Bringing wonder to an entryway and powder bathroom
Wallpaper & layered textures bring
the drama to this welcoming space
Project Location: Lake Magdalene, Carrollwood Area, Tampa, FL
Service Provided: Residential Renovation and Furnishings
Scope of Work: Entry Foyer, Powder Bath
Design Style: Traditional with a Dark Academia aesthetic
Client Context & Vision: This client is a longtime friend who was looking for just the right partner to realize her and her husband’s vision for a truly unique and immersive design for their entry foyer, powder room, and staircase, which would set the tone for the rest of the home.
Notable Inspiration: Wizardry, magic, and cinematic universes like those found in Harry Potter.
What Made the Finished Design Unique: When spouses have seemingly disparate design styles, some might throw up their hands, but we would much rather roll up our sleeves and get to work. This design is a marriage of the wife’s love of the dark academia aesthetics—full of moody, scholarly, preppy styles that romanticize literature, the arts, and vintage fashion—and her husband’s tailored, traditional style. Our first move to establish common ground—a bold color palette anchored by Benjamin Moore’s Twilight Zone combined with timeless damask wallpaper and picture frame molding that would be equally at home in Hogwarts or an upscale men’s social club. We wanted to embrace the drama and wonder of our client’s love of wizardry, with a measured hand, producing a design that felt thoughtful, rather than theme-y. A tiger-print stair runner with antique gold stair rods adds a regal feel, while the curated gallery walls feature meaningful artwork and keepsakes.
Just like a great story, we want to balance dark with light—from the luminous wallpapered ceiling that produces a cloud-like effect to natural light entering through the arched French iron door with its grid windows.
The cinematic experience continues in the powder room, where guests are greeted by gold foil lion wallpaper, sculptural hardware, and nature-inspired accents. Looking at the pictures, you can almost hear a fairytale-like score begin to play.
Design Challenges & Constraints: The powder bath is located beneath the staircase, resulting in a sloped ceiling, a common architectural challenge that was minimized by extending the wallpaper all the way to the ceiling to visually dissolve the angle.
We Bet You’d Never Guess: Given that the husband wanted to maintain the mahogany wood stain on the stairs, we decided to replace the thicker, more traditional spindles with thinner, more modern ones that allowed for negative space for visual balance against the dark walls.
Our Favorite Part: The wallpapered ceiling in the entry foyer—it sets the tone immediately and rewards anyone who looks up.
Our Client’s Reaction: Blown away. It’s beyond what they could have imagined and more than they hoped it would be.
