Smallest room seriously in need of a style overhaul? Take your cue from our favourite spaces on Instagram. Interiors editor Nicole Gray shows you how to create a covetable look – without breaking the bank
A compact space needs all the height it can get to help draw the eye upwards. Here the top part of the wall is painted in Bare Necessity by valsparpaint.co.uk to reflect light around the room. Even the tiniest spaces have room for personality: the floor tiles and dark furniture create an instant focal point. The vanity unit is from ikea.com with fronts from nakeddoors.com. The basin is from caesarstone.co.uk
Ace a small space
Who lives here? Celebrity make-up artist Lo Moorcroft
Location: Croydon, London
Property: 1930s semi-detached
In this pastel-hued bathroom designed by interiors blogger and stylist Sarah Akwisombe, colour and pattern have been used to give depth to a compact space. Arranging the skinny wall tiles vertically helps give the room a feeling of height, while the patterned floor tiles have an elongating effect. The gloss wall tiles, metallic finishes on the lights and cabinet legs and a well-placed wall mirror all help to bounce light around the space and add to the overall modern Art Deco vibe.
Monochrome tile, £9.78 each, firedearth.com, Mirror, £89, swooneditions.com, Cabinet, £214.99, wayfair.co.uk, Wall lamp, £55, made.com, Box, £26, amara.com, Plant and planter, £30, canopyplants.co.uk, Sink, £1,021, victoriaplum.com, Tile, 90p each, tilegiant.co.uk
Up the glam factor
Who lives here? Interiors blogger Jess Hurrell, aka @gold_is_a_neutral, her husband and their two children
Location: Honor Oak Park, Southeast London
Property: A four-bedroom Victorian townhouse
Taking inspiration from a kitchen containing a brass cabinet and marble splashback, Jess replicated the design to create a strikingly elegant bathroom. The dramatic black walls create a cosy cocooning effect and are the perfect anchor for the room’s mixture of eyecatching features: luxe marble shower tiles, brass cabinet fronts and a star-studded tiled floor.
The monochromatic palette creates cohesion throughout, while the brass fittings add warmth. The marble shower tiles are from toppstiles.co.uk. The freestanding bath is from vandabaths.com. Encaustic tiles – where the pattern is produced by coloured clay instead of a glaze – don’t feel cold underfoot or require constant cleaning. These are by bertandmay.com. Their pattern is reflected by the brass doors and bathtub, giving the room extra depth
Don’t be afraid to paint your walls black – yes, they are dramatic, but they also provide the perfect backdrop for other bathroom elements to shine. The shade used is Off Black by farrow-ball.com. The brass cabinet doors by customfronts.co.uk will naturally tarnish over time and add a ‘lived-in’ feel. The Pembroke basin is from vandabaths.com. For a similar mirror try heals.com
Mirror, £195, habitat.co.uk, Towel rail, £79.95, victorianplumbing.co.uk, Hand wash, £14.99, hm.com, Wall light, £735, originalbtc.com, Framed wall art, £48, oliverbonas.com, Tile, £67.28 each, toppstiles.co.uk
Chill to perfection
Who lives here? Lucas and Hayley Lepola, co-founders of accessories brand Alphabet Bags, and their two children
Location: Saffron Waldon, Essex
Property: Detached four-bedroom house
With its tranquil white and sage green palette, simple fixtures and fittings and enveloping floor-to-wall tiles, this bathroom – by creative consultant Edwina Boase and architect Chris Dyson, and seen in George Clarke’s Ugly House to Lovely House TV series – is an enviable space in which to unwind.
With sky views through the window above, this freestanding tub by vandabaths.com has a soothing, luxurious vibe. The soft green floor and wall tiles from pophamdesign.com combine beautifully with the houseplants to add an extra dimension of greenery
The simplicity of the bathware is key to this calming space. The basin mixer is from catalano.it. For a similar bathroom wall light try houseof.com
Tile, £5 each, bertandmay.com, Vase, £8, arket.com, Plant, £39, arighibianchi.co.uk, Mirror, £199, amara.com, Taps, £463, bagnodesignlondon.com, Shower, £178.03, victorianplumbing.co.uk, Towel, £27, royaldesign.co.uk