We have a horrendous formica vanity with tons of storage in our rental. I do love to be able to hide things in there and the counter space but boy is it ugly!

If you ever do have to take meds on a regular basis, the bathroom is the worst place to store them. The temperature change and humidity are terrible for pills.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007189.htm

My husband and I take a few different meds daily along with vitamins...we've always dedicated a shelf in one of the kitchen cabinets away from the stove.

Ugh, we have a pedestal sink too. Looks so pretty when you are looking to buy, but not functional.

Also with an annoyingly small, storage-less bathroom. Not even a full pedestal sink, just the bowl! I have a skinny cabinet in the hall outside the bathroom for storage (7"D x 24"W x 30"H). It works but is in the way in my super skinny hall. And, too, no place for towels, etc.

As for tonight's homework, should be fun. I don't wear make up ... and yet a full half shelf in my tiny 3-shelf medicine cabinet is make up. Silly.

Does anyone know how I can replace the magnet on the cabinet door? Mine hasn't worked for a few years now, and I'd like to add that to my list of tasks.

In my old rental apartment, the tiny sink was set into a narrow cubbyhole. However, the counter wasn't wide enough, leaving a 2.5" space on one side and 3.5" gap on the other. Not only was I deprived of a valuable six inches of extra counter space, at some point, everything fell down into the dark chasm between the undersink cabinet and the wall--tweezers, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, makeup wand, earrings...ugh.

I moved last year, and I love my larger, brighter bathroom with roomy countertop and spacious undercounter storage. Only complaints are the emerald green shag carpeting (getting rid of this spring) and that the old chrome medicine cabinet is so small But least I can liven it up with contact paper!

I like the contact paper idea. Makes it nice to open the medicine cabinet and see something pretty that you like. You can also remove the screws and re-paint the inside if you'd like in a fun color or maybe fun some stencil design. I think I may do that tonight...my 1/2 bathroom is in a mermaid theme and I have mermaid stencils.... :oD

Where did you find the chevron contact paper? I've been looking for something similar, but can only find DIY tutorials on how to make your own

i don't know much about contact paper either or where to get it. is it easily removed as well? me and my hubs are renting so its crushing to feel like i can't decorate walls or other flat surfaces - command adhesive hooks have solved my need to hang pictures, but i've no way to spruce up cupboards and the pre-existing furniture without marring it.

I just finished cleaning out the medicine cabinet. Yay! It was pretty easy (not much in there) but I remembered another thing I use to mask some imperfections in there. Magnetic sheets. I printed an image off of the internet and mounted it on magnetic sheeting to cover some rust spots on the back wall. I'd love to paint in there but the places where the glass shelves go are welded in and would be impossible.

Magnetic sheets work well with postcards, too. Or maybe some high quality wrapping paper! Pretty and if you rent, easily removable.

For amymartha: Here is some pretty grey chevron contact paper at amazon: http://tinyurl.com/b3nhsdc

I was really lucky this time around, the 1 bedroom im in now is spacious but with a small bathroom, however I do have under sink storage.. not much though. I try to decide whats worth being under there and the rest goes under the sink in the kitchen. Its hard to keep everything you need in a small bathroom!

Regarding no storage w/a pedestal sink. You can get some storage (better than none) by putting a skirt around the sink. I've done this by basting and gathering (like an actual skirt) the fabric, then adhering it using mounting tape. However, the most effective and long-lasting skirt I've seen was where my friend used a long spring in the pocket sewn into the top of the skirt, then actually secured the spring on small hooks on either end where it met the wall. Then the gather was distributed evenly with no problems throughout the skirt.

Love your idea for the back wall of the medicine cabinet! I'm going to try that!

