Covering the walls

We are FINALLY done with the bathroom reno I promised an update on like months ago...YAY!  Just in time to throw my future sister-in-law's Banksy-themed bridal shower (it kicked ass).  Projects are done, and we can enjoy the early summer we have here in Maine!

It occurred to me, as I was repainting the bathroom in a slightly brighter beige-yellow (it seems as though the entire house is beigey-yellow), I have largely ignored wallpaper in all of our renovations.  Maybe it comes from growing up in a house built in the '70s, where rooms donned crazy-making covering that people apparently make kid-friendly art out of these days.

At my aunt's house, the bathroom had vintage newsprint wallpaper that I loved as a kid.  Maybe it was the novelty of reading the wall (or just having something to read while using the bathroom...), but I distinctly remember the ads from that paper.  Lady Godiva soap...moustache wax...a fancy tin of face powder.

And so it got me thinking.  What would I do if I had a small space I felt like going a little crazy with?
I do love me some Sarah Richardson, and she did it (a little more subtly) in the farmhouse powder room:

  What if I went with the old newsprint look?  American Blinds has a cute yellowed version that might look nice with some oil-rubbed bronze fixtures and a travertine or onyx floor...

 

Or something with a busy-vintage-cool look from Anthropologie?

BTW...did you know you can get free samples of Anthro's wallpaper just by filling out a form on their website?  So great for picking colors and feeling the weight of the paper.  Especially if you're actually thinking about shelling out over a hundred bucks a roll.  

But my favorite wallpapers ever have to be Marthe Armitage, sold by Hamilton Weston in England.  Cobweb and Italian Garden are especially swoon-worthy.  Check it out.  All self-designed and hand printed. This lady kills it.