deedles, a lot depends on the underlying surface. In a steamy bathroom, some moisture will work its way between the wall surface and the back of the wallcovering, and different wallcovering materials will behave differently to that condition. We repapered our master bathroom 21 years ago (autumn 1990) as a DIY project with a foil prepasted wallpaper. The walls had been papered before, and we removed the old wallpaper to expose the plaster underneath, which was a good surface to paper on. Over the years, we have had to flatten curling at the seams a couple of times (injecting additional paste and rolling), but after the seam flattening the overall result looks the same now as it did the day we installed it. Last year, we papered the previously glossy oil-paint covered walls of our downstairs powder room, and we needed to do a lot of surface preparation to make sure that the "paper" (we used a Rasch -- German brand -- "nonwoven peelable fabric" [NOT vinyl] product that is very dimensionally stable) would adhere to the surface. I doubt that we would have ventured trying to adhere a prepasted vinyl or paper wallcovering to that surface, even after the preparation. So far -- after a year -- the not-vinyl, nonwoven peelable Rasch product is working very well. It is hard to tell from the pictures on the page that you linked whether the Cole & Sons paper you are considering is true paper, vinyl, or nonwoven peelable; if you have a choice, by all means go with the nonwoven peelable. But even if it is available only as a prepasted paper or vinyl, our master bathroom experience suggests that you can get at least a couple of decades out of it.

Hi Sochi and Kristin, gorgeous wallpaper projects! I am in correspondence with several Italian fiber glass wallpaper suppliers now and all of them have different waterproofing methods. The main issue I am finding is that the substrate needs to be white in color and smooth. Sochi mentioned the contractor used Schluter KERDI-BOARD but it is orange, so how did you eventually get it white? Krisitin what did your contractor do for substrate? What products were used to waterproof the wall before the application of the glue, wallpaper and sealants? My other concern is that the drywall or cement board (depending on what to use) has to sit on top of my shower pan so I fear it will absorb water is not properly waterproofed. Any guidelines and suggestions will be highly appreciated. Alex

I love wallpaper and have it in most of the rooms in my house. Some of it has been there for decades and is still in excellent condition. Having said this, I have told my children that when they haul me out of here, dead or alive, to remove all the wallpaper before putting the house up for sale. People are terrified of removing wallpaper - think it will destroy the walls (if drywall and not properly primed, it might!), or will cost a fortune to remove. So I told them to only leave the wallpaper in two bathrooms - both are done in a Farrow & Ball strie paper and they make the two baths. As to wallpaper and using it in a bath or kitchen. One is no longer limited to "kitchen/bath vinyl wallpaper. I chose a gorgeous french documentary paper for my kitchen when we were moving here in 1984. I was worried about using it as a backsplash in my kitchen (which is what one did in those days), and a rep in the Brunschwig & Fils showroom in LA, told me to just send it to ResistFlame in Cincinnati. They would coat it with vinyl and I'd be good to go. I did this and have done it many times since. One has a choice of matte finish (my choice) or glossy, and it can be single/double/triple coated depending on the wear/tear one expects it to have to endure. I've always done single coating and that has been fine. It is totally wipeable/scrubable with a Dobie pad. The company is so easy to work with - I usually just have the paper drop-shipped directly to them. They coat the paper and then ship it to me. It's really quite reasonably priced.

love the black and white suggestion! you can do so much with it in terms of accent colors. Leopard, zebra or koi, in a bold color choice, would also look amazing. (the zebra/koi come in many diff colors.) Or, what if you painted the walls a dramatic color? this is similar to yours. you could do a black mirror and if possible, switch you light over to some cool sconces. (not these, but something a bit modern/industrial) or just get a new vanity light. I love this one from west elm. (see wood medicine cab below) Tried to photoshop something..... you could also do a black or navy ceiling, bright white walls, and bring in bold color towels or art. peacock blue wall and ceiling. your ceilings are tall enough so you could carry this off OK. this is PB recessed medicine cab. I like any metal finish. (black would work if you're going w/the black and white paper west elm has this one in wood or silver