The downstairs loo, the small room worth spending on

Interior design being my passion, my favourite space to renovate and decorate is, the downstairs loo. This may seem bizarre but I will tell you why. In most terraced London properties, there is a downstairs loo situated in the middle of the property to the back between the kitchen and living room. It is normally very small in size, holding just a basin and toilet, and there for convenience and guest usage.

When a client wants their project to involve the decorating of the downstairs loo, I feel full creativity can flourish. Due to its size, and its function as a room only stayed in for a short while, one can go as colourful, patterned and wacky as they would like.

There are no boundaries, and I will list a few ideas to think about trying. It is a small room, so a strong idea costs very little to carry out.

Think about going dark. Dark cabinets, or half-height panelling in a dark colour, make the room atmospheric, and warm wall lighting finishes it. One tip for a narrow loo: mirror one whole wall, then place LED downlights on the opposite wall so they wash light across the surface facing the mirror. The reflection makes the room read as wider than it is. Black, aubergine and dark green all work with gold detailing on the fittings. If it gets too dark, keep the ceiling white.

Mirrors are a great way to create the illusion of a bigger room. Either doing a full wall of mirror, behind the toilet for example, or lots of different sizes of framed mirrors in differing finishes and designs. Both work in a small room.

Wallpaper. A loo is the one wet room with no shower in it, so the paper survives. That makes it the place to use a pattern you would not dare use anywhere else. Cole and Son and Andrew Martin both carry patterns strong enough to carry the whole room.

Have fun with it. There are studios working in preppy, pop art and pastel registers that would be far too much in a living room and are exactly right in here.

You can always tone down the wallpaper by doing a plain or similar coloured floor tile or basin splash back.

Don’t let the size stop you from using it as a display room. Collage walls work in a small room, like a treasure cove. Fill the space with vintage posters and photographs at different sizes, plus objects worth looking at. Nobody is in there long enough for it to feel overpowering, and it is the one room guests reliably photograph.

So have fun with the downstairs loo. It is the room you can go furthest with, for the least money.

Call NU Projects on 020 7731 6841, or tell us which rooms you want to change.