Contemporary Powder Room

While the homeowners loved their new house in San Francisco, they were not so thrilled with the home's existing powder room. Wanting a brighter and more contemporary space that better reflects their taste, they asked designer Kathy Geissler Best of KGB Interior Design to give the room a well-detailed facelift so the space feels special and luxurious.

Kathy shares how small details can still add a lot of personality to a space.

What issues did you address with this redesign?

A powder room should be a little gem in a house. To add personality and make the space feel special, we added a bright paint color to the ceiling, unique light fixtures and a beautiful mosaic tile on the floor.

What was your biggest obstacle?

The challenge was to renovate the powder room with minimal disruption to the family. To this end, we planned and ordered all the fixtures, tile, wallpaper, fabric and window treatments and didn't begin demolition until all were ready. The site was carefully protected and the work was done during the day, so the family could still use rooms nearby in the evening. The construction was done in just three weeks from demolition to full use of the new powder room.

Describe a lesson that you learned.

Expensive tile can be used in moderation to make a statement while still maintaining a budget, similar to using high-end fabric for accent pillows. By carefully selecting tile for the center of the room and surrounding it with less expensive tile for the border — where more square footage was required — we were able to significantly stretch construction dollars and end up with a fabulously luxurious end product at a reasonable price.