Inventive Storage Solutions to Maximize Your Bathroom Space

You designed the perfect Pinterest-worthy bathroom. It’s beautiful with its carefully chosen color scheme, floor tile, wall tile, and fixtures. However, you forgot one important thing: Functionality.
A bathroom can look beautiful, but it’s a nightmare for everyday life if it isn’t functional. This means having enough storage space to keep bathroom essentials in the bathroom.

These small bathroom storage ideas will help you get organized and love your bathroom again. They go beyond the standard towel bar and help you figure out the best bathroom organization system for your space. Say goodbye to cluttered counter spaces and hello to a clean and organized bathroom.

1. Stylish Bathroom Storage Ideas

Using wire baskets or bins are easy to use and add natural texture to your bathroom. You can buy bins that will blend in with the interior design approach you’ve chosen. They also come in a wide variety of sizes so that you can find the perfect bin for the available space. If you don’t want to see baskets full of stuff, you can buy some with lids.

If you have an open space under your bathroom vanity, you could place a few baskets there. Just don’t place the baskets on the floor of your bathroom. The floor can get wet, and then the baskets can soak up water. This will encourage mold growth. The baskets under your sink are perfect for storing toiletries. Each member of the family could have their own basket and they eliminate the need for a medicine cabinet.

Other places you could place baskets are on a floating shelf or a decorative ladder. You can find these storage spaces throughout the bathroom so that you can store more bathroom supplies in them. Try not to have bins everywhere, though. This will look overwhelming and cluttered.

2. Utilizing Bathroom Spaces

Do you have a niche space in your bathroom? This is the perfect place to store items. If you have a larger niche, you could install a wall cabinet, shelving unit, or wall shelves. Then you’ll have a built-in storage solution.

What is a niche exactly? It’s a cutout space that looks like an indented or cutout area in your bathroom wall. They’re more of a modern architectural technique. It could be a small square, or a long horizontal rectangle, or a tall vertical space.

If your niche is smaller, then you could leave it open and use the niche as a shelf. Place decorative items in this space. You could have a candle, incense, photo frame, or a small plant. If your small niche happens to be in the shower, you can create a built-in shower caddy.

Smaller niches are better for more decorative items. You can use larger niches for storing towels or hold baskets of smaller items.

3. Organizational Delight

A bathroom rack is a perfect solution for creating additional storage when you don’t want to hang anything on the wall. A rack is a freestanding piece of furniture that has several shelves. You’ll be able to find them in a wide range of sizes, designs, and materials.

If you have a large bathroom with plenty of floor space, you can choose a rack that looks like a traditional shelving unit. Place your rack against the bathroom wall in a space that’s both functional and stylish.

If you have a small bathroom, you could choose a shorter bathroom rack that fits into a corner. Just be sure it doesn’t interfere with the bathroom door. Another option is to use a rack that sits over the toilet. These have long legs that stand on either side of the toilet to support a rack.

The beautiful thing about a rack is that it has open shelving. You can turn this storage space into something beautiful with decoratively folded towels, bins, baskets, or a set of jars. Mix decorative pieces with your storage elements to create a visually appealing display. You could have picture frames, candles, or plants.

4. Crafty and Resourceful

If you have a unique or exceptionally tiny bathroom, you may struggle to find the right organizational system. Instead of getting frustrated, it’s time to start designing and building your own. The easiest DIY project is to create shelving out of 2×4 planks of wood. You could mount them directly on the wall as shelves. Or you could drill two holes in each end, then thread a rope through and create a shelving wall hanging.

There are DIY projects that are more intensive, such as creating your own niche. Decide where you’d like to build a niche and locate the studs behind the wall. Then you can cut out the drywall between the studs to create the hole where your niche is. Finish the inside of your hole with drywall and paint it to match the rest of the wall. You now have a new niche to place items on. You can build your niche to be as small or large as you want.

Not all DIY projects are labor-intensive. You could place a basket with the bottom of it flat against the wall. Mount several, and you have a visual display and a new storage solution.

5. Contemporary Elegance

When choosing a floating vanity for your bathroom, look for one with plenty of storage possibilities. It could have large cabinets, shelves, or drawers underneath. It should also have plenty of counter space on top. You’ll have room on the counter to place your toothbrush holder, jars, and other toiletries on either side of the bathroom sink.

You may find that the drawers are too large to be functional. This is when drawer organizers become useful. You can designate space for your cleaning supplies, toiletries, toilet paper, towels, or anything else you want to store in them.

6. Functional and Chic

If you like the idea of a freestanding rack, but don’t like the idea of the open shelf design, then a freestanding bathroom cabinet is the perfect alternative. These are similar to the open rack but with cabinet doors. This lets you have all of the storage space, but it’s hidden away. If you don’t have a linen closet, then this is a great alternative.

