HOW I TRANSFORMED OUR BATHROOM WITH WALLPAPER

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading, Green vase from Mapstores; Waska Wardrobe/ Storage cupboard £589 from La Redoute. and pink velvet chair from Homesense, Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar.

I rarely talk about our family bathroom. It’s a great size, has a simple white victorian style sink, plastic roll top bath (we couldn’t afford a cast iron one at the time) and has a standalone shower. But to me it still looked unfinished.

With its all white painted plastered walls, our bathroom always felt like it was lacking that va va voom factor, especially when you compare it to the rest of our house.

I’m wallpaper obsessed and a true maximalist at heart, but our bathroom was the first room completed, and it seems to have been neglected in the planning of all the other levels.

First done eight years ago when we bought the house, we designed it quickly and went for a classic, timeless design – aka slightly safe and boring in my opinion. As the years went by, and my taste and braveness evolved so did my dissatisfaction with the white walls, and I decided that this room was in need of a refresh.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK.

Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading; Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home £22; pink faux fur slippers from F+F, and leopard print towel from H&M Home.

I stumbled across Florence Broadhurst wallpapers a few years ago and loved her entire collection. Inspired by Florence’s life as a dancer living in and around Asia, with a particular interest in Japanese florals it was love at first sight for me.

After some clever researching (thank god for google), I discovered that the Florence Broadhurst collection and license had just been acquired by a UK owner, and was finally going to be more accessible for interior design addicts like me here in the UK.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading, Green vase from Mapstores; and pink velvet chair from Homesense.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading and Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home.

After procrastinating I decided on the Japanese Floral design in pale Teal as it’s a Florence classic.

Because the ceiling in the bathroom has been a mass expanse of white painted plaster, I decided that this was prime fodder to get wallpapered too. After all, the 5th wall is now an important part of any room design, and this rooms sloping ceiling was crying out to be wallpapered.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Is this a special bathroom wallpaper? Have I coated the wallpaper?

Well the answer is simply no. As long as you have good ventilation – an extractor fan and a window for those really steamy days, then I have had no problems with our wallpaper.

Florence Broadhurst Japanese floral wallpaper in pale teal. Bamboo mirror from QVC-UK; Bath painted in Coral Crush by Valspar, Bamboo side table £90 from Mapstores; Pink leopard rug £84 from Cotswold trading and Bamboo bath caddy from Klass Home.

But for those a bit more sceptical or just less brave, then you can use a clear varnish to coat the wallpaper to harden it’s exterior, making it less susceptible to taking the odd splash of water and this will also help prevent the steam from making it peel off.

 How I painted our plastic Bath

And encase you wanted to know, because I get asked a lot how I went about painting our freestanding bath. I painted our bath in Coral Crush by Valspar. The bath is a plastic free standing bath from Wickes. To paint it, I gave it a light sand, then gave it three coats of Zinsser Bullseye primer and then used the matt finish from Valspar. The key is to make sure its well primed and I find Zinsser Bullseye primer amazing! As long as the surface is evening coated in this, then any paint will stick to it!

I’d love to know if you’re thinking about wallpapering your bathroom, and what design you were thinking?