Bathrooms aren’t generally the first place you think of when you think of wallpaper, are they? Bathroom images, whether in our mind’s eye or on the pages of a magazine – or more likely on Pinterest on our phone screens – are usually sleek and tiled. Often though, and especially in older houses, wall tiles can appear too modern for the house.

My mother recently gave her dated bathroom a face lift by having three of the four walls papered in a beautiful, romantic black and white floral pattern. Using mirrors, framed prints and paintings she already had, she was able to give the previously turquoise bathroom a fresh look with a low budget. All other fittings and the cream tiling in the shower area were kept as they has been.

Even in modern houses wallpaper in a classic design can be teamed with vintage or timeless new fittings to give an older feel. While obviously not suitable for the shower area, wallpaper is a good choice for bathrooms you want to give a less clinical feel to. Downstairs loos, guest bathroom and bathrooms with a bath rather than a shower can look classically stylish with wallpapered walls. A bathroom with a claw-footed roll top bath set away from the wall works ideally with wallpapered walls. With a black and white design such as the one shown here in a bathroom I saw recently, both gold and silver look well against it.

Paired with mirrors, always useful in a bathroom, and paintings, a wallpapered bathroom takes on more of a room look and less of a functional look. Add in some scented candles and pretty soaps and you have a real feeling of luxury when you settle into a bubble bath in a bathroom like this.

How do you feel about wallpapered bathrooms?