn’t work here. Luckily for me, I like all styles and shapes of mirrors.
I found this narrow oval one from World Market. Bingo! Not only am I obsessed with narrow ovals – as I already mentioned – but this mirror is also handmade in India from mango wood. Over the last few years, as my home has become more and more global, I’ve developed a huge affection for handmade mango wood furnishings. This mirror is a perfect fit for our narrow wall! World Market does not seem to carry this exact mirror at this time though they do have this similar oblong wooden mirror that is only 18 inches across. Otherwise, this asymmetrical oval mirror is stunning as well and goes perfectly over the sink. It would have pushed my width limitations, but would be perfect for someone with a slightly wider wall.
Also, if you are an oval wooden mirror obsessed like me and you have the space, Amazon has this gorgeous wooden oval mirror that is almost four feet tall. So eye-catching!
Oh, and I guess mirrors technically count as bathroom accessories?
Powder Room Wall Art with a Corner Gallery
The unexpected look of a corner art gallery can’t be beat! I wanted to be able to display some powder room wall art without overwhelming the tiny half bath. I think three pieces is perfect. All three pieces I chose are global-themed artwork. The green one with the arrows is an acrylic painted by a local artist. I like that the arrows coordinate somewhat with the tribal/chevron pattern carved into the wood vanity and the pattern on the Turkish rug. The top piece of art is a hand-painted feather I bought on a trip to Panama once. It features a painting of a Kuna Yala tribal woman and is signed by the artist. The picture on bottom right is a bullfighting picture painted by a Mexican artist. I bought it at an estate sale.
My goal with this tiny powder room update is that the guests will have so much to take in – from the gorgeous vanity and copper vessel sink to the rug to the wall art – that they will forget how claustrophobic they feel while they are in there!
What do you think of this powder room update? Mission accomplished?
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