Whimsey and Color for Heights Downstairs Bathroom

“Before pic.” The grey paint does warm the room up a bit, and it definitely shows off the decorative moldings. Yet the room feels flat.

Here we are “After,” with the room energized by color and with all sorts of clever images to look at.

Under-the-stairs angles complicate hanging paper in and around the shower.

Super close-up shows an almost hand-painted look.

This family in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston is all about their two young daughters. The wallpaper pattern they chose for their powder room could be called “fantasy personified” – perfect for kids! And adults using the room will be wowed by the visual impact of the bold black background and bright pops of color.

It may look like “just a bathroom” to you – but this took me more than nine hours to hang (I had done the prep yesterday). Intricate moldings to trim around, small spaces, tight angles, dimensions that didn’t mesh, high ceilings that made reaching areas such as over the sink difficult (i.e. risky), and more.

The wallpaper is by Borastapeter, a Scandinavian company. It’s a non-woven material, which has a lot of advantages over traditional paper or vinyl. Although one could use the paste-the-wall installation method, in this chopped up bathroom with intricate detailed areas, I chose to paste the paper. This helped ensure adhesion in even the tightest spaces, and also made the material more flexible and easier to manipulate.

The interior designer is Stacie Cokinos of Cokinos Design.

Don’t you just love the pig wearing a sweater?!

Tags: bathroom, black, borastapeter, cokinos design, daughters, fantasy, flexible, heights, high ceilings, houston, moldings, non-woven, paste-the-wall, powder room, scandinavian, stacie cokinos, tight angles, vinyl, wallpaper, woodland