I would change the mirror over mirror light fixture to something more contemporary.

an inside mount blind on the window for a streamlined look. Less is more, it's a small space.

the two birds, if that's what your son in attached to , should be placed in his room, along with the book, the rest would be in a donate box headed for the thift shop. Teach him to live a less cluttered life, Live Better with Less.

I'd aim for a large piece of art on the largest blank wall (which I think is next to the toilet). Then maybe some shelves for the knick-knacks -- better yet, maybe a low table that could hold some useful things (like extra tp, and/or cleaning supplies) with a couple of birds on top. That could stand under the window. I'd hang a real toilet paper dispenser on the wall rather than having a freestanding one.

Broadview Bathroom Storage Cabinet, White · More Info

Kohler K-21954 Tempered Wall Mounted Pivoting Toilet Paper Holder - Polished · More Info

(These new ones are so much better than the old style! The arm just lifts when it's time to replace!! :)

In a nod to your son’s desire for birds…choose a bold wallpaper with a beautiful bird theme! There are some fantastic papers and you could go wild or beautiful in the space! A jewel box of a room. You could take apart the book, too, for images to frame and mount on a focal wall. But I would go for the wallpaper! ❤️

That room needs a vanity

There are these lovely painted paper 'tapestries from Anthropology. They are 8.5 ft x 5 ft/

https://www.anthropologie.com/anthroliving/shop/sarita-floral-tapestry?color=041&type=STANDARD&size=One%20Size&quantity=1

Make a color copy of the book cover and frame it. Hang on the wall to the right of the window, closer to the sink. Paint or paper the room using a color that compliments the book cover. Get a new light and mirror, and if you are up for it now, a new vanity. Find a piece of artwork for the wall to the left of the toilet. I'd done the rest of the dust collectors.

There are so many beautiful wallpapers that have a bird theme. You could do one wall and paint the others the same color as the background. Check out Thibaut’s Augustine wallpaper. It’s lovely.

There are tons of murals that have birds. They’re made for easy installation. A mural can really make a bathroom special. Etsy is a good place to start.

Here are some to consider.

That’s so sweet about your son wanting the birds in there. :)

Can you be more specific about changes you’d like in there? Does anything have to stay?

What decor styles do you like?

To display the bird collection, you could find a nice wall cabinet or possibly a narrow standing one (if it would fit in front of the toilet) … with glass doors. Something vintage, maybe?

It could hold towels and such, too.

It would just help to know about styles you like, and if you’re interested in changing lights, window treatment, mirror, etc.

I’m not a knick-knacker, esp in a bathroom, but I like the idea of a pretty wallpaper, and maybe a cabinet….Jilly has some nice examples.

She said....

" when my son left for college, he told me, "Mom, if you can unpack those bird things from our old house, I think you should put them in here."

"I'd love to have them displayed when he returns home for spring break. I don't mind having a bird-themed bathroom, but ................"

I will ask:

Why a "bird bath" ( pun intended) at all? What would YOU like in this very plain, rather utilitarian space? What is the nearby decor in the dining room area this bath is near? Show the dining area please?

" I don't want wainscoting it is nearby....."

So what?! Wainscoting is a GREAT way to make a small white pedestal sink feel more important, it LIMITS the amount of a sensational wallpaper amount you may want above that wainscoting!

What is my point here? Several actually!

One:

This is your home, your bath.

Two:

If your son is attached to the birds? My bet is he will not be for long. He's off to college, he's going to grow in many ways. If he is sentimental, wants the memories from childhood in the room to which he returns, or wants to take the bird book WITH him when he leaves? Great!

Three:

You can make a little jewel box powder room, for you, for your home. Show more of the surroundings.

Four:

Kids have a way of "sort of leaving, but not leaving" "Save this for me mom, I don't have room".

"WHAT? You made my old bedroom into a SEWING/CRAFT ROOM!!!? " Are you kidding?

( this is completely forgotten when he announces he is skiing with friends, won't be home for..........)

Five:

You can bet that nine months from now, you will mention birds and unless he is going to school to major in ornithology, your mention will get a blank stare, at best. : )

So! How long will y.o.u have this house, and its little powder room.? Mmmmmm?

