The Perfect Powder Room

In my opinion, it all starts with a great wall paper! For some reason, powder rooms just call for wall paper. It gives them more interest and makes you feel special for stepping foot inside. The powder room at our lake is dark blue background with pictures of wild animals, such as bears and deer, that might be seen around a lodge. I chose this because the feel of our lake house is lodgey. Our family has many, many fond memories from Big Cedar Lodge.

We would stay at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Mo. every summer after the kids would go to Kanakuk Kamp. We would rent a boat and pack a picnic lunch to stay on the lake all day. This started when Nelson was 10 and Chloie was 7; Wesley was 2 at the time, so he got in on the camp act later. They are almost 25, 22 and 17 now, and although the camp years are behind us, it’s comforting to retreat to a home that has the feel of a happy place from years ago.

The next thing that is important to a powder room is high quality soap and hand lotion. India Hicks has a wonderful scent called Casuarina, a beautiful pinkish flower that grows on a tree native to the islands of the Pacific. These come in handsome clear containers with the iconic gold beetle logo of India Hicks, a lifestyle brand that is also partly centered around water, represented on my blog for easy shopping.

Once you have washed your hands, how nice it is to have a specially chosen linen for drying! My favorite line lately, and especially for the lake house, is Coral & Tusk, in business since 2007. Started by an artist, Stephanie Housley, Coral & Tusk sells a collection of embroidered textiles taken directly from her drawing of wildlife and nature. I just can’t get enough of everything in this line, especially because the products are made with primarily unbleached natural linen.

Next up and possibly most important, is the fragrance in a powder room. Nothing is more inviting than to see a candle gleaming in a room that smells divine! My favorite candle for powder rooms right now is Black Hibiscus by India Hicks. It is a tinge woodsy with a suggestion of sea air, orange blossom and hibiscus. People love it and often remark about it. This fragrance comes in a candle and a room spray, both of which I recommend having in a powder room.

It’s also nice to make people feel at home by providing paper guest towels for sanitary purposes - my go-to brand is Caspari, but I’m always on the lookout for any good looking ones. I collect them like I collect cocktail napkins. My feeling is you should buy them when you see them, because it is hard to find just the right ones when you need them!

Of course, any knickknacks that make the room feel homey without making it too junky is also nice to add to a powder room, especially either fresh or very nice looking artificial flowers or greenery. My husband decided to build shelves into an indentation we have in our wall in the powder room, so all of our little miniature collectables have found a home on these shelves. These include items from my aunt’s home when she went to assisted living. She was a decorator and collected beautiful things, like a little brass man and a tiny velvet book with sweet sayings.