Steampunk for the Powder Room

When Andre Rothblatt’s clients, a San Francisco couple in the tech industry, asked him to give their powder room steampunk style, he had to Google the word. But poring over images that he says “celebrate the industrial age of technology, like the steam locomotion, with a retro-future slant” appealed to him immediately. He quickly caught on and focused on four key elements: pipes, gears, gauges and a sense of humor, incorporating all into the powder room.

Rothblatt basically tried to exaggerate the pipes as much as possible. But he also wanted to make everything he did purposeful. There’s nothing in the space that doesn’t serve a purpose — albeit a Rube Goldberg–esque purpose.


Copper pipes zigzag and cross over one another. The larger one is the drain; the smaller is the supply line. Ragnar Boresen at The Sink Factory in Berkeley, California, helped create the design using off-the-shelf pipes.


This gauge actually measures and displays water pressure. The copper pipes and their patina influenced the choice of Victorian-style wallpaper.


Black tiles create a neutral backdrop that lets the copper fixtures stand out.


The sink is copper, and the faucet is copper-plated chrome. Rothblatt designed the sconces, which Jim Misner built. Frederic Grasset was the general contractor for the project.


While the rest of the house is done in a simple style that reflects its Craftsman roots, the kitchen faucet definitely nods to the steampunk aesthetic.


How to Get Steampunk Style Chugging in Your Home

Toughen up. If you didn't notice, "steampunk" has the word "punk" in it. So the style should feel gritty, raw and hard edged. Copper and bronze are your friends. Embrace them.





Go for gears. Sure, technology today is pretty great, but you can't see anything. What's going on inside an iPhone?

Rothblatt says the steampunk appeal lies in the fact that in the Industrial Revolution days, technology was in your face, with spewing steam and cranking gears. Steampunk style romanticizes that aesthetic.

Gear sculpture: Iron Anarchy


Steampunk Gear Steam Gauge Lamp - $479.00 » Put in some pipes. Anything that incorporates elaborate piping honors the steampunk ethos. Machine Age Lamps in Minneapolis hand makes these steampunk lamps using steel, brass and copper.





Get a dirigible. Don't ask me why, but zeppelins and other dirigibles are highly celebrated by steampunks. Could be the whole hot-air thing.





Embrace gauges and gadgets. Steampunk is all about analog technology pushed to the outer realms of imagination. Bulky cast iron contraptions from the 1930s should be displayed prominently.

Fashion tip: A top hat and aviator goggles should be in your repertoire.


Choose black and copper. Want the steampunk look without all the moving parts? Just stick with a black and copper color palette, and you'll be almost there.


Talk to this guy. Bruce Rosenbaum and his wife, Melanie, run design company ModVic, which seeks to help homeowners and designers create contemporary steampunk style. The couple's home is an amazing monument to steampunk glory.

Got steampunk style or other unique tastes? Show us your creative space in the Comments section.

URL: Steampunk for the Powder Room http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-21012.html