Joanna Gaines’ Tiny Bathroom Color Scheme Proves the Smallest Spaces Are Where You Should Take the Biggest Design Risks

Small bathrooms and powder rooms are often treated as spaces where you have to play it safe. With less square footage, it can be tempting to reach for white walls, pale tiles, and understated finishes in an effort to make the room feel bigger and brighter. But these compact spaces can actually be some of the best places in the home to experiment with color.

Unlike a living room or kitchen, a powder room is typically a contained space, meaning a bold decorating choice doesn't have to dictate the look and feel of the rest of your home. A saturated wall color, playful tile, or unexpected combination can make a much bigger impact in a small bathroom, without requiring a major commitment across an entire floor plan.

In Joanna Gaines' lake house, the powder room is a perfect example. Though not often the focus of home renovations, the bathroom doesn't have to be boring – and this one certainly isn't. Instead of trying to disguise its petite proportions, Joanna Gaines leans into them with a dark, dramatic scheme that gives the room plenty of personality.

The dark green hue from the rest of the house blends seamlessly into the powder room, wrapping the petite space in a rich, cocooning shade. It's a confident choice for a small room, but the depth of color helps give the bathroom an intimate, enveloping quality rather than making it feel cramped.

While lighter shades are known for enhancing space in any room, rich, bold colors can also be used to create the impression of a larger space, explains Tim Bayes, Managing Director and Creative Head at Kast.

‘A dramatic hue will absorb light, generating shadows and highlights that play across walls and surfaces, introducing a dimensional quality that creates the illusion of depth,’ he says. ‘When rich colors are juxtaposed with lighter shades or neutrals, the resulting contrast not only makes the space pop, but also yields a dynamic visual effect, further enhancing the perception of depth.’

In Joanna Gaines' bathroom, that contrast comes through in the unexpected yellow-and-white checkered tile. The cheerful pattern cuts through the moody green, bringing a touch of levity to the scheme and showing how a small bathroom can handle a playful design choice without feeling overwhelmed.

There's also something to be said for the relatively low-risk nature of experimenting in a powder room. If you're curious about a dramatic color or statement pattern but aren't ready to commit to it in a larger space, a cloakroom or powder room offers an opportunity to test the idea. Because the room is visually contained, even a maximalist choice can feel intentional rather than overpowering.

Sleek chromatic details and a sweeping mirror provide a crisp counterpoint to the richer colors. The reflective surface helps bounce light around the room, making the compact space feel more open, while the restrained metallic details prevent the combination of dark green and patterned tile from becoming overwhelming.

The result is a powder room that feels dramatic yet calming, proving that decorating a small space isn't necessarily about making every element feel light and minimal. Sometimes, embracing a room's limitations – and leaning into them – can create a much more memorable result.

Joanna Gaines' lake house bathroom makes a strong case for treating the powder room as a design playground. Whether it's a saturated paint color, an unexpected tile pattern, or a bold combination of contrasting shades, the smallest room in the house could be the perfect place to take your biggest design risk.

Personally, I love using one color throughout a small room. Color-drenching creates a seamless look that can make the space feel bigger, expansive, and visually cohesive. Joanna Gaines’ powder room shows how this approach can give a compact space a richer, more enveloping feel without making it seem closed in.

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