16 Times Interior Designers Used Wallpaper in Bathrooms That Prove It's the Underutilized Idea We Should All Be Doing

Perhaps a controversial take, but in my opinion, there is no room better suited to a full-on wallpaper moment than the bathroom.

Bathroom wallpaper is uniquely positioned as a safe space to step outside your design comfort zone. It's a room where it becomes less intimidating to do something that feels a little bolder than you'd do elsewhere.

There was a time when the bathroom was viewed as little more than a purely functional space, free from the flourishes and fancies applied to the rest of the home. Thankfully, we've come a long way since then. Nowadays, it's not unusual for the modern bathroom to be a design highlight of the home. There's something about the intimacy of these rooms that invites a little extra drama, and what better way to make a statement than with wallpaper?

1. Earthy Neutrals in Nature

In this Philadelphia home, designer Brittany Hakimfar sought to create moments of warmth and coziness within a large, bright home.

For this bathroom, Brittany leaned into the darkness, covering this petite powder room in a beautiful patterned paper decorated with leafy foliage and exotic trees, turning a small room into a big design moment.

2. Fine Line Illustrations

For interior designer Sheena Holton, the biggest struggle when renovating her Art Deco apartment was the lack of natural sunlight, leaving some rooms almost completely in the shadow, particularly this small bathroom.

Instead of focusing on what she couldn't change, Sheena searched for ways to bring some playfulness to the space. "It wasn't possible to change the developer's designs for the bathrooms, so I concentrated on making this a fun space," says Sheena. "It's small but uplifting."

3. Blushing Beauty

"The client has a particularly fashionable and daring personality, so we knew up front she wouldn’t be afraid of unique wallpaper options," shares Maria Hogrefe from C&M Interiors.

"We immediately loved the feminine nature of the wallpaper once we received a sample memo from a local vendor. The wallpaper was used sparingly, but it truly ties everything together with historic-style nude muses with an antiqued backdrop."

4. Candy-Striped Sweetness

In this bathroom, candy cane-style striped wallpaper feels sweet and playful, but the muted, pale color palette gives it a more calming feel, keeping it from slipping into circus territory.

"A stripe gives rhythm and can be used in a myriad of ways," say Kristin Fine and Analisse Taft-Gerste from The 1818 Collective. In loft bathrooms, where the slanted ceiling can make the space feel suffocating, a striped wallpaper brings some continuity to the space.

5. Hidden Narnia Doors

Though not technically within the bathroom, in this home, the ensuite bathroom is hidden behind a wallpaper-clad wardrobe door, creating a Narnia-like entrance into the room.

"This bedroom is dominated by a large built-in wardrobe covered in wallpaper that once again evokes distant landscapes and exotic imagery," shares Marco Rulli, co-founder of 02A Studio.

6. Pattern-Maxxing

One for the maximalists out there, this pattern-drenched bathroom combines patterned tile floors with delicate floral wallpaper and a contrasting patterned shower, too.

It could easily come off as overwhelming or crowded, but thanks to the pale background and sage green trim, the final result has a whimsical, storybook-like quality to it.

7. Textured Warmth

In this small bathroom, designer Zac Evangelisti, from ZARQ, paired a custom-made marble bathroom sink with a wallpaper featuring a green, knotted bamboo pattern against a silk moiré background.

The silky background provides an extra element of depth and warmth, while the Viola Calacatta sink remains a striking focal point in the design.

8. Croc Chic

A small powder room provides the perfect opportunity to do something slightly more experimental than you would otherwise consider, and this elegant toilet, with its green, crocodile-effect walls, is the perfect example of that.

The rich green pairs beautifully with the warm brass bathroom hardware, and the textured finish certainly makes a statement, without feeling overdone.

9. Portal to Paradise

In this tiny ensuite bathroom, palm-tree patterned paper sits alongside rich, red bathroom tiles, making for a transportive space, like stepping straight into a holiday. Sitting within the loft's color palette of warm reds and earthy greens, this awkwardly sized bathroom makes the most of the limited space available.

10. Never-Boring Neutrals

In this Notting Hill home, designer Brian Woulfe wanted to build a neutral color palette without any of the coldness you find with bright, stark whites. Instead, he opted for softer, creamier tones across the home, building warmth with shades of beige, brown, and cream.

Although sticking to the same color palette, this bathroom marks a departure from the stylistic norm used across the rest of the home. "We hadn’t used any wallpaper anywhere else, and we wanted to give guests that moment of 'wow' when they walked in," says Brian.

11. Old World Luxury

Designer Christian Bense wanted to create a space that felt more like a living room than it did a typical bathroom, and with wooden floors and elegant mural-covered cabinetry, he did just that.

The design refers back to the home's Georgian roots, while still feeling thoroughly modern. It's sleek and undeniably impressive, hiding utilities away behind the patterned pocket doors.

12. Eclectic Layering

The patterned, tiled sink may be the show-stopper in this bathroom, but the delicate wallpaper makes for an excellent supporting act.

It would've been easy to keep the rest of the bathroom pared back and allow the tiles to do all the talking, but by going the opposite direction and pairing them with some equally characterful touches, the designers were able to create a bolder, more impactful space with a stronger visual identity.

13. Sunshine Doodles

Emanating a sunny warmth, this little powder room combines ochre colored tiles with sunshine-yellow paper, decorated with the playful, childlike drawings of blooming florals and wisps of grass.

The drawn-on effect of this wallpaper offers a touch of whimsy to this space, as does the wavy-framed yellow mirror above the sink. There's an atmosphere of joy to this room, turning a space dedicated to functionality into a moment of optimism.

14. Multi-Dimensional Monochrome

The clients behind this home weren't afraid of decorating with color, so this room made a departure from the norm for them. But just because they stuck to black and white doesn't mean it was any less packed with personality.

Veined marble and the monochromatic artwork mimic the black-and-white patterned surface of the wallpaper, making for a layered, multi-dimensional effect.

15. Drawn-On Guest Room

Another bathroom from the previous home, this room pays homage to the beauty and whimsy of femininity.

"This guest bathroom wallpaper the client had been eyeing up for a while, and we were happy to give it a home here. It's a celebration of women and cheerful femininity. There's a fine line between celebrating a paper like this and keeping the overall design elevated, so we grounded the space with more muted tile colors," says Clara Jung, principal designer at Banner Day Interiors.

16. A Touch of Sheen

Wallpaper doesn't always have to entail a big, bold pattern. You can find countless gorgeous designs that place importance on texture rather than pattern, and these can often have an even more striking visual effect.

Take this room, where the subtle shine of the pink, panelled wallpaper brings a luminosity to the small powder room, giving it that jewel-box quality.

Wallpapers We're Loving

There's clearly a growing appetite for more personality-led, characterful homes nowadays, which is exactly why we expect this style to become one of the biggest modern bathroom trends of the year.

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