What colors do you like?? Do you know what kinds of fixtures you'll be getting? You could do a nice pedestal sink with a pretty framed mirror over it. I have a REALLY small half bath that is a darker color, so I don't know if it really matters what color you choose so long as YOU like it.

Maybe there are some inspiration pics in the gallery somewhere?? Bathroom forum maybe??

What is the style of the house? What is the layout of the bathroom? If it is 3 1/2 x 6 1/2, are the toilet and sink facing each other?

My 1/2 bath has hardwood floors and white beadboard, with green paint above that, crown molding and white sink and toilet.

One thing I would recommend is that you NOT get a pedestal sink. I am (eventually) going to have a small vanity made to replace ours. It looks nice, but no storage (I realized this before, but until I lived with it I didn't realize what a PITA it would be).

I don't think it's necessarily required to make a small half bath seem bigger - personally, I love it when they're wonderfully over-the-top little jewelboxes, using rich colors and gorgeous patterns and details that would be completely overpowering in the amounts required for a larger room like a bedroom or living room. It's exciting and fun to have this tiny surprise of a room. A mini chandelier, luxurious flooring like stone (real or faux) or wood (ditto), glass tiles, gorgeously framed mirror, beautiful artwork (you have an empty wall there that's just begging for a nice big painting!), a fantastic faucet, things like that. Make sure your moldings - door casing, baseboard, crown molding - aren't wimpy. Since it's a tiny space you can also go a tad fancier with the materials and not spend too much because you don't need much. For instance, check with local tile stores about whether they have a "remnant room" where leftovers from other installations are sold at a steep discount - you might score a high-end tile at a low-end price. It's a great place to "stretch" a pricier wallpaper, if you like wallpaper (I do), or do a dramatic faux finish if you like such things.

On the question of large tiles vs. small, that is entirely a question of personal preference. Some people think small tiles are too busy, some people think large tiles look awkward. Some people (like Sue) bypass this question entirely by not using tile at all!

Personally, I prefer pedestal or console sinks in a half bath, but I don't feel the need to store a ton of stuff in there. I like to have a decorative wall cabinet - not a "bathroom cabinet" - over the toilet because it is convenient for storing the few necessary items and another pretty thing to look at. A nice compromise is a furniture-like freestanding sink cabinet like this (I have no idea what your personal style is so I just picked something out of thin air) with some space between the sides of the cabinet and the walls. I think it's much less clunky-looking than a regular built-in type vanity that goes from wall to wall.

Spring for a good toilet. There are so many that both look fantastic and function very well now, you're no longer stuck with either an effective flush or good looks. It's horribly embarrassing to guests for the toilet to plug up!

There's a gallery section in the bathrooms forum to look at, and a thread of "bathroom eye candy" in this forum's gallery section. Search for "powder room" on Google Images (go to google.com and click "images" at the top). Most of the fixture and tile manufacturers like Kohler and Daltile have galleries of pictures. If you can, pop by a bookstore like Barnes & Noble or Borders, get a cup of tea and a stack of picture books to page through, or swing through the library and get out every book they have on bathrooms. If you can afford to, buy magazines and tear out the pages you find interesting - since I usually only find a few pictures in any given magazine, and they're $4-8 apiece, I find this rather wasteful unless you have a source of freebies. I'd rather spend the $100 I'd be throwing away on magazines on the actual room! Many pictures will be of bigger baths than you are working with - that's fine, you're not really looking for something to copy slavishly, you're looking for elements to pop out at you and make you say "ooooh!"

I agree with what Mari is suggesting to you.

Just for the sake of ideas. Here is what I did:

A good toilet is a must. I'm a big fan of TOTO toilets. Had them in my last one. We changed all our toilets in our brand new TH in about 2 weeks after our settlement. LOL I got spoiled.

Decide on your style?

We removed the pedestal sink our house came with. I am not a big fan of pedestals. I'm in a modern/contemporary mode these days and I wanted storage for toilet paper, soap, and towels. I am also not a fan of cabs over toilets for storage or wicker baskets under sinks. I found a floating vanity with storage through the internet and ebay (it's a imitation of a very expensive one we almost went for)

Make sure you paint or paper your walls prior to installing whatever sink or vanity you choose.

Decide on flooring. We used wood in this PR and in the PR from my previous home. Never had an issue with water in anyway (TOTO toilets).

Decide on lighting. You don't need tons of light since this is a PR. My last house we used sconces (which was eclectic in style). This one we used a sconce turned horizontally.

