Wallpaper for the bathroom: a decorative solution with great visual impact

The wallpaper for the bathroom represents a decorative solution of great trend in recent years and of great scenic and visual effect. The bathroom has never been so decorated with waterproof wallpaper. Geometric motifs, floral patterns, modern or traditional: there are many decoration solutions using wallpaper.

Here is everything you need to know about the subject.

English style bathroom wallpaper

Wallpaper or wallpaper for the bathroom is a decorative style that has always been very much in vogue in the United Kingdom and now seems to have also conquered our country. Modern wallpapers are increasingly performing and able to respond concretely to every stylistic and technical need of users.

Wallpaper can be prepared both on the walls and on the ceiling of the bathroom. This product has been able to reinvent itself over the years, becoming today a highly effective decorative solution, highly requested by customers and perfect for the preparation both in the living and sleeping areas of a living space.

Modern upholstery has now become hi-tech products that are able to preserve and resist in an optimal way even in damp environments, such as the bathroom.

Features and peculiarities of modern wallpapers

Modern wallpapers can also be installed in bathroom spaces, since they can boast a series of features that make them suitable even in environments that tend to be damp.

The requirements for a wallpaper suitable for application in the bathroom environment are respectively:

• Realization with the help of special water-repellent materials and able to counteract humidity
• Presence of a protective cover on the surface: this is a delicate finish for paper-based models without vinyl coating

With reference to the characteristics of modern wallpapers, it is easy to guess that these products are as far away as you can get from the wallpapers of the past. The products specifically designed to be prepared inside the bathroom are in fact made with the help of technical synthetic materials and derived from glass processing, thus transforming into a real fibre (glass fibre wallpaper for bathrooms).

These raw materials are able to form a water-repellent protective layer able to resist the action of humidity and extremely easy to lay, just like paper. In some cases these materials have particularly innovative and advanced technical characteristics: an example is the ability of these materials to counteract the detachment of materials in the event of an earthquake.

Main advantages of modern wallpapers
Below are the main advantages of the latest generation of wallpaper:

• Extremely competitive costs and in some cases lower than other covering materials
• Infinite customisation solutions based on colours, patterns and dimensions
• Extremely easy to lay and remove
• Easy to use and extremely fast
• Easy cleaning and maintenance without any special interventions
• It is possible to apply it with DIY, if you have a good manual skill
• Great visual and scenic effect, even if laid on a single wall or ceiling

How to choose the right wallpaper for your bathroom

How to find your way around choosing and selecting the best wallpaper for your bathroom? And which bathroom walls should be covered with this decorative material? We try to answer these questions exhaustively.

The choice of the wallpaper that best suits your needs will depend first of all on your taste and the atmosphere you want to create in your bathroom.

From a stylistic point of view we can say that there are in fact no limits to creativity: in fact, a wide range of figurative decorations are available on the market: abstract patterns, optical, multicolour, photographic reproductions, as well as classical and modern works of art, geometric patterns and frames.

As far as dimensions are concerned, also in this case there are no particular constraints, if the chosen subject is repeated. If the subject is instead single, it is important in this case to pay attention to the dimensions of the bathroom walls.

Wallpaper: different finishes

As far as the finishes are concerned, we can say that on the market you can choose between several proposals: once you have identified the support and the decoration, you can decide the visual effect and the effect to the touch, especially if you have chosen a model of non-woven wallpaper: in this case you can choose a 3D paper model, embossed or metallic.

If you opt for the stylistic choice of a single subject, often and willingly, so that the latter can be represented in its entirety, the graphics of the wall covering must necessarily be calibrated with precise reference to the size of the bathroom wall to be covered.

Main types of bathroom wallpaper

There are mainly three types of wallpaper suitable to be laid on the bathroom walls:

• TNT wallpaper (non-woven wallpaper): this is an industrially produced material which, due to its characteristics, is reminiscent of ordinary fabric, although it is made with products that have nothing to do with textile fibres. This type of paper can be resin-coated and composed of synthetic fibres or alternatively made with cellulose and textile fibres, reinforced by the presence of a special glue (polyester). It is also possible to find single-layer and double-layer non-woven wallpaper on the market. The latter have a sheet of non-woven fabric that constitutes the support for another printed or decorated material.
• Vinyl wallpaper: material composed of two layers. The surface part consists of the vinyl print, while the back part consists of the TNT sheet. The latter is able to give great stability to the product during the laying phases. Characteristics and peculiarities of vinyl is the possibility to be washed. The material is also photo-resistant, and therefore does not change its colour characteristics over time. If in direct contact with water, this type of wallpaper must necessarily have a suitable protective layer.
• Glass fibre wallpaper: this is a product whose coatings are made with the help of special yarns, extremely thin and obtained by melting glass at high temperatures. Thanks to the type of processing, the characteristics of the material are preserved, giving this product great strength and resistance. The glass fibre can assume different proportions: 100 per 100 it has a particularly light structure (very similar to the common cloth).

Wallpaper laying and maintenance

As far as the laying of wallpaper is concerned, in order to increase the adhesive properties of the product, it is possible to add 20% of dispersion glue (a particular type of glue that uses simple water as a solvent). The dispersion glue is a clean and totally risk-free product.

If you prefer, dispersion glue can be used to replace the traditional adhesive. However, you should be aware that the drying phase will take longer than using the classic wallpaper adhesive paste. However, it is always important to refer to the manufacturer's instructions for the different types of wallpaper. Before laying the wallpaper, the old paper must be removed: impregnate it with soap and water so that it can be easily peeled off. Finally, it should be noted that when laying non-woven wallpaper without vinyl coating, a protective layer of transparent latex must be applied to the product.

As far as the wallpaper laying time is concerned, to cover a product characterized by medium dimensions (300 centimetres wide and 200 centimetres high) it will take about 3 hours for the application phase and about 24 hours for drying.

For the laying of glass fibre wallpaper or non-woven wallpaper the laying time will be extended due to the protective treatment that the product will have to undergo: in this case it is necessary to add an additional day of waiting time for the drying phase.

As far as the cleaning and maintenance phase is concerned, we can say that both these tasks are extremely simple and quick. If there are no particular indications from the manufacturer, it is possible to use common neutral detergents for surface cleaning. It is always important, however, to read carefully the card of the product you have purchased.

Laying wallpaper on wall or tiles

Wallpaper laying is a good solution and idea for the renewal of your bathroom style. Wallpaper can be applied without removing the old tile covering.

However, glass fibre wallpaper is not suitable to be laid on a tiled wall covering. However, it is important to be aware that when applying wallpaper to a tiled wall covering, the surface must be prepared in advance: for this reason it is a final choice, from which there is no turning back.

In order to obtain a good result and a good uniformity of the surface, it is advisable to fill the joints of the wall covering, using a special tile adhesive. At this stage it is absolutely not recommended to use grout.

Alternatively it is possible to proceed with the installation of normal plasterboard slabs, which will completely cover the tiled surface. In this case you will have to make the necessary holes for fixing: the holes must be made in correspondence with the relative joints, so as not to compromise in any way the integrity of the substrate.

Once the plasterboard sheet has been applied to the wall, it will be necessary to proceed with the surface sanding phase, after cleaning and dust removal.