Botanical Bathrooms to Suit 9 Personality Types
A wide range of wallpaper styles means there’s a garden in the loo for everyone. Which one suits you?
The other day I was searching for beautiful botanical wallpapers on Houzz, using the keywords floral and botanical in the bathroom photos category. And before I knew it, I had lost track of what I was even looking for and had started to make up stories about the people who use these bathrooms. You might think there’s just one type of person who chooses a botanical wallpaper for the bathroom. But you’d be wrong.
2. The optimist. There’s just something about someone who can sit in a tub with a high backrest, looking out the window, surrounded by a garden of oversized orchids, that exudes positive energy. As the Epsom salts work their magic, his mind relaxes and he feels energized and full of new ideas. By the time he emerges to step onto the pebbled floor, he’s raring to get started on a new project.
Wallpaper: Orchid, Cole & Son
Wallpaper: Orchid, Cole & Son
3. The classifier. This person loves to study botany, propagate seeds, press leaves, draw flowers in a sketchbook and memorize those pesky Latin botanical names for family, genus and species. And she can learn a little more every time she visits the powder room just by looking at the wall. Sometimes she even sits on top of the lid just to gaze around.
Wallpaper: Prints, Repertoire Collection, Thibaut
Wallpaper: Prints, Repertoire Collection, Thibaut
4. The Rat Packer wannabe. This person loved the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel banana leaves wallpaper so much that he put it on the ceiling. I can practically hear Ol’ Blue Eyes crooning “My Way” and envision the homeowner singing along in the mirror as part of his daily affirmation.
Wallpaper: Martinique Wallpaper, Stockdale
Wallpaper: Martinique Wallpaper, Stockdale
5. The Francophile. This sumptuous hand-painted mural is fit for Marie Antoinette. As she soaks in a bubble bath, she envisions her court/glam squad helping her primp a wild hairdo full of birds before she heads to the opera.
Wallpaper: de Gournay
Wallpaper: de Gournay
6. The prima donna. Speaking of the opera, this wallpaper design was inspired by the prima donna’s dressing room in the court theater at Drottningholm Palace Theatre in Stockholm. Whoever chose this has some serious old-school diva in them. Lots of private singing goes on in here.
Wallpaper: Eleonora, Zoffany
Wallpaper: Eleonora, Zoffany
7. The conservationist. The pattern in this wallpaper was inspired by the trees in Central Park, which I assume means they are some interpretation of the majestic elms on the mall. But they are blue, which makes them kind of Dr. Seussian (even if they aren’t truffula trees.) I imagine a father sitting here reading “The Lorax” to his kids while they splash around in the tub.
Wallpaper: Raphael, Sandberg
Wallpaper: Raphael, Sandberg
8. The romantic. Lots of prepping for special dates goes on in this bathroom; he uses an old-fashioned shaving brush and checks for renegade eyebrow hairs in the mirror before stepping out with his latest paramour.
Wallpaper: Bird in the Bush, Anna French
Wallpaper: Bird in the Bush, Anna French
9. The modern English rose. She prefers a jetted tub to a shower, Queen over Wham! and cabbage roses to orchids. She’s well put together but needs to scrub that garden dirt from beneath her nails before she starts gelling up her spunky short hairdo.
Wallpaper: Waverly Cottage Emma’s Garden ER8180, York Wallcoverings
Wallpaper: Waverly Cottage Emma’s Garden ER8180, York Wallcoverings
Your turn: Do you imagine a particular homeowner when you look at photos on Houzz? Do you hear music playing or smell the gardenia perfume or bracing aftershave? Take a stab! We’ll call this one “A” …
Wallpaper: Palm Leaves, Cole & Son
Wallpaper: Palm Leaves, Cole & Son
… and this one “B.” Please share your descriptions in the Comments.
Wallpaper: Cowtan & Tout
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Great Home Project: How to Add Wallpaper to a Room
Shop for wallpaper on Houzz
Wallpaper: Cowtan & Tout
More
Great Home Project: How to Add Wallpaper to a Room
Shop for wallpaper on Houzz
Wallpaper: Bird and Thistle, Brunschwig & Fils