Hope this is helpful.

I just visited a friend's new home and saw a most unusual tiny powder room. They had installed beadboard with a chair rail throughout the entire bathroom and mirrored the entire room up to the ceiling. They painted the bathroom ceiling a pale sky blue grey. She hung pictures on the mirror and light sconces above the sink vanity cabinet. I would never had thought of doing this, but it was a lovely look.

I'm going to add my vote to those who are against pedestal sinks, especially in a bathroom that guests will be using.

You need a place for a guest to find another roll of toilet paper, the air freshener, or the plunger (which you won't need if you get a Toto, another excellent suggestion).

Mari has some really excellent ideas!

Start with your own style of decor -- traditional? modern? Pottery Barn transitional? Olde Worlde? And then look at colors and styles in the near-by rooms -- like the living room etc ......

Yes -- powder rooms can be wonderful jewel-boxes -- like a "concentrated" dose of your decor style.

OR: you can choose a "lighter" version of your decor style .....

Thanks for all of the suggestions :) The townhouse is 2 stories with basement (so 3 stories?). Walking in the front door on the lower level the bathroom is immediately to your right. The kitchen to the left. Strait ahead is the dining room and beyond that the living room. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms with 2 full baths.

We are military, and are up to move in 1 1/2 years. So my goal is to remodel it and enjoy it while we're here, but I also have in mind selling the townhouse in the near future. For a reasonable remodel including replacing the toilet, sink, tiles, and painting or wallpapering walls, would $500.00 to $700.00 be a realistic goal?

I did consider a pedestal sink. I have thought about the storage. We've been here 3 1/2 years, and if you were to look under the sink currently, there are a few rolls of toilet paper and a decorative Christmas soap dispenser. When you walk into the bathroom, the toilet is to the left and the cabinet to the right, so yes they do face each other. I've also considered this kind of sink: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1419003&navCount=0 Though I am not considering that price tag!!

I like the idea of a cabinet over the toilet, especially if I decide on a pedestal sink. It would give me something to put on the wall, instead of needing to decorate a blank wall. I look through magazines, but I never seem to see really small bathrooms :) If I were to see a small bathroom that I really liked, I probably would try to copy as much of it as I could. I will check out the gallery portion of this forum.

For lighting I was considering something like this: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1410028&navAction=jump&link=link=ct_pierce_bath_sconce&cm_re=CT--CategoryText--PierceBathSconce

The current mirror I am taking out and putting upstairs, so I'll need to replace that, too. I think that those sconces look really pretty next to a nice mirror. I've got some things to think about. Thanks, I really appreciate the input!!! Christy :)

Great ideas posted above, which I will also take advantage of given that I am now trying to outfit a powder room in the exact same size and layout as yours!

It took me forever to decide, but I chose an antique cabinet for the vanity since I wanted storage for toiletries. I'm using oil rubbed bronze sconces and overhead light/exhaust fan combo, ORB wall-mounted faucets and fixtures, and an oval copper vessel sink. Still waiting for the lighting fixtures, but so far I really like how each piece coordinates with the other. Now I just need to decide on the mirror (oval or rectangular, metal or wood - that decision should keep me agonizing for days!), walls and flooring (stone or wood, another tough decision!).

What I did is start with deciding on one item - the cabinet - and went from there. Almost all items were purchased on the web: Five Rivers and Lamps Plus for the lighting, ebay for the fixtures and cabinet. Most of my decisions were based on viewing different photos here on GW or on the web. Just search powder room as suggested above.

I vote for an updated vanity for the sink -- because extra storage is always a big "plus" for any seller! LOL!

AND do add the over-the-toilet cupboard TOO!! If your budget will allow -- check shops like Target or T.J. Maxx.

Storage issues and/or solutions are a KEY to a better-and-faster sale!

Okay, my eyes hurt from all of the bathroom ideas I've looked at, this one is by far my favorite!! They were two I really liked in the 'bathroom eye candy' as well. Christy :)

Here is a link that might be useful: The Powder Room by Sarah Richardson

Oh my! Thanks for posting that link. My electrician said that since the vanity is 25" w, I do not have much space to have two sconces, but I see in the pics that she used two sconces with a tall, lean looking mirror... hmmmm...

Her tips were very useful. Everyone I've met tells me in a powder room, "don't waste too much money there" but she is saying to put nicer things and that makes sense.

Mari