I am terrified...of wallpaper. Sure, it looks lovely in other people's homes, but I recall a traumatic experience I had as a child when I bought the most perfect wallpaper, covered in teeny tiny flowers, for the living room in my dollhouse and it wrinkled. To this day, there are bumpy spots on the wall of my dollhouse. I imagine the dolls strategically placing paintings and potted plants, deeply ashamed at my clumsiness.
But you know, I've decided that facing one's childhood fears is an important part of growing up. Maybe this will be the year I dip my toes in the wallpaper pool. I think I'll start with the powder room.
I am tremendously lucky to have a powder room. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house, because I hardly ever go in there, so it's almost always clean. It's also approximately the size of an airplane bathroom, which seems to make it an easy target for my budding wallpapering skills. And thanks to the internet, I have lots of inspiration.
1. A lovely toile from Lonny.
2. I know this is tile, and not wallpaper - but I love the way the design extends to cover the whole room. From Design*Sponge.
3. Somehow this combination of gold mirror with light blue wallpaper is airy and ornate all at the same time. From the Decorista.
4. Bold graphics enliven a little room in this photo from HGTV.
5. From Better Homes & Gardens, further proof that the ubiquitous Cole & Son 'Woods' wallpaper works absolutely everywhere.
6. The Cole & Sons crops up again, although the bathroom seems like an unusual place for a bookshelf. From Houzz.
7. This is not wallpaper, I believe, but something akin to mod-podge. It's like a craft project you can do your business in. I have tremendous respect for that. From Lonny.
8. Just modern enough to be pretty without being precious. From Lonny.
9. I might never leave the bathroom. Made By Girl.
10. Or, inspired by this room from House Beautiful, I could just forget about paper entirely and cover the room with cork. Gives you something to think about.
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I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with anything, but can I ask about the use of the term "powder room" for bathroom? Is it a regionalism? I notice it's all over the "Not So Big House" books and it scans as fussily euphemistic to me, but for all I know, it's What People Say in some places.
I think I've seen posts on this topic before. Maybe, to avoide repetition and redundancy, AT should keep a database on topic names, tags etc. Every time a blogger wants to write a post on a certain topic, they check if its already been done in the last year or not... I am sure you guys have a system, but just putting in my 2 cents :-) To me (as to all AT readers, I am sure), avoiding an oft repeated topic is a chance for a brand new, potentially exciting topic!
'round these here parts, powder room refers to having a sink and potty, very convenient for guest use so that one would not have to share ones personal lavatory and medicine cabinet snoopers.
The bathroom includes a place to bath(e).
I'm a huge fan of wallpaper (sorry future owners of my house!). My advice is to pay for quality wallpaper. There's a huge range of price, and on the low end, it is miserable thing hang.
Also, go to a paint store or some other place that sells wallpaper and look through their books. So much of the appeal of wallpaper is in the texture, which is really hard to convey online. Once you've found your wallpaper, you can usually get it online for less.
Just say NO to wallpaper! I'm currently removing some bold "powder room" wallpaper, and there are only four letter words to describe the task. Just don't. And seriously, we're currently looking to buy a house, and when I see wallpaper in a house it sours my impression of the entire home. Never again! It doesn't matter how expensive or how nice, no style is universal, especially bold styles.
Sorry for the rant, blame the fumes from the wallpaper removal process.
I love the birches. The others I couldn't handle first thing in the morning.
The tree wallpaper works fine for me because the large pattern is offset by the neutral, self-effacing colors. The bold ones? - no thank you. Not anywhere, not ever. Chevrons, stripes, geometrics, especially not never - I am sure they cause people to lose their balance, go cross-eyed, and fall down.
@trilobyte: I understand a "powder room" to be a fancy word for a half bath (no bathtub or shower... just the toilet and sink).
Wallpaper can be absolutely amazing, but I would hand paint a design or stencil before I wallpapered. I would much rather paint over paint than remove wallpaper. Quality wallpaper is also out of my price range.
I love the 'Woods' wallpaper!! In fact, I may just order a sample, frame it, and hang it on the living room wall. :)
@trilobyte
I think it's fine when they scrounge up new pictures, or at least different pictures than the last 10 posts on the topic. Now, reposting about the dude-in-hong-kong's tiny apartment with the movable walls once every year without acknowledgement of reposting (probably because it's not by the same blogger) is annoying.
all of these make me feel dizzy
Go bold or go home doesn't work for me on walls. A pillow, maybe. But I, too, love the trees. More than 50 years ago my mother put wallpaper of large pale blue leaves on ivory in her master bath, and it remains fresh, subtle, stylish, and serene. Wish I could find it now.
