What a privilege it was for our small company to be featured in a national design magazine. Our company and I were highlighted in a new story on Kitchen and Bath Design News. I was called up by a journalist and asked if they could interview me about our work!
Kim Berndtson is one of the contributing editors at Kitchen and Bath Design News. She interviewed me and we had a great chat about the work that Rhett and I do with our company. What intrigued Kim and sparked her calling was a particular piece that she found on Houzz that featured a powder room that I posted recently. Houzz has been one of our main social media accounts for the past few years. It has brought us a surprisingly good amount of business and now it has brought us a small touch of internet fame, too! Houzz is a great tool for a person interested in design ideas for a remodel project or new construction.
Kitchen and Bath Design News has been a coffee table staple in our office for years now. When I received the phone call from Kim, I was surprised and excited about just getting a call!
Guests can’t help but smile when they use this powder bath designed by April Collins and the team at The Cabinet Gallery, in large part because of the whimsical wallpaper that covers the walls and serves as the foundation for the entire space. The custom vanity also makes a statement, without taking away from the wallpaper. Its Shaker doors feature horizontal shiplap panels that give the vanity a unique look, while the white color brightens the space and brings out the colors in the wallpaper.
“The bathroom was designed around the bold wallpaper,” she explains in reference to the charcoal/black paper accented with colorful blowfish that sheaths multiple walls. “We didn’t want a vanity to take away from the wallpaper, but my client also didn’t want the vanity to be too plain, so we created a Shaker door with horizontal shiplap panels. The design gave her the uniqueness she was looking for, without ‘fighting’ with other elements in the room.”
“That’s another thing about powder baths…there are so many amazing light fixtures,” she continues, adding that lighting, whether it’s pendants, undercabinet lights, etc., adds dimension to a small room. “You certainly don’t have to stick with a standard vanity wall light since there are so many fun choices. And, you only need one!” Photo: Ann Parris/Full Frame Home Tours
We talked about a couple of specific projects that were highlighted in her article and our business, the Cabinet Gallery. The article online that Kim was writing is all about Powder Rooms, along with how and why you should make them the cleanest and most inviting room in your home. And, as Kim states Jennifer Stewart’s quote, it’s the guaranteed room of the house that guests will see!
For Collins, custom vanities designed to resemble unique pieces of furniture often serve as focal points in her designs.
“Furniture pieces work well because these rooms are small,” she notes. “They can make a statement, but they are also functional and provide plenty of storage, which can be a challenge in powder baths. Whatever we do, the space needs to be functional. Sometimes, because it’s a small space, people tend to ignore a powder bath. They may be tempted to just include a pedestal [sink] because there isn’t enough room. But you can’t store toilet paper and toiletries in a pedestal [sink].”
In one recent project, Collins included a custom cherry vanity that features a rounded front with two drawers and an open shelf that echoes the arc of the drawers. A 4″ recessed toe kick simplifies cleaning and preserves the vanity’s furniture-style appearance. Adding a vessel sink maintains the functionality of the top drawer.
“The drain goes through the drawers, so we built the top drawer in a u-shape,” she says. “The full-bottom drawer provides added storage, which can be a challenge in powder baths. Toiletries are hidden but are readily available in the drawer rather than being stored out in the open.”
Photo: Ann Parris/Full Frame Home Tours
The powder room is always one of the rooms that will allow for the artistic or minimalist side of the homeowner to come out. The Powder Room is a small space that lets someone use daring and unique touches that may be overlooked elsewhere in the house. After all, what does a guest do in that room except notice the small touches a host has placed there for them to look at? You can go here and check out Powder Room Pizzaz for yourself!!
Rhett and I didn’t even have to discuss anything before we both blurted out, “Move in with us!!” It didn’t take a moment of my parents sharing the same ‘couple’s telekinesis’ before they simultaneously said “YES!” What a crazy, wonderful, surprising 10 minutes that was! It was shocking for me to believe they would so easily leave their home of 30 years to move in with our growing family. The boys had become their everyday life, so living without them and going back to a quiet life at home seemed far too foreign to them it turned out.