I love the contact paper! I also hear ya on the small bathroom with limited storage space woes. We live in a older house with three bedrooms and one bath. Now, one bathroom works just fine for the two of us but I would love a bit more space. We do have an under sink cabinet but we have to use our hall closet, just outside the bathroom, for most storage since that cabinet is the only storage. I do have a wall cabinet on my project list. :)

MCross, thanks for the link! I was looking for contact paper months ago and never found this on amazon! On the subject of contact paper, I wanted to advise people not to order Tempaper products. They are exactly equivalent to contact paper.

Replacing the magnet in the door is easy, and literally the first thing I thought of when i saw this picture. New magnetic catches run less than $5, and all stainless steel will get rid of that cheap yellowing plastic look - yuck!
http://tinyurl.com/ac8ejtf
Swap out the hinges too and it will look like a whole new cabinet!

We rent, too, with a limit on holes in the walls. Watch those command adhesive things! I had a glass frame up for three years and it suddenly gave way. I was using the strongest one out there and was under the weight limit. It slid down the wall taking down two of my favorite plates with it. The frame corner landed on our kitchen table and left a dent that could not be repaired without putty and a paint job. Thank goodness I wasn't in love with the table and it was cheap so I just replaced it (Ikea). Also, had to replace the print as the glass had shattered and scratched it. Now when I do dusting I take everything down that is up with those hangers and check that they are secure. It wasn't the first one that gave way, just the worst one.

I use shelf liner in our kitchen for the cupboards. It's not ideal but I don't have to worry about pulling up the paint when I remove it all like contact paper.

Where can I find magnetic sheets?

I scored a couple rolls of aqua chevron paper at Marshall's- the brand is, I think, Macbeth. (http://themacbethcollection.com/)There were two rolls packaged together for $5.99. I have been using it to spruce up the storage in my kitchen, and even considered covering the wall tile in my kitchen with it (decided against it after wasting half a roll, the chevrons are not friendly to being cut into 4 1/8 squares to cover individual tiles and just rolling the whole thing across the wall was a mess.)

Thank you for the contact paper idea ,I have same problems as yours plus very old (in excellent shape if clean) tiny all white hex tiles on floor which is impossbile to keep clean all time inspite of me cleaning bathrooms twice a day ,any foot marks,hair ,dirt,or anything that's not white will immediately show,I'm so tired of getting on my knees twice a day to keep bathrooms look clean.
For storage I bought these two : http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?MC=1&sku=118244& ,not the greatest solution but better than no storage at all .

I got the contact paper at Marshalls, it's by The Macbeth Collection.

Thumbs up on the Contact Paper route, I've just been doing the same at work....resurfacing cabinets and tables with black Contact!! Admittedly they aren't "work surfaces", but it comes up a treat, especially when you can't quite justify replacing a whole piece of furniture! And great for adding a pop of colour or pattern in shelving units...

P.S. Once that Contact is on, though, it ain't coming off so easy, so I would warn other readers to be careful where you use it.....

Also have a tiny bathroom. 18" sink and cabinet! Really! The previous owner had put up a HUGE wall cabinet that although it held a good amount was the first thing you saw and took up the whole wall. That came down very quickly. I moved all non essential bathroom items like band aids and first aid items into a clear shoe organizer that hangs on the door to our small linen closet just ouside the bathrom in the hall. It actually works better because I can see everything all at once instead of digging through the cabinet. And for the super organized each pocket can be labeled.

We have lived in military housing off and all for my ENTIRE life which resulted in living with less than ideal decor... initially. I've used granite looking contact paper (purchased at Lowe's) on all my kitchen countertops... it held up beautifully. And NO I did not baby my countertops... it was a WORKING kitchen i.e. cooking, baking, lots of canning, etc. IN the bathroom I hot glued a skirt on the sink to provide storage... I've also used the spring and cuphook method when the wall was not tiled. Heavy duty wrapping paper has lined my drawers as well as the backs of cabinets for years. Over the door organizers have been life saving as well. Good luck!

Why did you stop at the shelves? It would have been a fantastic surprise to look into the cabinet and see the pattern on the rear wall.