Another option is individual boards installed one at a time. Redwood comes to mind due to its widespread use in saunas. It does work in bathrooms although you do have to be careful about the pattern you use. And if your bathroom is too small, what you wind up with is something that looks like the inside of a walk-in closet. A reasonably experienced D-I-Y'er will have little problem installing solid lumber, but realize that there's more to it than just nailing the lumber in place. All those finishing nails used to install the lumber will have to be countersunk with a nail set. Then you will have to sand the walls once the lumber is in and finally apply a protective clear coat. It's a lot of work and much more time consuming than pre-finished paneling, but the final appearance is certainly worth it.

Ceramic tile

What? You thought ceramic tile only went on the floor? Think again. Since you are likely installing ceramic floor tile in your new or remodeled bathroom, why not use the same treatment on the wall? Basically, you have two choices: All the way to the ceiling or halfway up. The choice is yours, but the thing that probably cautions against running tile all the way to the ceiling is that it winds up looking like a commercial restroom. It's likely that you'll find the halfway approach to be the most attractive.

Whether you hire it done or do it yourself, you need to decide just how far up you want to come. The majority of tiled walls seem to stop at a point 36? above the floor. That used to be pretty much in line with the top of the vanity backsplash. However, with the advent of taller vanity bases ?some of them being as much as 36?- you may find a need to adjust the height of the tiled wall.

If you're tiling part of the wall yourself, don't think that you have to do it the way the manufacturers tell you. More often than most D-I-Yers care to admit, you can't do it that way. For example, in order to get a proper fit of wall tile when the floor is not perfectly level, it may be necessary to do the exact opposite of normal. Instead of starting at the bottom and working your way up, start with the bullnose tile piece (that's the piece that creates the finished edge) and work your way down. In this way, the bottom piece can be cut so that it's an exact fit. Slower and against all the rules, but it works. And, as they say, if it works, don't knock it.

When you opt to tile only part of the wall, there's the question of what do you use on the upper part. While it's possible to choose tile board or wood paneling, the probability is that you will prefer either wallpaper or paint.