Small Bathroom Storage Solutions
If you're forever looking at your bathroom and asking yourself: "Has it always been this small?" – you’re not alone. From toiletries to towels, makeup bottles to cleaning products, our bathrooms house countless items that make keeping everything neat and tidy a real challenge. However, we’re here to put your mind at rest. The fact is that you can make your bathroom space work harder and more effectively with the right small bathroom storage ideas.
Alicia (@emeraldterrace) makes a splash with deep blue scheme and an upcycled vanity unit.
We’re talking about cleverly utilising vertical spaces like above the door, in the shower, and under the sink to house bathroom shelves and storage units. There’s also opportunities to get creative with multi-purpose items, such as a laundry basket that doubles up as a sturdy table top when not in use. We reckon you’ll love whizzing from bedroom to bathroom with moveable tables and trolleys too – just be careful!So, forget taking out a small loan to rip out your bathroom and start again. A DIY approach and some expert guidance is all you need to rework your small bathroom into a luxurious and more practical space. And all on a modest budget too 🙌Plan To Scale
First and foremost, making the space in your bathroom work harder is about planning your small bathroom ideas to scale. Because as handy as that large under-basin cupboard may seem, if the shelves are too far apart, you’ll find yourself spending an age rooting around for your teeny toiletries in the morning.Instead, you want to have tall narrow-depth drawers or more shelves installed closer together. You’ll not only be able to see everything in seconds, but you’ll also save on floor space.When planning out your bathroom furniture storage units, the prep is all in the planning and we recommend putting pen to paper. Draw it, write it – do whatever works best for you and consider these three key questions:What am I storing?
Nope, we don’t just mean ‘toiletries’. You need to know exactly what items you’ll be storing and only keep the ones you’ll use. That means it’s time for a throw out! Whether you have some unused bath and body sets from Christmasses ago or a funky looking moisturiser that belongs in the bin, you want to end up with only the essentials .Have I grouped my items?
To make it quicker and easier to locate your items when you’re still bleary eyed in the AM, sort them into meaningful categories. The best thing you can do is position items where you’ll use them. Shampoo and shower gel near your shower or bath, make-up near the best-lit mirror in the room, and so on.Will this work for me?
We’ve all been there. With the best will in the world we try to organise our lives and, a few days later, we’re back to having messy drawers. Avoid this by separating your cupboards into sections by using jars, pots, baskets and dividers. Now everything has a place!
Save Space With Shelving
Not only will our handy storage hacks for your bathroom help you save space, they’ll keep the floor as clear as possible too! Here’s one you may not have thought of before. Why not fix a shelf above or beside the bathroom door? It’ll be perfect for spare towels, odds and ends and a leafy plant or two for a luxury spa feel. Try an aloe plant – they love humid environments.If you have an en-suite or cloakroom and have even less space to work with, slimline bathroom storage is the way to go. Specifically, we recommend installing a slimline cabinet above the toilet, as well as open ladder-style shelving. This will bring a structured feel to your space and help you see exactly where everything is. As the shelves have an open back, you can see the wall behind and your bathroom won’t feel crowded. Do yourself a favour by keeping daily-use items like your soap and toothbrushes at either hand height or eye level. Either way, you can’t miss them. For bulkier items like towels, loo rolls or cleaning products, store these at the bottom.Be Flexible With Furniture
One of our biggest small bathroom tips is that even the teeniest bathroom can be enhanced with even more helpful storage. You just need to know where to look.For example, if there’s space beneath the bath, why not repurpose this and slot in a drawer? Or, try getting inventive and using items for different purposes. One minute you could have a laundry basket for clean towels, but as soon as the lid goes down, you’ll find yourself with a sturdy table top for hand soap, moisturiser and towels. As part of our October Upcycle Challenge, Alicia at @emeraldterrace completely transformed a vanity unit into a unique piece of furniture AND a handy storage solution. After prepping the unit, which she bought for a bargain £40 online, she drilled holes for the basin and tap and secured it to the wall. Once the plumbing was sorted out and she replaced the shelf inside, Alicia popped on the finishing touches – her Plank LENNON Button Knobs and HOFFMAN Brass Hooks for her hand towels. See it on her Insta for yourself!Another two-in-one space saver is a wall-hung mirrored bathroom cabinet. It’s the perfect home for your bathroom accessories and by reflecting the light, it’ll create the illusion of a larger space. What’s not to love?Get Hooked On Wall-Hung Furniture
Take advantage of the ultimate magic trick of bathroom storage hardware – wall-hung furniture! Flaunting clean lines and a contemporary ‘floating’ look, wall-hung furniture like cabinets, hooks and towel rails help free up valuable floor space and create the impression of a larger room. But that’s not all. They’ll also make cleaning your floors so much easier because you’re eliminating any hard-to-reach (and often ignored) nooks and crannies. If you choose to have cabinets raised from the ground, you’ll find that you won’t have to worry about them deteriorating from any damage caused by a wet bathroom floor.Here at Plank, we’ve got your small space bathroom ideas taken care of and offer a first-class range of hooks. We want to make installing your bathroom furniture as easy as possible, which is why we provide the fixing screws and wall plugs you need to get the job done quickly.Firm and solid to the touch, our hooks make hanging up your snuggliest dressing gowns and heaviest towels a breeze. Our LEVI Square Hook is purpose-built with a curled overhang at the bottom and sharp, forty-five degree angled protrusion at the top, allowing it to hold two items. Hang your mirror and bring a statement geometric vibe with our PORTER Circular Hook, which like all of our modern hooks, is available in sophisticated Solid Brass and edgy Matte Black options.
Keep your towels tidy and dry, with our HOFFMAN Hooks.
Make The Most Of Your Shower Walls, Too
The minute you step into the shower, it should be a haven of relaxation where you leave any worries or stress behind. You really don’t want to be tripping over your shampoo or sliding on a bar of soap left lying around! That brings us to one of our quickest and easier small space bathroom ideas – a shower caddy. No drilling or constructing needed, just hang it over the top of your shower and neatly tidy away your toiletries. Most caddies give you at least two shelves to play with, helping you keep your products separated and organised.If you’re a bit wary of hanging anything in your shower, try a wire rack instead, which sticks straight onto the wall of your shower. Or if you have a shower curtain rather than a door, you can opt for a hanging mesh caddy. What’s so great about this is that you can place it either side of the curtain and store items you’d use after showering like face wash and a hairbrush on the outside.Use Movable Tables
If you’re someone who flits between the bedroom and bathroom in the morning, arms overflowing with make-up and hair products, you’ll love this next one. With a trolley or moveable side table, you can have a complete beauty station to wheel back and forth as needed. No more items splayed across surfaces or palettes at risk of smashing. Just put whatever you use the most in baskets or crates at the top of the trolley and work down the crates or shelves in order of priority (are you noticing a pattern?). When you’re done, you can either keep the trolley stored against a bathroom wall, or wheel it back into your bedroom. It’s that easy!There you go – you’re ready to make a big impact with your small space. Clutter-free, easier access to your daily items and bang on trend, your bathroom will undergo a complete transformation. Like we said earlier, just start by reassessing the potential of your space and deciding what areas can be used better. See our post on Small Walk In Pantry Ideas.Once you’ve worked your magic and your bathroom’s all done, tag @plankhardware #PlankProjects and show us the results, yeah? 👍
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