As I have mentioned in my post on 5 Tips for Maximizing Space in your Kitchen, my husband and I purchased our first home about a year ago. While it is certainly more spacious than anything we have had in the past, it has its quirks and limitations for sure. In addition to the kitchen storage being tight, I had initially experienced a similar situation in the bathroom.
Our previous rental had this wonderful little linen closet. I kept all of our bed linens, towels and dog grooming essentials in this closet. It was extremely useful to have this additional storage space upstairs in between our bedroom and bathroom. When we moved, I noticed that our bathroom configuration was such that the former bathroom linen closet had been converted into the laundry closet by the previous owner. Having the laundry in my bathroom is convenient, but the drawback has been - where do I store the extra towels and supplies that I used to keep in that little linen closet we had at our previous rental?
The Solution(s)
Bathroom Shelf- I had seen one of my friends add floating shelves to their bathroom to maximize storage space. It was brilliant! I had the ideal empty space in my bathroom, but instead of using floating shelves I opted to furnish it with a metal etagere. The shelves were the perfect storage solution for all of my towels, candles and bathroom knick knacks. Yes, I needed a few knick knacks so that my etagere didn't look strictly utilitarian. The last thing I wanted was to create a display shelf that had an inventory look!
Baskets- I was fortunate to have the opportunity to gut my bathroom before we moved in (thank goodness!). We only have one bathroom in our house and it was severely outdated when we bought the house. Since we had a month between closing and moving in, we decided to take care of the bathroom renovation (the renovation would require that the bathroom be out of commission for at least 3 days while they did the flooring). Included in the renovations, was a new sink console.
As is the way whenever you are under time constraints, nothing ever seems to go smoothly. The sink console I had originally selected (with tons of cabinets and drawers) was backordered for months (just my luck!). In an effort to be adaptable, I opted for a sink console with drawers and a lower shelf. Just like the kitchen, I was able to increase storage space on this bottom shelf by adding these Water Hyacinth Baskets from the Container Store. This provided the additional space needed to house all of our dog grooming products, cleaning supplies and bathroom paper products. I also found a smaller matching basket to use on my display shelf for storing extra hand towels and washcloths.
Every house has its own set of challenges, but I have learned that there is always a solution! Just be patient, do your research (i.e. Pinterest, Magazines, Friends' Houses) and avoid the inventory look. You will be surprised at the storage potential of any given space when you take the time to figure it out. I know I have!
