My rental apartment was blessed with powder blue tiles, a powder blue sink, powder blue tub and a powder blue toilet — basically my grandmother's dream bathroom. But with a little help from some red and white striped wallpaper, it's now a gentleman's loo with the look of a barber shop.
I definitely learned a lesson with wallpaper. Because the walls are so old and not quite smooth (even with major sanding) it was tough getting everything perfectly flat and neat. However if you let go of the little mistakes I guarantee you'll be happy with the finished product.
The wallpaper came from Janovic and the towel bar is a vintage Hewi found on eBay. The porthole is from an attic in North Carolina.
Images: Geoff Bentz
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Love the mug! :) Nice Job on taking a problem rental and making it your own.
This is adorable. I don't like that word, but it seems most appropriate. I love it.
Great example of going with what you've got! Turned out great. (A haberdashery is a men's clothing store, though. I was expecting pinstripes and neutrals.)
This is so cute! I love how this turned out. I've had my share of bathroom redos (http://www.queenofdiy.com/home-decorating/bathroom-vanity-makeover.html) and I still have more to do! :) It's always good to see some inspiration.
Yeah, a haberdashery is not the same as a barber shop. Cute wallpaper, though. I love that saturated red.
I love this. Great job - and so fun.
This is freaking adorable. Love the red towel bar...love all of it.
If that was my bathroom, I would TOTALLY put this print in it, framed:
http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TO&Product_Code=WON-BEARDS&Category_Code=WON
I mean, COME ON. It's perfect, even down to the blue backgrounds in the beard-portraits.
I can't believe I'm actually wishing for a blue sink!
"Gentleman's Loo"...I love it! Very creative. I love it when people take something crappy and turn it all around!
A haberdashery means a sewing and notions shop (sell like tons of thread, buttons, bits and pieces for sewing of all types) here in the UK. When I read the title I thought "OMG, this is going to be a bathroom FULL of some sort of stylish storage for millions of buttons and ribbons etc". I was trying to figure out how this was going to work hygenically but I was excited all the same ;).
I am originally from the US though, and I know in the US habadasher is an old-fashioned word for a Men's outfitter.
I think it is really nice! It definetley has that "manly" and and jolly feel from a time gone by. :)
Good job on making lemonade out of lemons.
I really, really like this. So envious when others can think of making an otherwise horrible bathroom look chic, especially those with dated tile.
Maybe it's just me but the red and white stripe with the blue looks more like a big top.
I love it! Nice job Geoff!
I also have the dreaded blue bathroom with fully tiled matching blue walls. I can't afford to change it at the moment but you've definately inspired me.
This looks really great. But I actually love the powder blue stuff regardless.
And I thought that a haberdashery was a hat-maker's shop. But I'm too lazy to look it up, so what do I know.
Wallaby, that's so interesting that it means a sewing shop in the UK. I had no idea! Crazy world with its words and their many meanings.
This is so cute!
Goes to show that you do not need to rip out vintage tiles!
I have very similar tiles and I always smile when people choose to work with them rather than ripping 'em out. Nice work!
wow what a change! it's very inspiring :D i had my rental bathroom featured on AT last month, but am still working on making the changes and improvements bit by bit. wallpaper *might* work on my wall, but my bathroom is SO damp that it will probably peel off in no time. Am wondering if painting stripes will lend the same feel but i'm not sure if it's the look i want to go for. again, great job with yours!
Thank you for not getting rid of that blue sink!
Wow, bravo! I never would have thought of red stripes with blue but it looks amazing.
And yay! Sherlock Holmes quote! Where on earth did you get that mug?
Baby blue and red are one of my most favorite combinations! Bravo!!! I'd figure out a way though to make that porthole a mirror.
Wow, I never would have imagined red striped wallpaper making this look better but it totally works!!
"Gentleman's Loo"...I love it! Very creative. I love it when people take something crappy and turn it all around!
I like to think that this was an intentional double entendre :)
This is a very clever makeover. Plain red would have been too much, plain white would have been too little. The striped combination is just right.
What a charming room! Bravo!
I love this bathroom. So fun! I was also totally misled by the title of this post but not disappointed by what I found.
Wonderful! ...I think a way to work around the uneven walls is doing the stripes with paint. Painstaking, yes, but I think wallpaper is a bear to work with, too...