When it comes to finding extra storage space, the bathroom isn’t usually at the top of the list. We tend to think about storage in other parts of the home, but not the bathroom. There are things that people like to store or display in bathrooms, though, and many times bathroom cabinetry or shelving comes as an afterthought.
Since bathrooms are limited in space, you have to consider very carefully what you want to store in there, and what the best way to store it is.
If you have the available floor space, a floor-standing bathroom cabinet might answer all your needs in one unit. This of course takes up the most space, but in the one unit you’ll have display shelves, storage shelves and also an enclosed cabinet, depending on the model you choose. A very clever idea is a unit that is designed to stand on the floor, but straddle the water tank of the toilet. This way, it doesn’t take up unused and precious floor space, and different units provide storage area plus display shelves for knick-knacks, houseplants or extra towels above the toilet
If you don’t have the room for a floor-standing unit, there are a few alternatives available to you. One is replacing the vanity with a larger one. Many bathrooms, however, are not designed for a larger unit and unless you plan on moving the toilet as well this won’t work for you.
Another option is wall-mounted bathroom shelves. There are many, many types of shelves available, made of wood, chrome, and also glass. You can see a wide variety of these shelves through links on The Home Shelving Guide to Bathroom Shelving. The trick is to find shelves that firstly provide you with enough shelf space. Even if you find shelves that you love the look of, if they aren’t big enough you’ll regret it.
What to do when you hardly have any space at all? Consider floating glass shelves. These shelves have no frame, no extra pieces whatsoever. They are only pieces of glass, triangle, square or rectangular with wall-mounting brackets. They have a very small “footprint” and can fit in almost any tiny area on the wall. Many of them are surprisingly strong, too.
When deciding which shelves are good for you, keep in mind how many things you want to store in your bathroom discreetly. Hygiene products and extra rolls of toilet paper (even the snazziest pastel 3-ply stuff) are probably best hidden inside a cabinet. There are certainly units that have both enclosed cabinets and open shelves.
Match the shelves to the décor of the bathroom. Modern chrome and glass angled shelves would look out of place in a bathroom with wood tones and a fancy-framed oval mirror, for example.
Take a good look at the spaces available in your bathroom, particularly the space above the toilet and in the corners. A combination of shelves in these 2 locations in particular will look nice and it will efficiently take advantage of otherwise empty spaces. Another possible location is above the vanity. Most people place mirrors above the sink, but often there’s enough room next to the mirror to put a set of narrow shelves. This is a perfect location for light, glass shelves for displaying a few small trinkets or holding a nice tissue box.
All of the shelves available online have their measurements posted. I recommend that you take the time to measure the spaces you were thinking of before you purchase the shelves. “Eyeballing” the space isn’t always as accurate as you might think.
Finally, think about how your bathroom looks now, and how nice it’ll look with the addition of some small, but nice shelves. Installing some extra shelving in your bathroom will help to keep it organized, while at the same time spruce it up and allow you to decorate it nicely.
