bodenham heritage green wallpaper in a bathroom

How to wallpaper a bathroom

How to Wallpaper a Bathroom: Tips, Advice and the Best Wallpaper to Use

09/23/2026

Words by

Liv Taylor-Hunter · Senior Brand Manager

The bathroom is one of the most overlooked spaces in a home, and one of the most rewarding to reconsider. Often compact, and more restrained than it needs to be, it’s a room that responds beautifully to a considered design. Wallpaper might seem an unexpected choice here, but it belongs in the bathroom as much as anywhere else: with the right paper, careful preparation and good ventilation, even the smallest room can become one of the most characterful in the house.

Can you wallpaper a bathroom?

Yes ~ it simply calls for a considered approach. The one thing to plan around is moisture: a bathroom is a humid environment, and the key to wallpaper that lasts is managing that humidity and keeping the paper away from direct water. Simply choose your favorite design, prepare your walls, and your wallpaper will look beautiful for years to come.

Choosing the right wallpaper for a bathroom

This is where a considered choice pays off. For a bathroom, you’ll want a wallpaper that’s moisture-resistant and able to cope with humidity ~ vinyl is a great option as it’s wipeable. Vinyl-coated and solid vinyl wallpapers are more durable and can be wiped clean, making them the ideal choice for a humid room. However, as long as you’re hanging the wallpaper away from splashes, you aren’t limited to vinyl wallpaper ~ our bathroom wallpaper collection is designed with exactly this in mind, spanning cool neutrals, elegant leaf prints and bold stripes.

Paste-the-wall wallpapers are well worth considering, too. Because you paste the wall rather than the paper, they’re cleaner and simpler to hang, with no soaking and less mess ~ a real help in a smaller space. A textured design brings a practical upside as well, gently disguising any minor imperfections.

Where to hang it ~ and the areas to avoid

A little planning here makes all the difference. The principle is a simple one: keep wallpaper away from direct water. In practice, that means avoiding the obvious splash zones ~ the wall directly behind the basin taps, the surround of the bath, and in and around the shower. These are best left to tiles, glass or a wipe-clean panel.

The drier walls, though, are yours to make the most of. The wall behind the toilet, the one you see as you enter, or the wall opposite (rather than inside) the shower all make elegant feature walls. A considered, practical approach is to tile or panel the lower half of the room, where splashes tend to land, and paper the wall above ~ pairing a hard-wearing base with a decorative finish.

Preparing your walls

As with any wallpapering project, preparation is what separates an ordinary finish from an exceptional one. Make sure your walls are clean, dry, sound and smooth: fill any cracks or holes, sand them back, and remove any dust or grease. For an uneven, freshly repaired or slick surface, a layer of lining paper provides a smooth, even base for your wallpaper to grip.

For bathrooms in particular, the adhesive matters. We recommend a strong, high-quality paste that contains a fungicide ~ such as our G&B Premium Wallpaper Adhesive ~ which helps protect against the moisture-related issues, like mould, that a humid room can invite. It’s a small detail, but one that has a real bearing on how well your wallpaper wears over time.

Tips for the best finish

A few pointers to help you hang your paper beautifully:

Let your wallpaper acclimatize in the room for a few hours before you start.
Begin with a plumb line to keep your first drop perfectly straight.
Allow a little extra length top and bottom for trimming, and always check your pattern repeat before cutting your strips.
Smooth each drop from the center outwards with a soft brush or smoother, working out any air bubbles as you go.
Wipe away any excess paste from the surface and seams promptly, before it has a chance to dry.
Take your time around fixtures ~ a sharp knife and careful measuring give you clean, professional edges around basins, cisterns and pipework.

Keeping your bathroom wallpaper looking its best

Once it’s up, a little ongoing care will keep your wallpaper looking its best. The single most important thing is ventilation: an extractor fan, or simply opening a window after a bath or shower, keeps humidity levels low and helps your wallpaper last. And if you’ve chosen a wipe-clean vinyl, an occasional pass with a soft, damp cloth is all it needs.

Crane the Renaisance of Venus bespoke mural in bathroom

Finishing the look

To complete your scheme, pair your wallpaper with a hard-wearing paint. Our Resistance Ultra Matt Emulsion is an ideal partner, its contemporary matt finish balancing the high shine of bathroom tiles beautifully. Draw a tone from your wallpaper and carry it through on the woodwork or the lower walls ~ a soft neutral for calm, blush pink for a little warmth, or green for a fresh, organic feel. We’ve expertly matched each of our bathroom wallpapers to four perfectly partnered paints to guide you. Explore our bathroom paint for shades made to partner the collection.

For an even bolder statement, a bathroom mural can be spectacular ~ just remember that the same rules apply. Our fabric effect bathroom murals are an ideal choice for bathrooms as the finish has the same durability as vinyl. Choose a wall away from direct splashes and keep the room well ventilated; our bathroom murals and wallpaper guidance will help you get it right.

Bring your bathroom to life

With the right wallpaper, careful preparation and good ventilation, even the most compact bathroom can become elevated with considered style. Downstairs bathrooms are a great opportunity to be bold with design and color. Take your time, plan carefully around the water, and make your bathroom uniquely yours.