Part of the appeal of many old apartments is the original fixtures that call to mind a simpler and sturdier era of construction. Though many of us may swoon at the vintage beauty of subway tiles, basketweave floors and pedestal sinks, the sad reality is that these lovely original bathrooms usually have a very small footprint and little to no storage.
The bathroom above is from the apartment I grew up in, the only bathroom that served a family of four with two daughters! Though I always loved the old-school look of that room, I confess I did envy my friends with multiple bathroom houses that included lots of storage for products and appliances. My mom now lives alone in that apartment, but even a family of one has more bathroom product than can fit in that tiny medicine cabinet.
Luckily, a trip to a home store couple of years ago yielded the perfect solution- an additional wall-mounted cabinet that fits the feel of the bathroom and gives Mom space to store extra shampoo, body wash and lotions. The narrow profile of the unit works perfectly for the space without interfering with the door- key in such a confined space. Mom was so opposed to the idea of messing with the bathroom that I had to sneak the unit into the house and hang it when she was out, but once she got home and saw it in place, she fell in love.
If you have a tiny vintage bathroom with little storage and no available floor space, look to your walls to see if you can squeeze in a small cabinet or even a couple of shelves to help meet your needs. Don't be like us- 26 years in that apartment before we found a solution to our storage needs!
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That is a lovely bathroom. I'm currently also looking to replace my plastic drawer solutions with something prettier.
I would also recommend floating shelves (got mine online but Lowes has a nice selection). I have three above my toilet to store towels and extra soap, tp, etc. I'm also considering a floating shelf above the doorway for extra kleenex boxes/paper towels (got that idea from Maxwell's home tour).
I also looked at cb2's hide n seek storage shelf but was disappointed to find out the walls were steel (not the best option in hawaii or in the bathroom).
Luuuuv the built in original medicine cabinet! Now that's what I'm talking about! Use up that inter-stud dead space.
I put a high shelf all along the wall in one bathroom. I keep pretty baskets with toilet paper, tissues, extra soap etc. up there. I also added several towel racks so I store the towels by hanging them behind the door.
In another bathroom, however, I'm stymied. I'd like to restore it to its 1930s original. This means taking out the 1980s vanity and losing storage. I can't use a cabinet like this one because the exterior wall slopes in a lot over the toilet.
I'm thinking of a very shallow high shelving unit between the studs next to the door. But I'm not sure it will work, for various reasons.
I'm interested to read other peoples comments about this.
We had a tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny bathroom. Most of the stuff that wasn't absolutely necessary for the bathroom was stored in various places around the house. You can really pare down and, once you establish the habit, do all that other stuff comfortably outside the bathroom.
Like, there was an unused cupboard in the kitchen in which we stored first aid & medicine stuff that normally would have gone in the bathroom. Extra towels could go on closet shelves in the bedroom or dresser drawers. Cleaning products under the kitchen sink, in a caddy with a handle for easy transport. Grooming tools that don't require a sink (like hair dryer, face lotion & cosmetics, extra bottles of shampoo/conditioner/soap) can go elsewhere in the house too.
An étagère is a great solution, adding storage above the toilet. Over-the-door organizers are another possibility.
As Proboscidea said, you could always keep things in caddies which are normally stored in another room. It may seem very college dorm-esque, but it's easy to do and beats a messy cluttered bathroom.
We have a small bathroom from the 1920s and we put a train car shelf, actually 2 shelves, from Restoration Hardware over the toilet. We store things in bins. It works great and looks vintage.
I visited friends in NYC last weekend and they had a vintage b & w tiled bathroom similar to this one except it was 9' x 10' with 10' ceilings! Made me swoon it was so cool.
Lovely, classic bathroom (though that rug looks like it needs a little trim?). You really can't go wrong with black and white- and going with a newer storage cabinet in white helps it blend with the space.
We have a similar problem: smaller, older bathroom without closet space. We did have a cupboard installed in the wall that houses the pipes for the tub and shower: http://www.flickr.com/photos/k2yhe/2177443519/
We also placed this Victorian music cabinet in there for towel and linen storage. The top doubles as a vanity for me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k2yhe/5176124015/
I used to have a bathroom that looked just like this, but putting things on the walls was not an option at the time. Simple solution? I bought a black dupioni curtain panel, and used Steam-A-Seam for a no-sew sink skirt, complete with inverted box pleats. (It looked sooo sharp!) To attach it to the sink, I used adhesive-backed velcro, which peeled off easily when I was ready to move.
@mauishopgirl
What's the problem with steel in Hawaii? Humidity/rust?
I love vintage black and white bathrooms sooo much!
excellent idea Miss Moxie!
That's a beautiful bathroom. On Martha Stewart's website, I saw a shelf installed above the bathroom door, and thought that was a very clever way to gain storage space.
Wouldn't it be great if the windowsill were deeper? It's in easy reach of the person showering, so it would be perfect for putting shampoo, conditioner, etc. (of course in pretty bottles, not the original branded containers.) Wonder if there's a way to achieve that?
Along the lines of Rapunzel's idea - you could easily build shelves running across the window opening that would hold several ROWS of bottles, shampoo, soaps, etc.
As long as they were mounted with enough room to let the window open (don't forget the handle!) you could add some valuable linear feet for small stuff. Plus, if you have a healthy supply of items in glass bottles or perfume atomizers, it might even take on the effect of a stained glass window as the light shined through.
our bathroom is just as small - this thing holds tons and fits perfectly under our sink. (was featured here)
http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102170034&c=10411
I'm in the process of remodeling our main (hall) bathroom, which is shared by my husband and our 3-1/2 year old son. (I have my own bathroom which I refuse to share!)
I'm having a large, typical recessed medicine cabinet mounted over the vanity, as well as two recessed medicine cabinets lined up on the opposite wall, with picture frame doors instead of mirrors. (They sell these at concealedcabinets.com, but I'm making them myself for much less). It's a great way to add lots of hidden storage without cluttering up a space.
Here's what I did:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamilkb/sets/72157624848813384/
I would say steel in Hawaii might rust. I live near the ocean.
My problem in the bathroom is that there is not only that there is no storage, but that it is tiled from floor to ceiling so I can't hang anything. Any suggestions for that?