My own bathroom is really small, so I’ve had to employ a few of these tricks myself, and I’ve been trawling the web for other good ideas. I hope this helps you to make the most of the space you have.

1. Keep tiling simple. A continuous run of tiles in a light colour helps to create a spacious feel. If you can then use a similar shade of tile on the walls and floor, and even around a built-in bath unit.

2. If you’re refitting your bathroom, make a floor plan first so you can work out how to use wasted space. If you have awkward angles, small areas cut off behind the door or a particularly narrow room then working out the exact dimensions before searching for baths, showers, sinks and toilets that will fit may help.

3. Shower curtains can look untidy and block your eye-line. If you have to have one because you want to position a shower over a curved bath, then go for a transparent one. Otherwise, opt for a clear glass shower screen.

4. White bathroom suites are best. I know it’s old advice, and it’s not really questioned these days after people had to live through the avocado era, but if you want a quirky bathroom, create it with wall coverings and accessories, not the suite.

5. Pay attention to the little details. In large bathrooms it’s possible to over look chipped paintwork, mildew or cracked tiles. In a small bathroom, the flaws will be obvious.

6. If wall space is tight, consider positioning the sink or the toilet at the end of the bath, in a built-in unit.

Chrome wall mounted towel radiator, BathEmpire

7. And if floor space is your problem, but wall space is plentiful, then buy wall-mounted toilets, sinks and heated towel rails.

8. Talking of towels, while spacious bathrooms might look very nice with bundles of fresh towels stored on shelves, in small bathrooms this can close the room in. Store spare towels elsewhere in your home.

9. When choosing storage, it’s best to go for designs that have doors. If you have shelves then invest in a few baskets so everything can be hidden away.

10. I’ve already mentioned that having a white bathroom suite is best, but often a totally white scheme can have the effect of making the room look smaller, as there’s no definition or points of interest. So don’t be afraid to use colour, but do it cleverly. If there’s a particularly nice aspect of the room, then draw attention to it with a splash of coloured paint, and make sure there are accent colours here and there, perhaps in prints on the walls, or plant pots.

11. Make sure there’s a ‘place for everything’ so clutter doesn’t accumulate. Put hooks behind the door for clothes, for example.

12. Keep your laundry elsewhere. There’s no rule to say that laundry baskets have to be in the bathroom, so put yours on your landing or in your bedroom instead and free up space.

13. Ask yourself whether you definitely need a bath. Sometimes, in flats or ensuites, it’s best to stick to the basics of toilet, sink and shower enclosure and keep some floor space to make the room seem larger.

14. Conversely, if you bathroom is small, but you can manage to fit a bath in, it can be best to go for the most opulent-looking bath you can squeeze in. A roll top bath will not only give the impression that the bathroom is large and impressive – it’ll also allow people to see the flooring underneath, which makes the room look bigger.

15. A bathroom window makes an enormous difference to how spacious the room will feel, so you should always make the most of this feature if you have one. Blinds which can be rolled down for privacy when needed but then rolled up to reveal the view the rest of the time are best.

16. If you do have a great window and a view, then position a mirror to reflect it and it’ll create the illusion of having two windows.

17. As suggested in this article on a bathroom makeover featured on Channel 4′s 4homes site, introducing metallics, either on the tiles or on wallpaper that’s suitable for bathrooms, will mean the room reflects light, and also looks precious.

Rain shower head, BathEmpire

18. If you have run out of wall space altogether then BathEmpire has a corner sink and a corner toilet available so you can still fit everything in.

19. Have a focal piece that’s a real statement and then keep the rest of the room relatively plain. This could be a fabulous gilt-edged mirror or an attractive rain shower head.

20. Finally, let the light in. Nothing makes a bathroom feel small and dingy as much as lack of lighting – whether it’s natural, or from some carefully positioned spotlights.

Once you’ve bought the bathroom though, you’ve got a choice to make… do you DIY or call on the services of a qualified tradesperson?

Hiring a professional could be the best way to make sure your bathroom looks this good

Recent research from the Halifax has found that 13% of people ask for help from friends and family to complete their bathroom makeover, instead of paying for professionals.

If you’re considering following their lead though, the same research may make you think twice.

Halifax found that, on average, more than one in six DIY jobs goes wrong, with a typical cost of £426 to put botched bathrooms and kitchens right again.

