Bathroom Wallpaper

Wallpaper your bathroom you say? Well yes actually, since we are covering the various different methods of redecorating a bathroom we couldn’t leave out the oft ignored bathroom wallpaper!

There are definitely a lot of advantages to using bathroom wallpaper. I think people tend not to consider it because it somehow doesn’t seem like a ‘proper’ way to decorate your bathroom but the bathroom wallpaper you can buy nowadays is very durable and can last for ten years or more.

Firstly it is a great choice for the DIY enthusiast because unlike tiling, as long as you know a brush from a pasting table you should be able to have a go yourself.  Also unlike tiling, it’s very cheap in comparison and it is perfectly possible to paper a whole medium sized bathroom in a day or so.

Things to take into account

As with papering any room, you will need to plan a few things in advance and select the colours and design of the wallpaper carefully. You want to choose bathroom wallpaper that fits in nicely with the existing decor but I also recommend finding paper that is neutral enough to work around should you need to make any changes to the rest of the room.

Make sure you get good quality bathroom wallpaper. As a bathroom is usually damp and humid for a good portion of the day, the wallpaper needs to be able to stand up to this. Standard wallpaper would perish in such conditions very quickly but some bathroom wallpaper is essentially just ordinary wallpaper with a water resistant coating. Be sure to avoid this kind and spend a bit extra on fabric based paper, that’s the stuff that will last for years.

Even with the best quality bathroom wallpaper, it can occasionally suffer at the hands of constant damp/humidity if you have a poorly ventilated or particularly small bathroom. One way round this is to apply a layer of clear varnish over the paper after it’s done. A word of warning though, wait until you are certain the wallpaper is fully dry before applying the varnish as if it’s not the weight of the varnish can pull the paper right back off the wall! I actually recommend that everybody does this with their bathroom wallpaper- it doesn’t take long and it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Different styles of bathroom wallpaper

There are a huge range of different designs available when it comes to bathroom wallpaper, ranging from the garish and tacky to the more subtle. Personally I tend to avoid the excessively embellished stuff like faux marble or fake tiles in favour of a more plain design but it’s obviously up to you.

Borders are also a nice addition to either a freshly decorated bathroom or even a good way to spruce up your existing decor. Again, just make sure you invest in decent quality ones.

So that’s about it I think. As always if you have any questions, feel free to comment below.

Happy decorating!