Good to Know: Bathroom Storage
Pedestal sink in my daughter’s bathroom.
Image by Lucy Call.
Extra storage in my daughter’s bathroom.
Image by Lucy Call.
The bathroom can be one of the smallest rooms in a home, but they typically hold more small items (makeup, bottles, soap, medicine, etc) than any other space. This makes clever storage solutions incredibly important for keeping your bathrooms clean, hygienic, and clutter-free. In the past, bathroom storage has been somewhat limited to long, drawer-filled vanities. These pieces of cabinetry can be functional, but hard to incorporate if you’re working in a space, and they are not always the most practical storage option for your home. However, there are now many different storage solutions that you can utilize without being limited to one design or type of vanity.
Medicine Cabinets
When I was in the process of designing my home, I chose to incorporate pedestal sinks in my girls’ bathroom, and console sinks in the master bathroom. I love how clean a free-standing sink looks, and I have loved them in my home. These types of sinks are often thought about as impractical, but that could not be further from the truth. The reality is, you need to plan for external storage if you’re not going to have it under the sink. Pedestal sinks are only impractical if you don’t have somewhere else to put everything you would typically put under a sink.
In my girls’ bathroom, I have utilized one of my favorite storage solutions—medicine cabinets above both sinks. I have three girls who are all sharing the same bathroom, so making sure that they had plenty of space for hair ties, toothpaste, and lotion was key. Medicine cabinets have gone in and out of popularity over the years, but I personally find them very practical. They suck up a ton of storage, and are easier to clean out than a drawer. With the medicine cabinets directly over the sink, we’ve used them store things that you easily need at hand. We have loved them.
Here are a few medicine cabinets that we RECOMMEND:
Vertical Cabinetry
In my master bathroom, we have utilized vertical cabinetry next to our console sinks. For me, having the storage tower has allowed for a lot more practical space than I would have under the sink, and I can more easily see everything that I need. I also think that it looks beautiful and unique.
Click below to watch the full walkthrough of our upstairs bathrooms!
Other storage options for bathrooms:
From our Dutch Fields Project.
Floating shelves - To maximize storage space, add long floating shelves wherever possible. Whether under your floating sink or near the ceiling, floating shelves can be helpful for storing things that you don’t need every day. As you can see in the image at the beginning of this blog post, I added a floating shelf in my girls’ bathroom for extra towel storage.
If you have open shelving, use baskets to help sort your belongings and hide clutter. Click here for a roundup of our favorite baskets.
If you have space in your bathroom that is underutilized, consider creating a narrow storage alcove. Here, you can combine vertical storage and baskets for a low cost, high storage option instead of expensive built-in cabinetry. Click here to see a great example of this kind of storage from StudioDIY.
Add wheels to your storage! If you’re working with a very tight space, add wheels to a bar cart so that you can move it around as needed.
Use built-in shelving - Built-in shelving and cubbies, especially in a shower, will eliminate the need for a shower caddy or other storage solution. It also creates a very clean, tailored look.
For items that you want to leave on top of a counter or sink, sort them on decorative trays. This works well for perfume, makeup, skincare, and jewelry, and can keep your space looking more organized.
Consider adding narrow shelf above the sink. I did this above the console sinks in my master bathroom, and it has been great for jewelry pieces and skincare items that I use every day.
Most importantly, we want to encourage you to think outside of the box! As you’re thinking about the storage needs for your bathrooms, think about your family, your belongings, and what system would truly make your day-to-day life easier. What you choose doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else as long as it works for you and your family.
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