There is some debate over who was the inventor of the modern toilet. In 1596 Sir John Harrington is said to have made a "necessary" for his godmother, Queen Elizabeth I. Centuries later, the more satisfyingly named Thomas Crapper is accredited with inventing the valve and siphon system. In 1885, Thomas Twyford made the first trapless china toilet in one piece. This is what we have today.

Don't overlook it

The downstairs toilet is usually found under the stairs or off the utility room and is often totally overlooked in any re-vamp. This is the most visited room in the house and is worth a little bit of thought. Take a new look at this little room as it is a place where you can be clever and have some fun with decoration. Even if your whole house is in one style this room can be completely different.

Sink into it

In this tiny area, each object has a greater prominence. There are some great sinks, taps and accessories on the market at the moment, and the Agape range is worth looking at. Sold through Haus in Dublin and The Yard in Belfast, Agape makes sinks in lots of interesting shapes, sizes and materials. For instance, there are square sinks in birch and wenge wood, square glass sinks that can be cantilevered off a wenge stand and oval sinks with straight sides.

The marvels of marble

Marble makes a good worktop and it can be cut to fit a sink. Most people opt for white marble but there are many interesting variations such as grigio oro marble, which is grey and gold. You can also get marble with blues, reds, greys, gold, oranges or pinks going through the white. Most tile stores have a range of marble - Tilesavers in Dublin has an interesting range. It is really important to treat marble properly as it stains easily. Seal it with a protective coating and never clean it with a strong detergent as this can discolour it. Wash it with warm water mixed with a tiny bit of mild detergent.

Polished plaster

Use texture or colour on the walls. Muriel Short does a great crocodile print (0044 1483 2712 11). Polished coloured plaster is another idea. You can buy a natural earth pigments, such as Marrakesh red, to put in the plaster. There are sealers you can put over the plaster to give it a polished look, as well as other finishes. Armourcoat atwww.armourcoat.co.uk (0044 1732 453845) has a list of agents in Ireland trained and authorised to use their products.

Collectors' items

Some people opt to use the small toilet as a collector's room, lining the walls with photographs of all the famous people they have met, their favourite newspaper cuttings, photographs of the family ski holiday, their favourite comic strip and so on. One client of mine displays her collection of small animals on glass shelves against a Chinese red wall. This gives a rich feel although it does mean you are surrounded by noise.

Encase the cistern

A concealed cistern will help maximise the space. You can have a casing made or buy one off the shelf. The Yard does a system of MDF panels which can be built up into cupboards if you need them. There are some awful off-the-shelf casings around, in plastic and old-fashioned Formica, so choose carefully. The casing can then be tiled or painted.

Natural cedar smells

Panel the whole area in cedar wood allowing the intoxicating smell to naturally dispel any foul odour. Cedar has a natural anti-bacterial quality and is used to build Japanese soak tubs. Oil or wax it rather than varnish it as it needs to breathe. Auro sells a lovely wax for woods (01-838 3544).

Small but special

Because this area is small it allows you to look at materials that would be too expensive for larger rooms. You could clad the walls, floor and ceiling in milky coloured glass, with fibre optics running behind it, allowing you to drift in different coloured clouds each time you enter. Blu makes glass for floors and walls (www.blu- uk.com or 0044 127 879 3644). Fibre optics specialists include Fibre Optics Signs Ltd (01-457 3683).

Less flush

If you are eco aware choose a dual-flush WC toilet (one with a long and a short flush, ), which can use as little as four litres per flush (anywhere between 9 -20 nine and 20 is the norm). Or you can put bottles of water in the cistern (away from the flushing mechanism) to reduce the volume of water used in each flush.

Emma Cullinan is editor of Select magazine