Wallpaper in Bathroom: To Be or Not to Be

One of the features of such rooms is high humidity, so when choosing finishing materials it is necessary to take this fact into account. Not all types of wallpaper are suitable for applying in the bathroom, as they do not have resistance to a humid environment, which quickly leads to loss of their appearance. Therefore, people should approach the issue of choosing such cladding very carefully.

Wallpaper for Bathroom: Pros and Cons

To understand whether it is worth buying wallpaper for the toilet and bathroom, property owners of living spaces should compare all pros and cons. For this purpose, specialists recommend creating a separate list of advantages and disadvantages of this type of cladding. The merits of bathroom wallpaper can include the following:

1. Affordable price. For this type of decorative finishing, lower prices are set than for other cladding materials. Thanks to this, people can significantly reduce family budget expenses for buying wallpaper for the bathroom and for its application.

2. Ecological. Usually, when manufacturing wallpaper, paper is used as the raw material, which serves as a base, on the surface of which a decorative coating is applied. During operation, they will not emit toxic vapors, even at relatively high temperature regimes.

3. Simple installation allows owners of country houses and city apartments to not involve specialists.

4. If in the process of operation any strip is damaged or detaches from the wall, a person can carry out repairs on their own.

5. Unlike ceramic tiles, bathroom wallpaper can be re-glued at any time. For example, if the owner of a sanitary room gets bored with the interior, mold appears on the cladding, etc.

6. Bathroom wallpaper is offered by manufacturers in a wide range of textures and color palette, which allows people to easily select material according to their taste preferences.

Despite such a wide range of advantages, some designers do not consider bathroom wallpaper as a decorative cladding due to the presence of significant disadvantages:

• material with a paper base is hygroscopic, which causes it to swell and peel off;

• inability to withstand prolonged exposure to a humid environment and high temperature regimes;

• rapid loss of appearance due to moisture.

In the process of choosing this type of cladding, owners of city apartments and country houses must take into account all these nuances. To prevent unpleasant consequences, they should buy bathroom wallpaper that has resistance to aggressive environments. Also, it is necessary to buy adhesive mixture that can withstand fungi and other pathogenic microflora and has high adhesion properties.

Types of Wallpaper for Bathroom

When choosing bathroom wallpaper, people should carefully study the entire range offered on the domestic market. Manufacturers offer various types of cladding for sanitary rooms that have the necessary range of properties. Such wallpaper has special labeling “3 waves” and is made from moisture-resistant raw materials impregnated with special compositions.

• Washable
  

Washable bathroom wallpaper is the most optimal option not only in terms of technical characteristics but also in terms of pricing policy. During production, a special coating is applied to the paper base, which prevents moisture from penetrating to the base. As a result, in the process of long-term operation, they will not swell, bulge, or peel off. One important property should be noted among their advantages. Washable wallpaper is easily cleaned with a damp cloth, so owners of urban and suburban real estate will not have problems removing dust, dirt, or mold from the cladded walls.

• Vinyl
  

This type of cladding is most often used by people when decorating sanitary rooms. The choice is due to the technical properties of the material:

1. made from raw materials containing polymers;

2. resistant to moisture and high temperature regimes;

3. can come into contact with water;

4. has a long service life (for this, people must use adhesive mixtures with the highest adhesion properties during installation).

• Liquid
  

Liquid wallpaper will be suitable for those people who prefer decorative stucco when cladding rooms. The composition of such a material includes the following components:

1. shimmer;

2. various additives: mineral, silk, and cotton-based;

3. binding elements.
   
   

Liquid wallpapers are sold in dry form in retail networks, packed in plastic buckets. Owners of sanitary rooms must dilute them with water to form the desired consistency several hours before carrying out installation work. The ready mixture is applied to vertical surfaces in the manner of stucco, after which all cladded surfaces are treated with acrylic varnish. It should be noted that due to the varnish layer, the cladding becomes very resistant to a humid environment and high temperature regimes. Its advantages include an original texture, unique pattern, and aesthetic appearance.

• Self-adhesive
  

This type of wallpaper is a film that repels moisture. These properties the film acquires due to the fact that the manufacturer applies a special composition on the outer side during manufacturing, and the back is treated with a special adhesive mixture. The disadvantage of this type of cladding is a minimal range of options. On the domestic market, manufacturers offer self-adhesive film in the following texture variations:

1. imitating natural wood grain (different species);
2. imitating natural stone.
   

