[Posted on December 12, 2016]
We chatted some time ago with Kelley Carter, Senior Market Editor at Real Simple magazine about de-cluttering your home, from the office to the bedroom. Today, we return to the topic of de-cluttering one room in particular: the bathroom, where a plethora of beauty products and heaps of towels can overwhelm what should be a calm, clean space.
Organizing a bath for storage is no different from organizing your kitchen or office, in the sense that there are many elements that need order. Look for storage opportunities between fixtures, where you can hang hooks or shelves, and to contain the clutter, be it in baskets, a closet, or a vintage cabinet.
If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated linen closet, take advantage of Mindy Matouk’s advice for getting the linen closet in order. And also peruse our Linen Closets & Laundry Rooms board on Pinterest.
But first, step into some bathrooms that do storage right.
If you’re planning a bathroom from scratch, definitely consider incorporating niches that are deep enough to store towels, and baskets to hold other items you want to keep under cover, like hair dryers and toilet tissue. Although open cubbies require you to be tidy, it’s worth the effort. A closet requires a lot of space to accommodate framing and a door; niches are light and airy, and also affords for easy ins and outs.
Top image: Left: Styled by Marie Delice Karlsson; Right: Clementine & Olive.
Glass and chrome bath furniture is readily available, but we prefer more mobile and interesting solutions. A bar cart stocked with all you need is easy to stock and move around the space. You can even store the cart in the hallway, just add flowers for a decorative touch. The photo on the left pictures a vintage planter used in a bathroom holds soap shampoo, washcloth, and a rubber ducky, and has a more unique silhouette than newer versions from big box stores.
Also borrowed from the bar, if you’re so inclined, a tray makes a mess seem suddenly chic. On the left, L.A.-based fashion designer Heidi Merrick crowds a jumble of perfume bottles on a silver tray in her simple, white bathroom for a relaxed, yet pulled together effect. On the right, New York City interior designer Ryan Korban groups his beauty products on Venetian glass, then adds a black and white, silver-framed photo.
There’s plenty of other storage solutions for a bathroom, but the ones we like best capture otherwise unused real estate. Don’t let your door go to waste! Unless you have a full-length mirror back there, put it to use, with multiple hooks or towel bars. In the photo on the left, notice the glass shelves, often hung on the wall above the toilet (which, by the way, if you do that, hang two or three, not just one!). And, if you can, use a recessed medicine chest rather than hanging a mirror. But beware before buying, as sometimes pipes run up behind the wall, making recessing a problem.