Add to my earlier

I see some Windsor chairs at the table? Wainscoting need not be white: ) A mural over wainscoting would visually DOUBLE the size of the bath and give it a view from the entry!

There are hundreds of ways with paper AND wainscoting in any color

Go with Jan Moyers suggestions and also the arm-lift toilet paper dispenser, and vanity to store items. Avoid glass and any items that require dusting, etc. decor in bathroom especially a small one.

Amen, Jan! (I was thinking I must be an awful mother…..my children don’t get to make design/décor decisions for MY house!😬😂)

@JAN MOYER I feel moved to address a couple things.

1) All of the samples of wall paper and murals are stunning, and I'm intrigued by the concept of adding something similar. Pairing it with wainscoting may be quite appealing. However, please notice that all of the examples show the toilet close to the sink. My toilet is not next to the sink, but behind it and turned sideways on a very small wall. That is the source of my dilemma. I am open to all recommendations because it is truly a clean slate, but due to the arrangement, I’m unsure how to bring it all together. For example, if the mural is on the huge wall, does it extend to the toilet wall? If not, what should go over the toilet? If you use wainscoting, does it cover each of the walls, and how does it work with the window, as it appears to produce two clashing horizontal lines? I agree that a vanity with modern lighting and mirrors would be ideal.

2) The birds and my son:

Our family retired from the Army last year after 30 years of active duty. And for 19 years, my son's address changed every three years. But two things that never changed: the Bird Book for Children and the two small birds that could always be found in the bathroom. We recently purchased our first house, and while many things will change in the decor, some will remain same. I could put the birds in his room or closet, but they would be out of place because that isn’t their home.

@rutabaga4

Okay : )

First, the wainscoting/paper concept. It doesn't matter where the toilet is in your powder room. The only thing that matters? There is a toilet, right?

Yes, you would wainscot all four walls, and yes paper above all four.

In most homes, the door to this room is always open or ajar. Look into yours, and what greets you ? A wall..... a plain beige wall. It's nothing more than to give that room a view, some color, some interest!

The birds......

I understand the military life of continual upheaval to familiarity. Friends made, and then leave those friends and start anew!.

But your young man is becoming a man. He's going to become yet more so, every single day. I think the specific room that is home to a bird book and companions can be a display anywhere in your home, as long as they remain in your home. A dining room sideboard, on a small shelf in the powder room, especially if the paper is nature inspired. Even better may be when the time comes, and he sets roots down and makes his own family? That book and the birds are a wonderful wish/sentimental housewarming gift.

I'd not be at all shocked if his suggestion to you as to the location of these? Was far more to comfort you regarding his departure as YOU settle into a new home, where he won't be the permanent resident.

If possible or fact, he's already quite the man,

and as he flies your coop? You... did good. : )

@JAN MOYER I appreciate your comments. They were very thoughtful. As to the wainscoting, won't it fight with the window? With a full vanity, won't it be too much and/or unnecessary behind it? It sounds lovely, but it seems like on all FIVE walls wainscoting would be overwhelming. The fourth wall is divided into two small sections, due to the location of the door. Please give me details because I've never done anything like this before. When living on-post, our half bathroom (if we had one) was a rather sterile little room. :-)

@coray Not his decision, only a suggestion/request for reasons I explained in my reply to JAN's earlier post. Each home has it's own story to tell. I'm sure you are a wonderful mom.

Don’t take my comment seriously…hence the 😂 emoji. Not sure how I am as a mom, but I definitely don’t live on the sentimental side. It is, what it is…everyone is different. Our SIL still has her daughter’s room (almost 27 and away at school), which is their only real guest room, as well as the bathroom beside it, “decorated” with her daughter’s possessions….middle school photo booth pics, cartoonish ducky pics, homemade beaded bracelets, her old clothes, shoes, books in boxes under the bed and in the corners etc…it looks as if a 12 yr-old is going come home from middle school any minute….I just don’t get that.🤷‍♀️ That being said, we kept our kids’ school stuff, toys, artwork and books and so on, which now our toddler grandsons play with.