• Photo Wallpaper
  

If the owner of suburban or urban real estate decides to quickly transform the interior of a sanitary room, he can use photo wallpaper for these purposes. Today, photo wallpaper is offered in a huge range on the domestic market, which allows people to select any pattern and color palette. The only condition for applying such a type of decorative finishing is high moisture resistance. Such properties are possessed by the following types of photo wallpaper:

1. vinyl;

2. laminated.

• Glass Wallpaper
  

The ideal solution for owners of country houses and city apartments is to wallpaper the walls in a bathroom with fiberglass wallpaper. This type of finishing cannot absorb moisture, as it has unparalleled technical characteristics:

1. ecological;
   
2. strength;
   
3. durability, etc.
   

Glass wallpapers are offered in a wide range of textures in building stores. They can be repainted up to twenty times using latex or water-emulsion paint.

How to Choose Wallpaper Color

When decorating sanitary rooms, people must take into account several nuances:

• in small rooms, it is not advisable to use dark tones, as they visually reduce the volume;

• to create a peaceful and calm atmosphere in a sanitary room, it is necessary to use wallpapers with classical patterns;

• to visually increase the room, it is advisable to use finishing in light color palettes;

• owners of urban and suburban real estate can combine bathroom wallpaper with other types of materials, for example, ceramic tiles.

As for the color palette, people should take into account the following recommendations from specialists:

1. Blue. Such a tone has many shades that will help fill the sanitary room with freshness and cleanliness. It should be noted that the blue tone is cool, so it can charge household members with energy for an entire day.

2. Pink. Perfectly suits people with romantic and sensitive nature. Specialists recommend choosing bathroom wallpaper in pink tone, which has floral patterns.

3. Green. A sanitary room decorated in such a color will help people not only charge up with energy in the morning, but also relax after a busy working day.

4. Yellow. Water procedures in such a sunny room will help people wake up, give them a charge of energy and good mood.

5. Red. When decorating a sanitary room in such a tone, it is necessary to clearly feel the measure. Red color is ideal for classical interior.

6. Orange. If the owner of a bathroom is an overly emotional person, he should work very carefully with this tone, as it can stimulate the central nervous system. The best solution is a combination of orange color with soft and calm shades.

Room Style and Wallpaper Choice

Every person wants to make a bathroom stylish and modern, so that it is pleasant to be in it and take water procedures. For this purpose, it is necessary to listen to the advice of professionals who will help to determine the style:

1. When creating a classical interior, it is advisable to choose such color tones: peach, beige, white.
   
2. When decorating an interior in a hi-tech style, owners of sanitary rooms should make a choice in favor of liquid or glass wallpaper.
   
3. When creating an interior in the avant-garde or pop-art style, it is advisable to choose prints and cheerful tones.
   
4. When decorating a bathroom in the Provence style, people should use floral motifs or stripes.

Humidity Zones: Where to Apply

Planning to apply wallpaper in a bathroom on your own, owners of country houses and city apartments must take into account the laws of humidity:

1. In sanitary rooms, there are both dry and more humid areas, so they are usually divided into four main zones.

2. The vertical surface area located directly above the bathtub, at a height of 25 cm from the edge, is quite humid, as it constantly receives splashes and water streams. Specialists recommend cladding such a zone with liquid or glass wallpaper that can withstand repeated cleaning.

3. The most humid zone is the inner surface of the shower cabin or the wall located above the bathtub. In such zones, specialists do not recommend using this type of decorative finishing. The ideal solution is painting or cladding with ceramic tiles.

4. The driest zones are the walls that are not reached by water splashes. Any type of wallpaper with sufficient moisture resistance can be used there, as they will have to contact both high temperature regimes and vapors.

5. Wall areas located at a distance of 60 cm from the edges of the shower cabin or bathtub are relatively dry zones. These areas rarely receive splashes, so they can be decorated with moisture-resistant wallpaper of any type.

Recommendations for Caring for Bathroom Wallpaper

After the moisture-resistant wallpaper has been applied in a sanitary room, its owners must provide it with proper and timely care. As water splashes hit the walls during water procedures, a white film and streaks begin to form over time. To remove them, it is advisable to clean once a week using non-aggressive cleaning agents that do not contain abrasives.

When choosing wallpaper for the bathroom, owners of urban and suburban real estate should pay attention not only to its appearance but also to technical parameters. The ideal solution will be a cladding material that has the highest moisture resistance and ability to withstand temperature fluctuations.

Interesting video on choosing wallpaper for a bathroom: