The bathroom is one of the easiest rooms to customize. Besides being one the smallest rooms, there are a slew of products out there that make customizing a bathroom to fit your needs fairly easy…
• Make use of every square inch of storage space with this Expandable Under Sink Storage System from Linens N Things. The stackable shelves include a cut-out for the pipes under the sink.
• In small bathrooms with limited storage, an etagere over the toilet can add some much needed cabinetry. We prefer something like the Nassau Louvered Space Save from JustBathroomFurniture.com versus open shelving because it keeps everything behind closed doors.
• The Pockets Shower Curtain from Urban Outfitters is shown with photos in the pockets but we think it would be even more useful for stowing bathroom necessities.
• Along the same line, hang the Over the Door 22-Pocket Shoe Organizer from Organize It on the back of the bathroom door for quick access to beauty goods, hairdryer or anything else you want to (neatly) stuff into the many pockets.
• If you're not going to use the back of the door for a shoe organizer, how about a Bamboo Over The Door Towel Organizer? This one from Hold n' Storage also includes two large hooks.
• Keep extra toilet tissue within reach with this Over Tank Tissue Holder from Organize It.
• This Tension Pole Shower Caddy, also from Organize It, is a great way to add extra storage without drilling into the walls. Place it in the shower or in a corner of the room.
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We use the Godmorgon cabinet from IKEA. It's about 4 inches deep so it holds full sized bottles and little boxes for organizing things. It's also tall enough that you can fit a lot of products in it. And you can take it down when you move!
yeah the toilet cabinetry unit would probably make me feel like i'm doing my do in my grandma's living room.
Well, you-all sound a little bit more into the upscale than me, but I have had great experiences with this plastic shower caddy: http://www.amazon.com/Zenith-Bathtub-Shower-Caddy-White/dp/B0014X7ARI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1332009322&sr=8-3
It's good because if you bonk your elbows a lot, like me, it is much nicer to bonk them on something plastic. Also it holds up to water pretty well, and you can put the shelves wherever you want, in fact you could probably use it with a tub, too. I never even used the fourth metal rod and mine works fine (mine is an 82 inch ceiling IIRC).
I should have put more tape on the joins, but other than that, they last a good while. You can't put too much weight on the shelves, but you don't want to use the really big bottles in the shower anyway because if you drop one on your foot, you'll be sorry.
The thing I don't get about "etageres" is (I find the name a bit much...) why do you need the legs part? Why not just use a cabinet and screw it to the wall? Why have more things to clean in that hard-to-reach spot behind the toilet????
Great list of products, but what are the wooden square cubbies in the first photo? They rock!
Pet peeve. What's with the need to have exposed extra rolls of TP on display? Nobody wants to look at that. Tuck those extras away and change the roll when it runs out. Surely you don't expect your guests to do that for you...
I'm with you on the Etagere. There are some pretty cool ones. That one is not... Yuck!
Don't all under-sink-cabinets come with shelves?
"[...] versus open shelving because it keeps everything behind closed doors."
Aaah, Captain Obvious.
Can you imagine how awkward it would be opening and closing that shower curtain if there were bottles and whatnot in the pockets.... not to mention, I bet it doesn't have much load bearing capacity. Knowing UO's wonderful quality standards (ha!), I wouldn't be surprised if a product bottle caused the pocket to come apart. Plus, it would look so messy and weird!
I own the Bamboo Over-the-Door Towel Organizer. It marked up the back of my door where the two bottom hooks meet the door.
I have a shower curtain that has mesh pockets I got at Bed Bath and Beyond and it is AWESOME! It holds all my bath products with no problem and as I love to organize and hate clutter it's perfect! I use it as a liner and have a fabric curtain on the outside. Not awkward at all.
Oh, and I have an over the toliet organizer shelf (kind of like picture #3 but it's silver..thinking I want to trade that out for boxed shelves like in picture #1...I like that idea.
At least I have a closet outside bathroom door that was suitable for single center 'standard' ELFA door basket system. I fit seven baskets on the inside of that door including a narrow one that avoids the doorknob. Wish I could pare down to be able to get rid of a translucent plastic 3 drawer on wheels unit from Crate & Barrel from 1990s in the bathroom, but is not that bad looking. Filled the walls with posters and a few things and kept walls dark [and there is a window] so the storage ia not dominant.
Seriously? The over toilet cabinet/throne? Those are the worst! The rest remind me of a dorm room list of "must haves." How about Pottery Barns bathroom dressers? Or a t-paper holder that actually hides the paper. Definitely not up to AT's usual standards.
When it comes to bathroom needs, ya do what ya do. In our rental bathroom there is no built in toilet paper holder and were not allowed to drill. I bought the interdesign bamboo toilet paper tower which is about as classy as were gonna get. I think we make it work since my bathroom accessories are mostly bamboo anyway. Were lucky enough to have a storage closet in there to but if we didn't id probably go for a nice over-toilet storage.
Oh, these are depressing! They are renter friendly, but surely there is a better way. Any ideas on how to make these solutions a bit more attractive?
Some of this has to be mental. Instead of just adding more storage solution for extra toilet paper rolls, shampoo, soap, etc. an easier solution could be the store those items in a hallway closet and train yourself to check for low quantities before you get stuck in the shower without any soap.
A really great way to do this is to either make or buy a couple of side salads from Whole Foods or, if you are in Denver,
That dropped a bunch of stuff. Just don't know how to use the code.
People are complaining about these solutions not being attractive. Well, for people like me who do NOT have storage space under the sink (it's a pedestal) or don't have a hallway linen closet (sorry, my building is older, sometimes ugly solutions are better than no solutions at all. Some AT readers need to get off their high horse and realize that not everyone can have more attractive storage fixes.
I had a pocket shower curtain in college while sharing a bathroom with 3 other girls. It worked really well for us. We used it as the liner (put it on the wrong way around) and got another 'normal' curtain to put on the outside. All our stuff was available AND hidden. However, the one pictured here seems to have pockets that open at the top and would catch water if you did that. Our curtain pockets opened on either side because it was made for bathtub stuff storage and not for decoration.
Also, no, all under sink cabinets don't come with shelves. Our home doesn't have shelves in either bathroom's cabinet. It's just open space behind the doors. And our home was built in 1970, so it's not like it's ancient.
OK guys. YES the etagere / space saver over the toilet SUCKS. but i challenge anyone to show me a more updated better option. I am convinced there is no such thing and Im currently shopping around for one.
I really like that sink and cabinet underneath! What brand and where can I buy?