In this small bathroom, more is more. The Portland, Oregon, space measures only about 40 square feet, but the woman who uses it didn’t let that stop her from going big and bold with style. “Our client wanted the bathroom to be happy, fun, beautiful and ‘kind-of old-timey,’ which we took to mean traditional,” designer Vicki Enger says. With its bold peacock wallpaper, blue tile wainscoting and champagne brass finishes, the compact room is an absolute delight.
“Because we are a design-build firm, we have to think about what’s practical and find solutions to problems that come up during construction,” Enger says. “We also have to find ways to bring the design concept to life while making sure it fits within the budget.”
Wallpaper: York Peacock, Rifle Paper
A mirrored medicine cabinet provides storage for everyday items. The Kelly Wearstler brass-and-white-glass sconce adds a glamorous touch.
Medicine cabinet: Verdera, Kohler; sconce: Utopia, Visual Comfort
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The window and the vanity are squeezed into a corner. Enger addressed this by creating a continuous Carrara marble trim to cap the tile wainscoting. It has a shallow ledge that serves as the windowsill, then it continues around the corner to serve as the backsplash. Beyond the vanity, it continues across the wall. The continuous line brings order and consistency to the room. “Tying things together like this is really important in a small space,” Enger says.
The faucets also have traditional style, and the finish is champagne bronze. This warm metal finish adds contrast to the cool blues in the room and also picks up on colors in the wallpaper.
Faucet: Cassidy two-handle widespread, Delta; wall tile: Candy in the color Ocean, Z Collection
Before: The bathroom had a swing door. Enger replaced it with a space-saving pocket door.
After: The wood shelves above the toilet provide additional storage space but leave the view of the wallpaper open. The wood matches the vanity wood and the brackets and other details are brass.
Before: The shower had a fiberglass surround. The translucent glass enclosure made it feel small.
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A long niche extends across the entire back wall of the shower. The fixtures include a regular shower head and a handheld wand along a three-setting slide bar. They have the same champagne bronze finish as the vanity faucet.
Slide bar and hand shower: H2Okinetic, Delta
The shopping trio also found the floor tile during their outing. It’s a simple white mosaic in a geometric pattern. Enger continued it from the bathroom floor into the shower for a consistent look. She also repeated the Carrara marble on the threshold.
The new cabinets are also alder with an antique cherry stain to match the vanity, and the small countertop is Carrara marble. The cabinets provide much-needed storage and the countertop provides another spot to place things. Undercabinet lighting illuminates the counter area.
There were changes made throughout the process as Enger brought the design to life. But she says they were able to accomplish the feeling of the original concept that her client and Hocking had worked on.
“It’s kind of funny, because you’d think a plain neutral bathroom, like this one was before, would seem bigger than one with all the design elements and color we put in it. But it actually seems bigger now,” Enger says.
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A single woman
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 40 square feet (3.7 square meters)
Designers: Vicki Enger of Mountainwood Homes and Sharon Hocking
Design-build firm: Mountainwood Homes
Before: This is the house the client grew up in. Her parents own the house but mostly stay in another home they own out of state. This hall bath, located at the top of the stairs on the second floor, is her bathroom. “It was pretty dated and bland,” Enger says. The vanity had a tiled counter that was tough to keep clean, and the toilet and vanity were too close for comfort.
“This house’s style is New England traditional, and our client wanted to go with that in this bathroom — but with an updated, playful and stylized feel to it,” Enger says. “Also, because the bathroom is located at the top of the stairs, she wanted it to be something nice to look at.”
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