@coray I understand. Your SIL's house sounds similar to my SIL's. We'd go to visit and feel like we were in the Death Star since all of her grown, and gone, son's Mini-Figure décor was physically encircling us while we slept. Our house has always been stark in comparison to our many other military friends, because I didn't want to move anything, unless absolutely necessary, every three years. But now that we've settled in, I'm willing to experiment with decorating. Two guest rooms and my son's bedroom, for when he visits from college, are rather barren, with only a bed, dresser, and no décor. It wasn’t until we lived in the same house for four years that I finally decided to hang curtains. I called my mom and said, "I feel so grown up!" Baby steps towards making our house a home. I'm really trying to focus on the public areas first, thus the request for help with the guest bathroom.

Because a couple of you were interested, here are a some pictures, as to how it relates to my original post:

Beautiful home!

Having your collection in there is no different than any other decor people might suggest. Lots of people have decorative cabinets, shelves, etc with pretty things in or on them in bathrooms.

I find nothing at all wrong with the bird collection or anything else that you enjoy seeing — in fact, I think your things are very charming and meaningful.

These are a few pics I have saved on IG — lots of pretty decor on display.

Do what makes you happy.

That’s funny! You’ve gotten many good suggestions here, and I know you will come up with the right thing. It takes years (for me) to get things right, and my spaces are always evolving….who knows if I’ll ever stop?😱😂 (Probably not…I’ve already warned hubby.😬) How nice that you will finally have some sense of permanence…that must feel great. Good luck with your projects!

Wainscoting will make your “disjointed” bathroom more cohesive. I see you have some in your house already. Just mimic that same design. As was mentioned, the door to a powder room is often open, so if you use a similar wainscoting, it all works together.

Wallpaper also pulls together a room that - by design - is often two or three “pieces”. There are a lot of beautiful bird wallpapers that will make the powder room look elegant. If there is room, you can have a cabinet that houses some of the bird books.

My friends in CT have a HUGE powder room and they’re using it to house 2 glass fronted barrister bookcases. And a lot of artwork. They painted it a happy yellow-orange. It sounds weird, but it works!

In order to get a home you love? You have to dispense with terror.

I mean that, and the word. You're not bashing out the powder room walls, or any other!

You've spent a lifetime moving, and now you can settle in. The bird book and birds can have any spot in your home ! It's all yours, and you aren't leaving next week. Home truly IS where you make it, and it has far more to do with the people in it, than it does with just the decor.

You son will go, and return and go again until he fully creates his own life and family because that's life. I do think he is simply being sensitive to one more disruption in a life that was disrupted for all of you, over and over. You can ASK him!

Measure this whole space! Also measure from the boring back wall, to the FAUCET. The inches. Please. Thank you!' It will inform the vanity size with no plumbing move necessary.

I'm done being family counselor, it's a lot of hand wring on not much, isn't it? : )

Yes..... !! Whether birds or other, it' a POWDER room. Make it yours.

As to the rest and the "terror". It is that thing that keeps people stuck in one spot. The what if I make a mistake? What if I don't like it? What if someone ELSE DOESN'T LIKE IT?

IT IS...............................your house!!! You have to like it. Personally, I think your son is grown man enough to know that is simply fact.

“I'm done being family counselor …”

Don’t believe her, OP. ;)

But seriously, not sure how these mother and son screeds are relevant on this thread. I don’t see any family struggles, no ”terror” (whatever that means), etc here. Just a nice person looking for decorating ideas.

YEAH....! But it is a powder room, and one part of a home, and not one that you will spend a day , hanging around. It's fast space. No matter if in it, or just passing by. You want to walk by it, and love it.

If you love the idea of a mural as the op stated? Then that's what you do!

As to the rest? It's worth looking local for an interior designer. Why? You've always looked at housing as temporary. Make this the much more permanent home, and fearlessly yours.

All the clues to your style are there. The Windsor chairs, the pewter and the candlesticks.....: ) and off you go like yanking a thread in a sweater.

Yes, with the mural or wallpaper ideas, I’d be looking in a William Morris, et al direction.

Or, something like this charmer (before and after):

But I actually wouldn’t go with white wainscoting, I’d go with a darker color from the paper. That would help distinguish it from the dining room.

I’m still not clear on other elements — if the lighting, mirror, etc are in the changes planned.