You never fully realise just how many bath towels, shower mats, and travel-sized soaps you have until you decide that it’s time to make more space in your bathroom. Stacked behind your mirror cabinet, cramped inside your sink cupboard, and littered around the corners of your tub with bottles, soap, and all sorts of cleaning tools and brushes.
While keeping everything you need to hand is considered practical, potentially causing things to spill or fall can lead to some dangers of its own. And in a bathroom with slippery bathtubs, water splashed onto the floor and solid tile flooring–reducing the chances of your stuff rolling under your feet or becoming a tripping hazard is vital!
It’s all about using the space in a smart way, with clever storage ideas that help you to keep everything neatly tucked away. Because you know what makes a small bathroom even smaller? Clutter.
At MobilityPlus, we have a solution to help you get around this conundrum. That, of course, is to get creative with your bathroom storage ideas.
It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to maximise the little space you have left in your bathroom or if you’re trying to fill up open space in a large room–we’ve got a solution that can work around adaptable walk-in showers or entire wet rooms. If it’s bathroom storage ideas you need, then look no further, as we’ve got plenty of ideas to help you turn your bathroom storage from clutter to practical, while still looking stylish and supporting accessibility needs.
Start with a declutter
Before you start measuring up your free wall space for new shelving or rearranging all your bathroom cupboards, we recommend you start with a good ol’ declutter first. That way, you’ll have a better idea of how much extra storage you may need. The last thing you’d want to do is go overboard and have shelf after shelf completely bare, or the opposite, where you haven’t fully utilised your space and it ends up looking more cluttered than ever.
Clutter in a bathroom can lead to tripping hazards, especially if your bathroom is being revamped to accommodate limited mobility with a walk-in bath or walk-in shower. The last thing you want is to navigate around more obstacles when moving in and out of the bathroom.
Maximise space with clever vanity units
Once you’ve decluttered all those half-empty travel bottles of shampoo and dust-coated hotel soaps, you’re ready to get creative. If you’re looking for more streamlined ideas for storage in the bathroom, then you might first want to try maximising the space with some clever storage solutions. Think drawer organisers and under-sink cabinets that offer practical yet cleverly hidden storage options.
Wall-hung vanities can be a great way to avoid having to bend down, and keep your essentials at easy reach and eye-level for better visibility when looking for your items. If you would prefer to keep everything under your pedestal sink, then a built-out cupboard could also utilise unused space. Plus, if you’re a wheelchair user, the items are closer to the ground and can therefore be easier for you to access.
Add open shelving for easy access and style
If you don’t have a wet-room or your space allows you to open wall shelving, then this style of storage is a great way to keep things in view and readily accessible.
- Think floating shelving, ladder shelving, or alcoves that are great for both functions and can be aesthetically pleasing. Open shelving is a very popular style at the moment, particularly as it follows the minimalism trend. They also create the illusion of more space as they don’t clutter up the space.
- Alcove storage is especially handy if you have a large walk-in shower, as it can be used to avoid littering the shower floor with products – keeping them off the shower floor is also much safer. Plus, if you have unused or empty wall space, creating alcove storage adds a new dimension to the room whilst also creating more storage.
Use vertical space to your advantage
Looking for more unique bathroom storage ideas? If you need to make the most of the vertical space you have (you may have a bathroom with high ceilings) then the following options can work really well:
- Over-toilet shelving – Let’s face it, your toilet isn’t a main feature. However, you can make it look more aesthetically pleasing with a shelf positioned just above your toilet. You can put a nice frame or a house plant to draw attention away from the toilet.
- High wall-mounted cupboards; they’ll really break up the space and add dimension to your bathroom. These are an excellent option for high ceilings, and they highlight the fact that you’ve got more wall space.
A common misconception about bathroom storage is that it needs to look clunky and generic, but clever positioning, additional lighting, and bathroom-friendly plants can make even a simple ladder shelf or over-toilet shelf more unique to your space and needs.
Incorporate built-in storage for a streamlined look
Do you want your new bathroom storage to blend in or really maximise every inch of free space? If so, built-in storage could be the way to go; it can blend in with your cleverly designed wallpaper, panelling, or fixtures, but still serve the purpose of keeping your bathroom supplied close to hand. You can also customise to your personal needs, for instance, if you want a small unit built right next to your walk-in bath (so that it looks joined), there’s nothing to say you can’t do that.
Counter-top organisers and basket storage
If your bathroom doesn’t allow for any built-up storage solution, due to a lack of wall or floor space, then countertop organisers and basket storage boxes can help you manage the items you have more efficiently. They can be inexpensive and added to your countertop or used to better organise the storage space you do have.
Not only can clever organisers and boxes help maximise small spaces, they can also serve a second purpose–to conceal personal items as well as make messy drawers or shelves look more organised. Decorative baskets, boxes, and organisers can be used to hide the items you don’t want in view, but ensure that you can still keep your personal stuff close to hand. We love when storage is dual-purpose, decorative, and cost-effective all in one!
Don’t forget to keep your space unique to your needs
The most important thing to keep in mind when you are in need of new bathroom storage ideas is that it’s your space, your bathroom, and you can add or remove as much as you want to suit your personal preferences and needs. Yes, pretty alcove storage for your daily bathroom essentials can be a good idea, especially if you have a walk-in shower and want to avoid items ending up on the floor, but no matter what shelves or cabinets you add to your space, as long as they work for your needs, that’s the main thing.
You don’t want a bathroom that looks beautiful but doesn’t meet your needs, or one that’s practical but lacks personality. If you’d like more inspiration for decorating accessible spaces or adding more disability-adaptions, have a browse through our MobilityPlus blog; it’s filled with clever storage ideas and smart space-saving tricks.
