If you don't live near an IKEA, you can just purchase a plain towel rod and some "S" hooks at your local hardware store.

The only thing I don't LOVE about the Grundtal series is the way it attaches to the wall. We solved this dilemma in our bathroom by slipping a scrap piece of pre-finished teak plywood (with two slits cut out) over the rack.

See picture from our blog (www.chezerbey.com) here:

http://chezerbey.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/towelbar_120708.jpg?w=400&h=533

LaurenZ , that is a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing it!

These shelves also work really great vertically underneath cabinets: http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/un-chris-nguyen/item/78041

love your place-creativeintheory. it's so serene. great idea for grundal as well.

IKEA is like the 80/20 rule writ large. 80% of their stuff is just unmitigated crap - cheap (and cheap looking), flimsy, disposable crap. But if you pick through the crap much like at a flea market, 20% of their stuff are real gems. I've used the Grundtal line and unlike some of their shelving systems that use various kinds of thinly veneered fiberboard, the Grundtal is solid and sturdy - and the burnished finish gives it a nice modern look that resists the kind of tacky scratching & spotting you get with the chromed garbage they sell at Bed & Bath, and such.

I don't know if I would use it in a living, bedroom or hallway (for the aethestic reason cited by LaurenZ), but the look works just find in a kitchen or bathroom (or inside a cabinet or closet)

The Grundtal shelf finally solved my bathroom storage woes. Clawfoot tubs are beautiful (and comfortable, according to my bath-taker roommate) but where do you store the shampoo and other drippy use-it-in-the-bath stuff? My bathroom is both small and weirdly shaped, which didn't help either.
My eventual solution was to hang a Grundtal on the wall at the head of the bath so it overhangs the tub. Two of these Ikea plastic baskets (with drainage holes drilled in) sit on the shelf perfectly: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40118272
Plus, the S-hooks are perfect for bath puffs (and, when coupled with the little storage pots, razors too!).

These look relatively easy to install. May need to pick some up for the next apartment.

I have a Grundtal and am afraid that if I tug hard enough on the paper towels (which sit in the Grundtal paper towel holder), it will rip out. Can anyone recommend the right kind of drywall sinker for maximum weight bearing? Not sure I have studs in the right location for the screw holes.

... really ErinE??? I can't say we're ever had that problem with ours. We just used 3/16 plastic drywall anchors, and we haven't had any problems.

erinE-there are these metal anchors that look like "fat" screws with a hole in the middle. You drill them directly into the sheet rock. (no need to drill a hole with a bit) Then you screw the actual "screw" into the anchor. one size holds up to 50lbs. the other holds up to 100lbs. i do a lot of interior decorating. So i hang lots of art, drapes, etc. these are the easiest, fastest anchors that i have found. sorry i don't know what they are technically called.

Yes, alicia13z is right. I used the "fat" plastic screws with a hole in the middle and they work great. They don't pull out of the wall like other plastic anchors. Just ask for them at your local hardware store.

thanks for the tips, alicia13z and rexrayfan. i will try those!