Bathrooms can often be overlooked when it comes to design and are at risk of becoming white, sterile spaces.
I love to decorate bathrooms, they are a great room to experiment with colour, style, and wallpaper.
Metro and Subway tiles have become hugely popular in the last decade.
They have evolved from the standard rectangular size in gloss white to all the colours of the rainbow.
However, tiling can come at a cost! Using bathroom wallpaper tiles might be the answer to keeping your bathroom stylish on a budget.
Wallpaper for Bathroom Walls
Wallpaper for bathroom walls has always been a contentious idea. With the bathroom being a particularly wet area, do you need waterproof wallpaper for bathroom walls?
As long as you don’t wallpaper directly next to the bath or around the sink, wallpapering a bathroom is a quick and easy way to update the room.
Bathrooms can become steamy and have a lot of humidity but with proper ventilation like windows and a decent extractor fan, there shouldn’t be any problems when it comes to hanging wallpaper in the bathroom.
You also need to think about the location when you use wallpaper for bathroom walls.
Try not to wallpaper too close to high-water areas like directly above the bath or around the sink.
You can put a small trim (around 20cm should be enough) around the bath or sink and then wallpaper above the trim.
Is there such a thing as wallpaper tiles?
Yes! There are so many wallpaper designs and patterns, you really do have a good choice of tiled patterns for your bathroom.
These can include metro-style patterns, brick-like prints and floral designs.
We used metro tile in a herringbone-style wallpaper in our utility room. I often get messages about how we tiled the utility and a lot of people are surprised when I tell them it’s wallpaper!
We also used this wallpaper in our old utility room. It provided a bit of texture to the room and looked perfect with the rustic vibe.
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Bathroom wallpaper tiles
Here are 10 of my favourite bathroom wallpaper tiles to transform your bathroom on a budget.
No tiler needed! (although, you will have to wallpaper…)
Metro style tiles
Like my utility room, metro bathroom wallpaper tiles are a quick and easy way to update your bathroom and give it a modern look.
There are plenty of styles and colours to choose from. Either stick with the classic black and white tiles or add much-needed colour to your bathroom.
The most popular colours for a bathroom are taupe, soft grey, light blue and light green, so try to find metro-style wallpaper in these colours to provide a wonderful contrast to your bathroom suite.
Textured Metro Tiles
For a little twist on the metro tile, add a little texture.
Textured tiles provide an elegant look in the bathroom and are perfect with art deco mirrors, artwork, panelling and geometric patterns.
Textured bathroom wallpaper tiles can help your wallpaper look like the real thing because of its pearlescent qualities. It gives you the impression of depth, unlike plain white metro wallpaper.
Marble effect metro tile wallpaper
If you like the look of textured wallpaper, why not add some marble-effect wallpaper to your bathroom?
This is perfect if you love the expensive look of marble but do not love the expensive price tag.
If you want a more contemporary look, go for marble in different colours like grey or pink.
To carry off this look in the bathroom, choose a sink vanity unit in the same colour or use the wallpaper on one wall and paint the rest of the bathroom in a complimentary shade.
Mosaic tile wallpaper
Mosaic tiles are small pieces of ceramics brought together to create a bigger picture.
You can combine different shades and textures to give your bathroom walls a unique look or keep the small pieces of ceramic the same colour to give it a uniform look.
These bathroom wallpaper tiles look best when offset with natural elements like wood, stone or concrete.
Mosaic bathroom wallpaper tiles will provide a classic look for your bathroom and are ideally used as a feature wall.
Using it on all walls in the bathroom can feel quite overwhelming! Use it as a sink backsplash (above a small trim to avoid water splashes) or behind the toilet.
Vintage tile wallpaper
If you love all things vintage, how about installing some vintage-style tiled wallpaper in your bathroom?
These can either be monochrome or with faded colour to look like they have always been there.
Vintage bathroom wallpaper tiles can be quite unassuming, so use them all over your bathroom for a timeless look.
Monochrome works best if you are going to use it on all 4 walls, but if you want to add a bit of vintage colour, use the wallpaper as a feature wall or backsplash.
Victorian-inspired tile wallpaper
Used mainly on the floors of bathrooms, hallways and utility rooms, the Victorians used this style of tiles to wow their guests when they came to visit.
They make a real impact in any room, so why not use this patterned wallpaper for bathroom walls?
Again, go for a monochrome pattern and pair it with a contrasting vanity unit or painted bathtub, or go for a blue, green or grey pattern to make the wallpaper the main event.
Arabesque wallpaper
Arabesque means an ornamental design consisting of flowing lines all interconnected.
This design is extremely popular as a backsplash and fireplace tile but is also commonly found in the shower.
Wallpaper tiles for a bathroom can help create a theme and influence the rest of the room. With arabesque-style wallpaper, keep the rest of the decor simple with industrial elements and plenty of plants, wood and baskets.
Mediterranean Inspired Tiles
Mediterranean tiles bring instant character and colour into your home.
The beauty of having Mediterranean tiles is that you can pick several different colours from the pattern and use them elsewhere in the room.
It helps pull a whole room’s colour scheme together so is the perfect wallpaper for bathroom walls.
Mediterranean bathroom wallpaper tiles can either make a room feel warm or cool depending on what colour you go for.
This bathroom wallpaper tiles pattern mixes several different designs together making your wall highly decorative and works as both a backsplash or a whole feature wall.
Slate tiles
Slate tiles give your bathroom a spa-like ambience and can add texture and elegance to any room.
There is some very realistic wallpaper for bathroom walls out there mimicking slate and stone.
The 3D effect will fool anyone into thinking it is real and will make your bathroom look luxurious at a fraction of the cost.
Ideal in modern bathrooms with white suites, keep the decor understated and let the subtle tones and texture of the slate do all the talking.
Add lots of natural elements like wooden shelving and plants and keep all your toiletries and towels neatly on display to create that real spa experience.
Maybe even sneak in a plant wall to rival the best spa hotels!
Concrete tiled wallpaper
Inspired by architectural concrete, concrete wallpapers are perfect if you like the industrial look.
They come in many different styles, patterns and shades and are the ideal backdrop to black matt sinks, vanity units, black crittall-inspired shower frames and black accessories.
To make the concrete look even more contemporary and to fit it into a biophilic theme, how about adding the Meraki concrete wallpaper from Woodchip and Magnolia.
Featuring giant foraged thistles and pussy willow silhouettes, they help add depth to the wallpaper and give it a feminine touch.
So, no need to rip out your bathroom and get a tiler in. Just use some carefully placed wallpaper in your bathroom to give it a fresh and contemporary new look.
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