Actor Michael Caine once said that the secret of a happy marriage is separate bathrooms. Some couples advocate separate houses. Singer Toyah Wilcox and her husband took things to the extreme and lived – happily – on different continents for years.

Sharing a home – even a dream home – with those we love can be tough. Most of us don’t have the luxury of separate bathrooms, separate houses or separate continents. According to the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba), lack of space is the biggest complaint most people have about their homes and it can put a strain on relationships.

Rather than call in the builders (or the divorce lawyers), the answer could be to spend more time outside the home: in Japan and New York, where living space tends to be even more limited than it is in the UK, couples eat out more and often entertain in restaurants rather than at home. Or you could simply make more of an effort to recognise when those you share your home with need space.

Creating physical space is also about creating psychological space and couples need that from time to time in their relationship. Being able to talk about this without the other feeling rejected is the fine balance. Honesty and openness about the issues of living together are fundamental to a long-lasting and sustainable relationship.

But even if you and your partner or family have lived together in perfect harmony for years, it's important to remember that buying a new home inevitably involves several months of worry, followed by several more of living in chaos. Moving can be as stressful as death and divorce and it can take its toll on relationships. The kids might be having problems with upheaval which is why it's so important that they fully understand the reasons for the move. Again, open communication is the key to achieving and maintaining a happy home.

Then just when things are ticking along nicely, something happens to disrupt the status quo – a baby comes along; an elderly relative moves in; your adult children return to the empty nest; or one of you decides to work from home. Change can be helpful, allowing us to grow as individuals and families, but it’s not always easy and there will be a period of adjustment.

Working from home, as I discussed in 'Don’t let the home you love become the workplace you hate' alters not only your relationship with your home and the people you share it with but with your neighbourhood, too. Under the traditional model of going out to work – leaving early and coming home late – most people are alienated from their surroundings, barely knowing more than a few neighbours. Working from home creates more opportunities to create meaningful relationships with neighbours, with parents in the local school, with people working in local shops, and so on. It is an investment in potential social support networks that may be there for you in the future.

As the old saying goes, 'home is where the heart is' and for many that means living under the same roof as the people we love. If separate bathroooms helps us to do that, so be it.

Further information

'Home is all about the relationships within it' is part of our new series of blogs, A Savills Love Story, inspired by Savills new advertising campaign. Each week, the pre-eminent psychologist, Professor Sir Cary Cooper, CBE, will consider how our love stories are changing now that so many of us work from home, and the ways in which we can ensure we all live happily ever after.

As part of our series, we invite you to submit your own Savills Love Story. What made you fall for your home? Was it love at first sight or more of a slow burn? Do you have a 'type' or is your approach to house-buying more pragmatic? Or tell us about your fantasy home – the magical place you've always wanted to live, perhaps inspired by a novel or a fleeting glimpse in a magazine? We will donate £50 to YoungMinds for every story we publish on Savills UK Blog. We'll also make a donation for every story submitted for consideration.