So choosing to DIY could be a false economy, and end up taking you longer.

We always like to be helpful, so we’ve thought of a list of things to consider if you’re getting in professional tradespeople to install your BathEmpire bathroom.

1. Will the work be done in one go?

Having a bathroom fitted can be a disruptive, so you ideally want it to be done as quickly as possible.

By choosing tradespeople who have plumbing, electrical and tiling skills, if all are needed, or at least ones who work with colleagues with the skills they don’t have themselves, you’ll save time, money, and there’ll be less disruption.

2. Are they qualified?

Renovations need to conform to the building regulations. These cover everything from ventilation, to drainage and waste, energy conservation and electrical safety.

If you employ a builder, confirm that he or she will be responsible for compliance but remember that it’s still important for you to know what’s required because as the building owner you’ll have to put things right if there’s a problem.

3. Get a comprehensive quote

One of the main things that people are worried about when hiring tradespeople is that the cost will spiral out of control, so try to make sure this doesn’t happen to you by getting three comprehensive quotes for the job.

If one quote is vastly lower than the others then you may be right to be suspicious that the cost will be revised once the job has begun, so perhaps choose the mid-level quote, or at least get the quote in writing to protect yourself.

Another good idea is to ask for references from previous customers – good tradespeople should be happy to oblige.

Also, get a price for the whole job, rather than a day rate – otherwise the incentive is for the work to be dragged out over more days than necessary.

Make sure all of the following is included in your quote if needed:

• Removal of old tiles (and disposal of them)
• Removal of old bathroom suite (and disposal)
• Making good of walls for re-tiling
• Any initial electrical work needed
• Fitting of skirting
• Installation of new suite
• Tiling of walls
• Tiling of flooring or laying of other floor covering
• Plumbing in of taps
• Painting of walls
• Second fix electrics

Is there something we’ve forgotten? Are you a professional tradesperson who has advice for homeowners wanting to install a new bathroom? We’d love your opinions

If you’d look at the bathroom and think: “Well, that will have to be replaced” then that’s got to be a bad thing.

Buyers are likely to find a shabby bathroom more off-putting than other flaws like untidiness (they know you’ll be taking everything with you) and even dirty carpets, an overgrown garden or walls that need painting, because these are seen as simple jobs they can do themselves.

The thing is, installing a new bathroom is a major hassle that new property owners would rather not have to deal with.

They’re going to have all the upheaval of moving in their furniture and all the admin that comes with changing address and the last thing they want is to be calling plumbers and having the mess and inconvenience of a bathroom installation as well.

That’s why fitting a new bathroom is a particularly savvy home improvement to make before you put your house on the market.You take on the hassle and it’s very likely that you’ll get back more than you spend when you sell up.

Buyers will be much more attracted to a property that already has a stylish, clean and well-laid out bathroom than one with a dodgy avocado suite, peeling wallpaper and mould. Eugh!

Cahora freestanding bath from BathEmpire

Now, if I was a buyer, and I saw a property on the market for say £200,000 that had a disgusting mould-ridden bathroom with an old, chipped bath, stained sink and toilet and little space for anything, and then I saw another property for £210,000 which had a gorgeous, up-to-date, neutral bathroom like the one on the right… well, I know for sure which one I would pick.

So installing a new bathroom really can mean that your is the property that sell instantly, with others languishing on the market.

And the thing is, a new bathroom needn’t cost you that much at all. At BathEmpire we have baths from as little as £219.99, roll top baths from £249.99, full-sized sinks from £59.99, shower enclosures from £129.99 and toilets from £69.99.

Your property particulars can mention that a new bathroom has been installed and the photographs of your property on-line will be much more appealing.

As any interior designer will tell you, if it’s saleability that you’re after you can’t really beat a plain white suite – that way the buyer can stamp his or her own personality on the room without too much difficulty.

Plain white suites will attract buyers

Sure, a gold bathtub or a grey suite might be trendy, but if it alienates even 25% of your potential market, then you may end up taking longer to sell, or having to drop your price.

So install a plain white bathroom suite from BathEmpire; use tiles in neutral tones such as stone, slate or white; dress the room with simple accessories such as fluffy white towels and bathrobes and a vase of flowers, then sit back and watch the offers come rolling in.

When you get to your new property visit us again – we know you’re going to want to recreate the look!

For sale image courtesy of efffective.com