Pride and Prejudice: A Toile Powder Room

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"How nicely we are all crammed in," cried Lydia. . . ."Dear me! we had such a good piece of fun the other day at Colonel Forster's. Kitty and me were to spend the day there, and Mrs. Forster promised to have a little dance in the evening; (by the bye, Mrs. Forster and me are such friends!) and so she asked the two Harringtons to come, but Harriet was ill, and so Pen was forced to come by herself; and then, what do you think we did? We dressed up Chamberlayne in woman's clothes on purpose to pass for a lady, only think what fun! Not a soul knew of it, but Colonel and Mrs. Forster, and Kitty and me, except my aunt, for we were forced to borrow one of her gowns; and you cannot imagine how well he looked! When Denny, and Wickham, and Pratt, and two or three more of the men came in, they did not know him in the least. Oh how I laughed! and so did Mrs. Forster. I thought I should have died. And that made the men suspect something, and then they soon found out what was the matter." 

~ Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Chapter 39 

I never get tired of toile.  I love it in bedrooms.  I love it in kitchens.  And I especially love it in bathrooms.  

There is something about toile in a little powder room that feels perfectly feminine, fancy, and even indulgent.

Here is a peek at my own little corner of toile heaven.

This is the powder room off of the living room and kitchen.  It is truly a water "closet" in size: it is only about 3 feet wide and 5 feet long.  

 And while this little room's dimensions force me to take it easy on the Raspberry Blackout Cake and Blueberry Scones, its small size makes it the perfect candidate for patterned wallpaper.

 In honor of our Pride and Prejudice theme this week, I hung these framed prints of Regency era clothing above the towel rack.

I think I love the frames almost as much as I love the prints . . . if not more!  (Thank you, dear Hobby Lobby, for having a 50% off sale!)

I chose this print in particular because the woman's coat perfectly matches the cranberry shade of the wallpaper.  (I also like the pose the cherub is pulling on that pedestal.  It looks something akin to a disco move.  A touch of whimsy, I say.)

And as the finishing touch to my Pride and Prejudice-inspired powder room, I hung this monogrammed towel on the rack.  Yes, it does happen to be the letter of our last name, but I like to think that the "P" stands for "Pemberley"!

If you are looking for a touch of Pemberley for your own powder rooms, here are some adorable prints you could use.  I wish I could have hung ALL of them in my powder room.  Alas, 3 feet by 5 feet doesn't allow for more than just a few.

 {These prints all came from this website}

Three cheers for girly bathrooms and toile walls and regency gowns!  May all of your powder rooms be your own little corners of Pemberley heaven . . .

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