If there’s one secret ingredient to achieving the bathroom of your dreams, it is understanding how to make the most of whatever space is available.

People with only modestly sized bathrooms often bemoan the fact that their luxurious visions just won’t work with the dimensions they’ve been dealt. The best thing to do is to flip the problem around. The challenge isn’t trying to shoehorn a design into the available space. It is picking a layout and style that optimizes the space that is there.

Here are some top tips from leading London-based bathroom specialists Aston Matthews on how to make the most of your space even when you have little to work with. Click here to find out more.

Think smart about storage

Bathroom units can be essential for providing storage and they can also act as a key visual feature for your design. But units also take up space, so when that is at a premium in your bathroom, it is important to weigh up the pros and cons.

Be clinical about what does and does not need to live in your bathroom. If it can be stored elsewhere without major inconvenience, get it out. Then think creatively about where to locate any remaining storage. For example, under the sink vanity units are a staple of many bathrooms, but they also take up precious space.

Under basin bathroom storage -image from Pinterest.

Wall-mounted basins, on the other hand, or those on metal consoles with towel racks incorporated, really open up the space underneath. If you do want shelving or a vanity unit, consider mounting it high up the wall somewhere, out of the way. The more floor space you can leave free, the bigger your bathroom will feel.

Wall mounted basin - Image from Pinterest

Layout, light and mirrors

Aside from stripping back the objects in your bathroom to free up the floor area, maximizing space in your bathroom is a game of impressions as much as it is practicalities. The key point is, you can’t create space that isn’t there. But you can make it look more than it is. In terms of layouts, corner basins, bath tubs, shower units or even toilets are a great way to use what would otherwise be ‘dead space’ and leave more of the room looking open. If that is too radical, you can create similar impressions with lighting and mirrors. We all know the effect mirrors can have on making any space look bigger, and an attractive, high quality example is worth the investment as a feature piece for your bathroom that takes up no additional space.

Bathroom mirror inspiration -from Pinterest.

To capitalize on what a large mirror adds, swap a single, central light for distributed lighting around the room. This avoids dark corners and shadows which make a room feel smaller.

It’s week 40 of my pregnancy, and while we await the arrival of our little guy I thought it was about time I showed you around our loft bathroom and the inspiration behind the room. plus, I can't sleep as the little guy is on my bladder so my blog is my saviour right now. (When people tell you to get loads of sleep before the baby arrives I'm unsure if they remember the final few weeks of pregnancy as sleep is non-existent. But I'm digressing..

It’s been three months since the builders left and even though someone recently quipped that ‘Builders pain lasts longer than child birth’, I’m praying that there’s some truth in that statement.

When the project was in full swing, I was lucky to get away for a couple of weeks on a work trip in Seoul, South Korea where I came across the shop ‘Style Nanda’… AKA Style Manda due to my love of everything about this store for its mock laundrette, to its LA style pool café and hotel reception, payment desks.

I was particularly inspired by their use of blush pink walls, dark wood work and marble tiles on one of the levels of the store which I ended up sending back to my husband which the caption ‘let’s go pink’ and the rest is history. I also loved the bath full of flowers but thats inspiration for another time..

Bathroom sink unit HACK...

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When researching bathroom sink units I became obsessed with marble/ stone top ones - check out Porter bathrooms for luxury inspiration, but I couldn't find anything under £2,000. I then found one from Bathstore which needed tweaking to be more inline with what I was after. Here's how I achieved the look...

1. The bathroom sink unit was purchased from Bathstore. It didn't come with a stone top, so I had piece of granite cut to fit which cost approx £60 from a local stone company, and then I asked the builder to fit it on top with the sink.

2. I painted the bathroom cupboard in Farrow and Ball off black as I didn't like the charcoal colour. I had to prime it first and then it needed two coats of the estate eggshell.

3. I changed the handles to be brass ones from Dowsing and Reynolds as I didn't like the silver ones.

4. I added a brass towel rail which I picked up in New York on a work trip last year and asked if the builder could fit it to the side.

And encase you wanted to know where anything else is from, I’ve attached all the details below.