Chinoiserie powder room

The tour continues! So, right... several of you have been asking about our master bathroom... The walls before? A pale shade of blue... The walls now? Covered in gorgeous, heady hues of emerald green!!! l am ever telling you that I find paint color inspiration in every nook and cranny... this emerald green is inspired by a shirt I own... I love the intense rich feel of it! With (yes) more black lacquer trim, wainscoting, and doors. Quite the striking contrast... but oh how divine!! It's not an overly large space, but after flooding the walls with this rich, dark color... it oddly feels more spacious AND cozy, all at the same time!

The embossed gold details on the walls are actually piped (yes, out of a pastry bag) with plaster and then, once dry, rubbed with metallic gold and aged with a dry brush in dark brown paint. Don't be intimidated! We did ours free-hand... but you could easily get a similar effect using a stencil. Even the sconce shades got a face-lift with scraps of burlap fabric, some paper cutouts, and headbands painted in high gloss red lacquer for added texture. Just hot glue everything in place, and voila!!

I admit, the pièce de résistance is the mouthwatering tile border... Each tile is over-the-top, luscious goodness... I love staring at them, seeing how the light catches each of the tiles differently... Some are ceramic, others are wood with a mix of found objects (think inexpensive costume jewelry, placemats that were cut apart, etc) glued onto them for texture and interest. (It's amazing what you can re-purpose when you visit the dollar store, craft store, or thrift store... A bit of gold leafing or some high gloss lacquer works wonders!! Are you with me???)

We also used glass tiles with color copies, old postcards, or hand-painted artwork collaged and decoupaged beneath them. The end result is eclectic... and breathtaking! (Hint: Rather than doing individual tile work for the final installation, we decided to mount our tiles on a wood backing first and then put them up in several sections along the top of the wainscoting.)

If you don't have a powder room, foyer, or hallway in need of a major overhaul like this... why not create a beautiful tiled mirror instead? Or cover the top of a small accent table? Or revamp the top of your headboard with a row of unique and interesting tiles?? Even a single hand-made tile (or small grouping of them) would make a lovely addition to a "London Wall" (just display with a piece of ribbon or inexpensive plate hanger). I'd love to hear some of your creative ideas!!!