You can find cabinets that are on long legs to stand over your toilet. Or there are tall skinny ones that will fit into a corner. There are shorter, wider cabinets that look perfect next to your vanity. If you don’t have floor space in your tiny bathroom, you can install a wall-mounted cabinet that fits on the wall above the toilet.

7. Standing Cabinet Sophistication

A cabinet-style vanity will give you plenty of individual storage space. They will have several drawers and cabinets for you to use. Don’t assume that you need a large bathroom for this style of vanity, though. You aren’t stuck with a pedestal sink just because you have a tiny bathroom. There are some cabinet-style vanities scaled down to fit comfortably in small spaces.

Your vanity will be on legs and may or may not have a countertop. For the most storage space, plan on using vessel sinks that sit on top of the cabinet. Then you’ll have more space underneath for storage.

For an authentic look, you can convert an actual cabinet or dresser into a vanity. Do this by giving the piece of furniture a makeover by painting or refinishing it. Then install your sink on the top. Now you have a bit of furniture that also doubles as your vanity. Best yet, there will be plenty of storage and counter space.

8. Maximizing Vertical Space

You may not have a lot of floor space, but you probably have a lot of room on your walls. You can utilize this space by placing a tall cabinet in your bathroom. The footprint of these cabinets is relatively small, and could even fit into a corner. They tend to be taller than most cabinets, though. Most are as tall or taller than the average person.

When choosing your tall cabinet, try to pick one that has both open shelving and enclosed cabinets. This gives you the most functionality. You should also pick a cabinet that matches the finish of the other furniture in your bathroom. This could mean a bright white craftsman-style cabinet will look best. Or it could mean you should choose a dark wood cabinet with frosted glass doors.

9. Enhance Your Vanity Area

If you already have a floating vanity for your countertop and sink, then you have plenty of open space below it to install a vanity shelf. These second lower shelves are perfect for creating an easily accessible place for toiletries and supplies.

For a cohesive look, match your shelf to the vanity material. They could be two solid beams of wood. Or maybe they could be a white marble countertop and a lower-level white shelf. Your shelf doesn’t have to be floating, though. Another option is to have a single vanity unit that has an open shelf underneath.

Organize and use your shelf in any way you want. You could have bins or baskets. Or if the shelf is small, you could have small canisters and containers to hold smaller items.

10. Space-Saving Solutions

Installing a wall cabinet can give you additional storage without taking up floor space. These cabinets mount directly onto your walls for small bathroom storage. The cabinets tend to be shallower, so they’re perfect for storing personal items, such as shower supplies, toiletries, and personal items.

In-wall cabinets give you this same amount of storage, but they sit in the walls. This creates a smooth surface and won’t break up the lines of the bathroom. These set-in cabinets are similar to a niche, but there’s a door on the front.

You can size your in-wall cabinet to the amount of space you have available. Smaller bathrooms have enough space for a medicine cabinet. Larger bathrooms could have a cabinet twice that size. Stately master bathrooms could have an entire linen closet built into the wall.

11. Practical and Decorative

The bathroom shelf you install could be as simple as a plank of wood. Or it could be as elaborate as a towel ladder with several places to hang towels. When choosing your shelf, think about material and style. Modern bathrooms look beautiful with shelves made of glass with metal hardware. Farmhouse and rustic bathrooms are perfect for wood shelves.

When choosing your shelving unit, it helps to know what you plan to store on it. Is it going to be decorative or functional? Decorative shelves can be smaller, while practical shelves will most likely need to be larger. Then consider where you want to hang your shelf. This will help you determine the ideal size.

When it comes to the style of your shelf, you could have a simple single shelf. Or you could have several shelves mounted one over the other. They could be individual or connected with a towel rack on the bottom.

For a unique display, look for a shelving unit. You can find some funky designs that are circular, oval, or even triangle-shaped. They could be wire or have several differently-sized shelves. This creates a focal point and a storage solution.

FAQs

How do I maximize my bathroom counter space?

Installing wall-mounted shelves or baskets can help you get toiletries and personal items off the counter. If you have loose items, purchase jars or canisters to organize these small items.

What do you do with empty space in the bathroom?

Empty space is the perfect place to have an organizational item. You could install shelves, a cabinet, drawers, or any other system that will fit into the available space. Scale your storage solution to the size of the available space.

What do I put under my bathroom sink?

You could keep your bathroom cleaning supplies under the sink. Or use this space to store your toiletries. You could use shelves, drawers, or baskets. There are even organizational kits for neatly storing your makeup.