@ Trilobyte - I use this term for a half bath that is used primarily for guests, near the front of a home or in an area that isn't attached to a bedroom. It's perfectly normal in that sense. But I'd agree that calling a regular bathroom that is used by most of the people who live in a home. It doesn't matter to me how large or small a home is, some do have a true "powder room."
My parents had huge cabbage rose wallpaper in their powder room for the longest time. No doubt the previous owners found it bold and attractive, but everyone else hated it--you came out cross-eyed every time you had to pee.
All of that is a long way of saying: You'd better really like that wallpaper. The subtle ones look best, in my opinion.
When I was a teenager, my parents let me wallpaper our little, dark, high ceilinged powder room in a dark all-over jungle print with animals peeping out of foliage. I totally loved that room. Later, in my own home, I used a black background with cabbage roses wallpaper in a powder room. In my defense, the room had a big window and the paper looked nice with the old black and white mosaic floor. Plus, it was the 80's
Now, I've spent so much time removing other people's wallpaper that I would be reluctant to use it. That Cole and Sons Woods wallpaper really tempts me, though. And taking wallpaper out of a little powder room is not _that_ onerous.
I am not terrified of wallpaper--I despise wallpaper. After having to remove way too much of it in a couple of houses, I will never have wallpaper in any form in my home.
@ AILEENJ - Totally agree with you on quality wallpaper and especially on texture.
But I strongly disagree on getting an expert consultation in a brick & mortar store but then making the deal with an online shop because it's cheaper. That's simply not fair. That's what the small shops already suffered from in pre-internet times when losing customers this way to the upcoming big stores. See what happened to them. They are all gone.
And taking into account on what the online shop saves (rental, furnishings, staff etc.) it should be even more cheaper.
Bookshelf in the bathroom! That is a great idea! Right now, all the books and magazines get piled on the back of the toilet, and it annoys me. They slide around and get knocked down whenever someone paws around for something to read while, erm.... waiting.
I love wallpaper and half baths are a great place for them.I like the examples with this post.The mistake people make when papering is thinking you just slap it up and it's good to go.That's not the case for good finish or easy removal.
I agree that removing paper can be a nightmare.If you do decide to hang papers,please.. remember to use sizing before you hang the paper.No matter how 'easy strip' and 'easy hang' the manufacturer says the paper is,without wall sizing, hanging and removing is horrible.Sizing is very affordable and applies like paint primer to the wall.Great stuff and you won't regret the extra prep and step before hanging the paper.
If you have walls with imperfections,that a paper won't hide,consider using both sizing and wall liner before hanging the paper.This will make a huge difference with the labour and look of the finished project.If you do decide to make the commitment,an expensive one for most,prep and application are key to getting the very best results and being able to change it easily later.If you do buy from a retailer,consider some serious consultation with them for technique.Or see if they can do the job correctly for you at a price you can afford.Many do and I have hired out the job twice and got discounts on supplies.
great thing about wallpaper is that it covers imperfections in your plaster...whereas paint will amplify those same flaws. great looking pics!
The dog/roses loo is so unbelievably awfully kitsch! Also the last one is dreadful - who wants babies watching them pee? Besides the fact it isn't even done artistically.
But some of the others are divine - especially 8, 1 and the woods papers.
As for wallpapering, if done right it shouldn't be hard to remove with a little steam (yes, I'm sure it would help to prime/paint first). After all, *you* may wish to remove it in a few years. Nothing has to stay forever! If you're doing up a place to sell then I would stay clear of wallpaper as whoever buys your house will almost always want to change it - that's just how people are. But for yourself - do what you love! Just do it properly - the finish (edges, lining up patterns, where it meets fixtures, etc) makes the difference.
And also remember to accessorise in keeping - the mirrors, basins and light fittings in the above examples make the rooms as much as the wallpaper.
A slight segway: I am tempted to do something similar in wallpaper at the top of my bathroom walls above the tiles (about a metre to the ceiling). Would the steam from the shower potentially cause it to peel prematurely?