Sharing A Small Bathroom Without The Squabbles

Moving in together usually means working out how to share the smallest room in the house. A few practical changes to the sink area, walls and storage can make a shared bathroom feel properly divided, even in a compact Maltese flat.

Give each other a proper half of the sink

The easiest way to keep peace at the sink is to give each person their own clearly defined space. IKEA's SKÅDIS pegboard can be mounted beside the mirror with a shelf each, so toiletries stay sorted without spreading across the counter, while a shared toothbrush mug keeps things companionable rather than clinical. If your wash-stand has a drawer, splitting it in two means nobody has to dig through someone else's things to find their own. Transparent boxes with lids are worth adding here too, since you can see what's inside at a glance, which matters in a small bathroom where every surface counts.

SKÅDIS pegboard combinationSKÅDIS clip, white, 2x8 cm, 2 packSKÅDIS container, white, 7.5x8x9 cmSKÅDIS storage basket, set of 3, whiteSKÅDIS pegboard, black, 76x56 cmSKÅDIS 7-piece accessories set, white

Shop IKEA Skådis

Put the walls to work instead of the tiles

Drilling into bathroom tiles is rarely worth the hassle, especially in a rented flat or an apartment where you would rather not damage the finish. Self-adhesive hooks and hangers solve this neatly, going up and coming down without leaving marks. Use the larger hangers, rated to hold around a kilo, for bathrobes, and keep the smaller half-kilo ones for towels or a gym bag. It is a particularly good trick for Maltese bathrooms, where space is often tight and humidity means damp towels need somewhere proper to hang rather than being left in a heap.

SKÅDIS connector, white, 2x18x5 cm, 2 packSKÅDIS elastic cord, grey, 3 pack

Shop Hooks & wall organisation

Choose storage that can change with you

Life has a way of shifting once two people are sharing a home, so it helps to choose furniture that can shift with it. Shelving units that go together and come apart easily let you reconfigure the bathroom as needs change, whether that means making room for a new arrival or simply rearranging after a few months of living together. Open shelves also double as display space, so a plant, a favourite scent and a stack of fresh towels can sit out in the open rather than hidden behind a cupboard door, which suits the warmer months when bathrooms benefit from feeling airy.

KALLAX shelving unit, white, 77x147 cmLACK wall shelf unit, white, 30x190 cmKALLAX shelving unit, white, 77x77 cmKALLAX shelving unit, white, 42x147 cmKALLAX shelving unit, black-brown, 77x147 cmKALLAX shelving unit, black-brown, 77x77 cm

Shop Shelving units

Small changes like these go a long way in a shared bathroom. Browse the range on maltashopper.com and have your order delivered to your door in Malta or Gozo.

More bathroom ideas