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Look! Vintage Bathroom Wallpaper

031108fish1.jpgThe bathrooms in our new bungalow were last tended to in the sixties, we think. The wallpapers in each cover every inch of wall that isn't otherwise tiled or wood paneled, including the ceiling! We are kind of loving all of this - and are in no rush to tear any of it down (well, maybe the orange/green flowers, can't decide). What do you think? Keep some or all of the vintage wallpaper? Our favorite is the fish in the half bath. Those fish are staying. Many more images below:

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031108orange1.jpg
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031108flowers1.jpg
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Comments (24)

Love the fish
Like the BW floral design
The orange wallpaper makes me dizzy.

posted by heidh on 2008-03-11 16:18:40
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Definately keep some of it!!

posted by katemartinez on 2008-03-11 16:18:54
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I love it! I would keep it all on the walls but remove/paint the ceilings white to avoid claustrophobia.

posted by littledebbiet on 2008-03-11 16:18:55
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Love the Fish and the B&W toile - I wouldn't touch those ever.

The Orange and Green flowers above the White w/ Yellow textured tile is so Mary Ann Singleton - If they're in good condition and you feel up to using Orange and Green towels & accessories to play up the colors I think it will still look great - otherwise it may be time for something else.

posted by bepsf on 2008-03-11 16:25:21
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The orange wallpaper is the same style that we had in our old house - full ceiling and wall coverage coupled with a funky (take that as you will) green shag carpet - the carpet ran through the bathroom, hallway and KITCHEN!
Cool!

posted by Bets on 2008-03-11 16:28:28
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I agree on stripping the paper off the ceiling and painting white for some element of calm. The toile is fabulous!

posted by CQ in DC on 2008-03-11 16:43:43
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Wow, I thought we were the only ones who had wallpaper on the ceiling! (although not any more). I like the fish, esp in a bathroom.

posted by Susmita on 2008-03-11 16:44:23
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Love the fish and the toile. I can totally see pops of turquoise/aqua in the fish bathroom. I even like the vintage light fixtures in the toile bath.

Not so sure about the flowers...it may be overwhelming in person. I guess it would really depend on if it was my main bath or not...I could live with it a lot longer if it was a guest bath or powder room, but I'm not sure I could face those flowers before my shower every day.

posted by trixxie on 2008-03-11 16:49:35
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I love the fish and that light fixture! The orange is a bit scary...and i normally love bold patterns and colors.

posted by Keyse on 2008-03-11 16:50:59
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Keep the wallpaper. (it rocks)
Update the light fixtures. (they're a little sad)

posted by moni-ka in ky on 2008-03-11 16:57:43
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I would update the rooms with some more contemporary peices (mirrors, lighting, etc.), but the papers are so in right now. I would also make sure to keep the "vintage with contemporary accents" theme throughout the house. Have fun with your new home!

posted by IDstudent on 2008-03-11 17:10:00
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I wouldn't touch a thing in the bathroom that has the toile, the tile work in that room looks great as well. Would keep the wallpaper in the other two rooms, but maybe paint the ceiling in the orange one. Good luck with the new place.

posted by MIKEC on 2008-03-11 17:24:08
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I would not take down the wallpaper on the ceiling. It's very unique and is applied very well.

Plain white ceilings can look really awkward if the walls are 9' tall or even higher. They end up making even a spacious room feel like a box with a white top. And in a small room, the effect can get magnified, even if the ceiling is low.

posted by Torrilin on 2008-03-11 17:48:48
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Love them all - just change the tiling in the room with the flowers. And don't dare paint the ceilings, it's what makes the whole thing so special!

posted by Harpa on 2008-03-11 18:35:16
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I would definitely keep the fish and the toile.

There is something about the orange flowers that is very cartoon-y to me. I expect Murakami characters hidden among the flowers.

What is the architecture of the flower room like? Is is possible to keep maybe just a wall with the orange flowers? Those flowers would be fantastic in a closet.

posted by lindenen on 2008-03-11 18:43:09
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Hate the toile. Love the first two. I would definitely paint the ceilings, though! We were renting a house where everything was painted the same color -- yellow walls meant yellow ceiling. Just giving the walls a differente coat of paint helped tremendously to make it feel less unrelenting.

Or maybe you could try painting the walls and leaving the wallpaper on the ceiling in one room! Tha tmight look really cool.

posted by DWF on 2008-03-11 21:17:34
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The fish print reminds of Mr. Limpette! I love it.

posted by umeboshi on 2008-03-11 21:34:24
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I love the toile. And I think the fish can be worked with.

When I was about 4, the wallpaper in our bathroom was brown and green and yellow on sort of an ivory color. The really interesting part was that it had line drawings of naked people doing various bathroom-related activities on it. It was semi-scandalous. My mother was horrified by it, especially when my great-grandmother came to visit. She, to her 80 year old credit, thought it was quite funny! I have never forgotten that wallpaper. Therefore, I say keep it for the character it adds.

posted by ClaraE on 2008-03-11 21:42:11
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Your new bungalow has 3 bathrooms...?

posted by pb on 2008-03-12 21:06:36
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pb: yeah, "2.5" bathrooms. the .5 was most likely added on in the 60s or 70s where the pantry used to be. the second was added about the same time upstairs.

posted by heather on 2008-04-01 10:29:49
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gosh. i love all of it. my first reaction was "ew!" to the orange flowers but, with the tiles and window um, doors? updated, I think it could look cool. I LOVE the fish one but I'm finding that the more I look at it, the more suffocating it gets... 2.5 bathrooms! super awesome!

posted by saya* on 2008-04-01 15:07:40
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yes to the fish no to the rest

posted by LaDonnaNichole on 2008-04-08 23:20:18
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Interesting view of history. I've owned houses with the yellow and orange tones, that's for sure. I just read an interesting article about how you can learn a lot about a home's history by its wallpaper. Interesting stuff, even if you don't like the pattern or colors!

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/10267.shtml

posted by Allison1888 on 2008-04-13 21:41:03
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keep the b&w floral design, but maybe take it off of the ceiling? And MAN is that orange paper orange. and it is everywhere. You could take down the orange wallpaper everywhere BUT the ceiling! which would add a dramatic, unexpected pop of color. I cant tell if your ceiling is rounded, but you could still pull it off with some sort of straight edge.

posted by avallant on 2008-05-08 19:31:36
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