Farrow & Ball Ocelot Powder Room

Another Personal Pandemic Project

We paid little attention to the powder room when we first built our home. Like a lot of the house, we painted it white, chose a pretty wood, and added sleek black hardware. Cue the round mirror, and slightly industrial vanity light. We added a huge piece of art, and called it a day.

You've seen this bathroom before. It's all over Pinterest! It's heavily-trafficked and serves it purpose - but totally lacks in personality. And I was becoming tired of the modern farmhouse vibe. Here it is before:

The "Before"

What's the quickest way to add personality in a powder room, you ask? With wallpaper, of course. Even better, ANIMAL PRINT wallpaper! My husband's business recently starting carrying Farrow & Ball, and we wanted to try out the paper. I've always been into natural, soft tones, and especially greens lately, so when I first saw the Ocelot paper in a beautiful sage green, I fell in love. It's so textured and rich, and because you're right up close to it, it's quality is obvious. While doing the whole room in it would have been spectacular, for budget reasons, (and because I'm not a super-experienced installer), we opted to do the main wall you see when you walk by, and paint out the rest of the tiny space in Pigeon (the paper's background colour).

Ocelot wallpaper / Pigeon Paint, both by Farrow + Ball .

We didn't need to change any of the fixtures, so only basic styling was needed after the wall treatment. I found some beautiful landscape prints from my local decor hotspot Rug + Weave, by artist Laurie Anne Art to pull in both the green and the warm tone of the walnut vanity. Also from Rug + Weave, I sourced some lightweight linen-blend hand towels with a warm terracotta stripe. I will change up the soap dispenser occasionally, between a concrete grey one and a pottery one the same tones as the walls. On the "fun" display side of the sink, I'll play with a little match jar from local potter Blu Iris (www.blueirisstudios.ca), and a candle I already have. Sometimes instead, seasonal flowers in an antique brass vases will do the trick.

Above: Laurie Anne Art, from Rug + Weave. Below, linen hand towel (no longer available).

This small but important space has so much more character and warmth now. I can't wait to be able to show it off more in the coming months, post COVID! If anything good came out of this past two years, it's been having the time to get a few of my own personal home projects done. ;)

How have you tackled any new home projects lately?

XO B