This paper has been up for 27 years. The seams are loosening outside the shower and so is the stripe that forms a border area at the ceiling line. The rest of the bathroom is fine.The ceiling is papered.

If my father weren't 90, he probably would have had someone come in and re-stick the seams. It is paper but with a vinyl washable surface:
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This is the hallway:
This paper is also 27 years old. Before the chair lift was put in my mom often had to walk down or up in such a way that she brushed the wall. It didn't seem to do anything to it: it is in very good shape. One of my sister's husbands gets newsprint all over his hands and then rubs them on Everything. I have been able to clean that right off this paper.

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No worries. Modern paper is scrubbable and prepasted. The paper swatch gives all the information for that particular paper. I have paper on walls and ceiling. The bathroom ceiling is fake tin; the kitchen is fake bead board. Walls are regular coated paper. I took vinyl paper down that I had put over 1970 paneling. Came right off. Took a whole day to wash the paste off. I've since painted that paneling. I am a wallpaper person. You will get negative feedback from anti wallpaper people. I will always have wallpaper in my house.

Thanks! So the trick is to choose the correct paper and that information will be available in the wallpaper book?

I will probably paper just one. I am not particularly afraid of color, but I am pattern phobic so doing just one space will be a bold move for me. I'm inclined to do the bathroom because I have seen some really lovely papered bathrooms on houzz lately.

Yes, the information will be available in the book.

Do you plan to do this yourself? I would try to get an experienced person to help or you help them. It's easy but you do need to know what you're doing.

If the paper you choose is not prepasted, get the mix in a little bucket. It's SOOOOOO much nicer than mixing the powder. Costs more but it won't break the bank. And be sure to size your walls first!! I bet there are youtube videos. Watch a hundred or so of them.

If it's the bathroom, it will likely be done as part of a remodel and I will definitely have it done with the GC responsible for hiring someone to do it. Not sure about the hallway. I'm a pretty good painter, but not much diy skill past that. The cost of hiring it done might be prohibitive though--as compared to the cost of just painting it myself--not sure how much either the paper or the labor costs (and we are in a HCOLA).

Thank you for the help!

In our old house, I put wallpaper in the bathroom, but was disappointed with how quickly it started to peel...only a few years. So the next finish I put in was faux painting to look like wallpaper and it came out great and lasted years.

If you can paint you can apply paper. Size the walls for easy removal later and consider painting the seams the background color of the paper will help the paper appear seamless.

Thank you for all the feedback and advice!

Not all wallpaper is appropriate for bathrooms (or kitchens), and so make sure that it has been treated properly for bathroom use, or else it will start to peel after a short time. I used to work with wallpaper installers, but they also did wall upholstery, and I sewed the fabric for them when they did those jobs.

Lars