Please note, Gentle Readers, that I did not say renovate. Or even remodel. No, I said update.
Renovating a bathroom (which, as you know, I have just survived) is a messy, inconvenient, time-consuming, and expensive undertaking. We’re not always up for it.
Sometimes, a client has a bathroom or powder room that is outdated and impractical but not high-use enough to warrant a complete renovation. The toilet is too low, the faucet drippy, and the light fixture fluorescent…but the tile is in perfect condition.
“Is there something we can do to freshen it up a bit?” my clients ask.
Of COURSE there is something we can do, I exclaim! We can wallpaper!
Now, if the room is steamy and not well ventilated, wallpaper is not our friend.
Instead, I advise painting the walls a bold color, hanging lots of non-precious art (prints, etc.), getting a fresh and fun shower curtain (if there’s a tub), and replacing the aforementioned toilet, faucet, and light fixture(s).
Yes, you have to hire a painter, a plumber and an electrician, but talk about bang for your buck! And remember: you’re avoiding a renovation.
But. If the room is indeed a powder room or non-steamy bathroom, wallpaper is our first move. Obviously.
Wallpaper will turn “outdated” into “charmingly vintage.” Wallpaper will communicate to the world that you could have renovated this bathroom, but you actively, intentionally chose not to because you knew that a gorgeous, creative, non-invasive solution was possible.
You can make sure the tile color figures prominently in the wallpaper pattern…
…or you can go for contrast.
Here is a situation I encountered years ago. My client had a vintage bathroom with terrific black and white tile.
We gave the client two choices of wallpaper.
The client chose the blue, white, and black wallpaper, and we also replaced the wall sconce and mirror. In the end, it looked so fresh and cute that we decided the tragic black toilet and sink could stay!
Brilliant though you think I may be ;) , using wallpaper to update a vintage bathroom is nothing new. I’m starting a project in a DARLING mid-century house, and the previous owner had used this trick in the upstairs bathroom.
So before you renovate that vintage bathroom, think twice, consider wallpaper, and, in a pinch, give me a call.
Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, DC, with offices in St. Michaels, Maryland and Middlebury, Vermont. Annie is an expert on wallpaper, mixing styles, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.