Although wallpaper has been in and out of vogue throughout the years, one fact remains: it’s undeniably chic in small spaces like your bathroom. Not only can wallpaper instantly create a visually appealing aesthetic, but it can transform your bathroom from a practical room into a luxurious or quirky space – depending on the look you’re trying to achieve. Choosing a wallpaper design for your bathroom depends on the specific look and feel you’re trying to create; whether you choose a classic floral print or a funky striped pattern, here’s some tips for choosing the perfect bathroom wallpaper design.
Pay Attention to Personal Style
Transform your bathroom into your own little sanctuary by matching it with your personal style. If you’re a fierce fashionista with an eye for style, go bold with trellis wallpaper in bright colors or a bold, patterned design. Colorful wallpaper makes a bathroom exude cheerfulness and an adventurous spirit, while wallpaper in more traditional colors prevent a bathroom from coming across as being too frilly or over-the-top. When decorating a shared bathroom, allow each person to come up with a few options – hang swatches on the wall and narrow the choices down one by one.
Create Space with Prints & Patterns
Before deciding on a wallpaper pattern, evaluate the size of the space you’re going to wallpaper. Large prints and patterns and dark colors will make bathrooms appear smaller, so avoid these if you’re wallpapering a small guest bath. Alternately, if you’re interested in creating the illusion of space in a small bathroom, light wallpaper that’s textured or has small patterns can do the trick. Reflective wallpapers will bring light into bathrooms by reflecting light off their surface – if your bathroom is windowless or has small light-limiting windows, add reflective wallpaper to your list of possibilities.
The Two Ws: Water-Resistant & Washable
Have you ever been in a bathroom with visibly dirty wallpaper that was curling at the edges? In the past, wallpaper was universal – the same wallpaper you’d use in a bedroom or office would be sold for use in bathrooms. As technology advanced, wallpaper manufacturers began producing entire lines of wallpaper dedicated to overly hot and humid areas, like the kitchen and bath. Not only are these types of wallpaper resistant to heat and water, but most can easily be washed with a sponge and warm, soapy water. If you plan on wallpapering the inside of a bathtub or shower enclosure, make sure the wallpaper is marketed as fully waterproof and not water-resistant.
Create a Color Scheme
If your bathroom is adjacent to your bedroom or another room, use wallpaper to tie the two rooms together. Whether you use two wallpapers with different designs or use a similar print with slightly different colors, hanging these wallpaper designs in separate rooms can create a cohesive look. If you aren’t ready to wallpaper your whole bathroom or only have enough in your budget to invest in a few meters of ultra-luxurious wallpaper, choose one wall as your accent wall and decorate the rest of your bathroom using a similar color scheme.