Get the Look: Grandma’s Powder Room, Reimagined with Lowcountry Charm

This quiet space in Palmetto Bluff blends heirloom style with fresh design.

Story by Barry Kaufman + photography by Kelli Boyd

Powder room - grandma style with chic style — A jewel box of texture and elegance, this Palmetto Bluff powder room exudes charm with its scalloped wallpaper, oyster-shell mirror and custom vanity. Thoughtful details like the marble countertop, antique-inspired fixtures and gilded accents create a space that feels both storied and stylish.

Interior designer Shelly Neely was given a directive early on in this Palmetto Bluff home’s design to incorporate colors and patterns in a way that brought to mind a motif she calls “Grandma’s cottage, but chic.” And while Neely’s bold use of blues, tempered by muted pastels in the home’s more grand spaces, certainly brought this motif to life, and a Pearce Scott Architects design hammered it home, it’s in one of the home’s more quiet spaces that Neely was able to take that directive and create something truly unique. Fearlessly blending colors and patterns together, anchored by furniture that feels generations old, Neely designed the powder room to be just as at home in a modern luxury high-rise as it would in a 19th century manor.

“The powder room is the place to have a little fun,” said Neely. “It’s small enough where you can do something that has a big impact without being overwhelming. It’s the place to use something a little more unique to impress your guests.”

At the center of the space is the custom-built vanity, where a slab of marble on top of distressed wood carries the home’s signature blue, with polished bronze faucet and hardware.

“I originally had this idea to use an old farm sink, then Al and Harry’s made this custom vanity that would fit around it, with marble on the top cut to go around the legs,” said Neely. “It’s really one of the most unique pieces in the house.”

Through patterns on the wallpaper and the mirror, Neely was not only able to capture that essence of an older home but also introduce a little bit of Lowcountry.

“That’s a big nod to the area: the oyster shell in the mirror and the patterns on the wallpaper speak to that as well,” said Neely.

The wallpaper, sourced from Palm Orleans, served as the perfect touch to a powder room that satisfied the owner’s request for a chic take on Grandma’s house, while letting Neely flex her creative muscles.