My Mother Just Invented the Most Gorgeous Way to Use a Toilet Paper Holder

The humble toilet paper holder is one of the most versatile accessories available today. Editors at Apartment Therapy have discovered endless ways to use toilet paper holders to elevate their spaces — from a quaint plant display in the kitchen, to custom belt storage inside a closet. It turns out, the best way to use this handy tool doesn’t involve toilet paper at all!

And now my mother has joined the ranks of people who found creative ways to use this bathroom item. I’ll admit that my mom hadn’t known toilet paper holders were a thing until she read Apartment Therapy’s daily newsletter (Karen, if you’re reading this, you’re famous!) and saw how one writer used a toilet paper holder to organize sunglasses. But after buying the aforementioned toilet paper holder, she opted for a totally different way to use it altogether — and it’s so ingenious, I’m definitely stealing it for my own home.

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If there’s one obsession I’ve inherited from my mom, it’s a desire to always have my home smelling great — especially when guests are over. My friends joke that I always have a minimum of three candles burning in my small 400-square-foot Manhattan studio apartment. One of those candles is always burning in the bathroom (whatever a guest is getting up to in there, I want it to smell as pleasant as possible — almost as if they were using a public restroom in a French boutique hotel).

For a truly chic, effortless way to ensure a candle is always throwing off soothing scents — without cluttering precious space on a sink’s countertop — you should place a candle directly into the toilet paper holder.

A three-wick candle fits into a toilet paper holder with ease, and, depending on where you choose to mount your toilet paper holder, the nearby vicinity will be constantly bathed in a lovely scent of your choice. My mom attached hers just to the left of the sink, close to the toilet, which means guests are always just a foot or so away from fresh citrus notes. Nothing could be more pleasant!

It’s also a pretty ingenious way to showcase gorgeous candles that add an extra flourish to your bathroom. And don’t forget that the toilet paper holder itself can contribute to the overall design moment: My mom loves vintage-inspired details, so she chose a brassy model that perfectly complements the warm, cozy earth tones she’s working into her guest bathroom. 

If you don’t want to drill and mount your toilet paper holder into the wall like my mom did, I would opt for a faux candle instead. Also be sure to place your new candle holder in a spot where the flame is away from anything that can catch fire (under shelving or near a hand towel is a no-no!).

I can’t wait to bring the same glamorous detail to my bathroom at home; my guests will never guess that this $25 storage tool was ever designed for anything else. What can I say? Moms really do know best!