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Guest Room Styling

A tailored powder room with classic intent

Drawing from his recent country house projects, Christian Bense’s refined powder room edit brings a tailored, masculine sensibility to the traditionally decorative guest WC. By balancing antique and contemporary, and mixing textures and forms, he creates a layered space, giving the smallest area a strong sense of consideration.

Christian Bense

Curated by Christian Bense

Published 1 year ago

A tailored powder room with classic intent
Christian Bense
A vintage-style glass pendant light with a decorative metal rim hangs from three chains. The bowl-shaped fixture and exposed cord are set against a plain white background.

Lorfords Antiques

20th Century English Hanging Glass and Silver Plate Light

£795
A beige area rug with a simple design, featuring a wavy inner border and a straight outer border, both in slightly darker shades of beige. The rug has a minimalist and neutral appearance.

Ruggable

Orla Tan Rug

£99
A ceramic soap dish with a round base and drainage holes, holding a white, irregularly shaped bar of soap speckled with dark flecks, against a plain white background.

Toast

Laerke Moller Hansen Soap Dish

£95
A dark wood bathroom vanity with open shelves, a white marble countertop, and gold faucet fixtures sits below a round mirror. The background features green paneling and sheer curtains, with a checkered tile floor.

Studio Ham

The Spool Vanity

£3,360

Mirrors and Lighting

A key pairing in the room is the Grandeur Leather Marquetry Mirror by Marrikur Studio and the Plaster Shell Uplighter by Rose Uniacke. The mirror’s hand-painted leather adds artisanal richness, perfect for powder rooms where mirrors can be decorative without worry of fog or moisture. The scalloped plaster sconce casts a soft upward glow, creating a focal point that feels sculptural and layered.

A white ceramic bowl with scalloped, wavy edges and vertical grooves, resembling the shape of a seashell, on a plain white background.

Rose Uniacke

Plaster Shell Uplighter

£1,020
A rectangular wall mirror with a wide, rustic wooden frame featuring a weathered, multicolored finish in shades of brown, gold, and grey. The mirror is centered within the frame against a plain white background.

Curio

Grandeur Leather Marquetry Mirror – By Marrikur Studio

£3,400
Beige surface with evenly spaced vertical black lines, creating a striped pattern.

Designer Wallpapers

Carlton Stripe

£75
A natural bristle toilet brush with a wooden handle rests beside a tall brass holder on a wooden floor next to a hanging striped towel.

Rowen & Wren

Bilton Toilet Brush Holder

£118
A rustic, textured ceramic vase holds six delicate orange and pink flowers with thin green stems, softly lit by natural light casting gentle shadows on a neutral background.

Sway Ceramics

Poppy III Stoneware Vase

£860
A small square side table with a clear glass top and four black metal legs connected by crossbars at the base. The legs have decorative cylindrical details.

Oka

Pompidou Side Table – Small – Black

£329

Functional Elegance

Hans Wegner’s PP250 Valet Chair combines playful design with practicality – part seat, part storage, and timeless in design. Completing the look, linen hand towels by LinenMe add understated luxury. Favoured by interior designers for powder rooms, linen is naturally quick-drying and durable, making it ideal for guest use. Linen softens with use, developing a beautiful refined texture – a subtle upgrade perfect for a room that’s small in scale and big on impression.

A light wood chair with a unique backrest shaped like a stylized coat hanger and broad, curved arms, set against a plain white background.

Twentytwentyone

PP250 Valet Chair

£10,233
A minimalist photo of a white ceramic cup with a wide rim next to an olive green box featuring a line drawing of the cup on a beige background.

Moro Dabron

Erbario Candle

£149
A vintage-style brass towel ring with a round wall mount and a circular hoop, set against a plain white background.

Jim Lawrence

Bletchley Towel Ring in Lacquered Antiqued Brass

£53
Two beige and gray striped towels hang side by side on hooks against a white wall.

Linen Me

Set of 2 Cream Linen Hand and Guest Towels Linum

£12
A framed sketch of a persons head and shoulders, drawn with bold black and orange lines on cream paper, depicting a serious facial expression and short, wavy hair. The artists signature is visible at the bottom.

McCully & Crane

‘Feelings of Temperance – Four’ by Mark Millsted – 2024

£625
Charlton Bin

Soho Home

Charlton Bin

£295