Bold and Beautiful Bathrooms

California Dreamin'

Designer April Sheldon turns a wine-country powder room into a shimmering retreat that's a delight for the senses.

Whether you're gearing up for a full gut renovation or merely considering a paint job, don't be afraid to go bold in the bathroom. A small bath, say top designers, is the perfect place for fearlessly fabulous color schemes.

"The stakes are lower in a powder room because you don't spend much time in there," says San Francisco-based designer April Sheldon (www.aprilsheldondesign.com). "And if you try a color and hate it, the space is small and easy to repaint."

It's hard to imagine anyone wanting to change a single thing in this dramatically colored powder room, right off the wine tasting room in a traditional California house. "This powder room has no windows," Sheldon says, "and rather than fight the darkness, I wanted to work with it. I knew my clients would use this room almost exclusively at night, and bright, light colors would not have fit the mood."

To create the aura of mystery befitting an evening with good friends and a fine bottle, Sheldon painted the walls a deep bronze (ICI, Chippendale #197), and tiled the floor and the wall behind the sink in a glass mosaic of mixed metallic shades.

"I chose those tiles because the subtle blend gave the room an interesting pattern that was evident only on the second look," says the designer. "It provides a nice little sense of discovery, and I loved the bronze and copper shimmer at night."

Photograph by John Casado.