10 Tips for Organizing Open Bathroom Shelves

by Quick and Dirty Tips

Open bathroom shelving is a great opportunity to combine organization and design. Here are Domestic CEO's 10 tips to make sure those shelves are both functional and fashionable!

Bonsoni.com // Flickr

Storage in a bathroom always seems to be a dilemma. Whether you have a lot of storage space or a little, organizing that space is a challenge.

The typical bathroom storage unit needs to accommodate a variety of personal products, including towels, toilet paper, tubes, bottles, and so on. If you take stock of how many things you store in your bathroom, you'd be surprised at the number of different items. That's why making the storage area work and look good all at the same time gets a little tricky.

At my household assistant company - Moxie Girl - we offer home organization as one of our services. We recently accepted the challenge of organizing open shelving in the bathroom. This took a bit of planning and ingenuity.

The mission? To transform the existing shelves into a place with accessible storage for bathroom essentials while still making it eye-appealing. After all, it is open shelving. Not only is it storage, but it also functions as art for the bathroom!

Here are the top 10 tips for creating decorative bathroom storage - plus awesome before and after pictures!

Matt DeTurck // Flickr

Tip Use baskets to consolidate items and create visual interest

Let's face it, tubes of triple antibiotic ointment and boxes of bandages are not pretty to look at. Store all your first-aid items in a pretty basket or decorative box. It's easy to find exactly what you need at your favorite discount store. Ikea and Home Goods also have loads of fun options for storage bins and baskets. Choose containers that coordinate with your bathroom decor. Even better - add decorative labels so everyone knows what goes where.

Scott Norris // Flickr

Tip Place items that are most frequently used within arm's reach

You don't want to go digging around for the toothpaste every time you want to brush your teeth. Store items used every day in a convenient, easy-to-reach location. Use jars or short vases as a way to store the not-so-pretty stuff you use daily.

Flower Factor // Flickr

Tip Use decorative items (like vases and plants) to make use of awkward spaces

Quite often built-in storage or even some purchased shelving units have shelves that are different heights. For a tall area that needs to be filled, try using a stylish vase, plant, or even a piece of artwork. Just because you're loading up shelves doesn't mean everything in them has to be a useful item. Adding a bit of decor to your storage shelves suddenly makes them an eye-pleasing room addition.

J Mark Dodds // Flickr

Tip Make the best use of what's already available

Check what you have around the house before going on a wild spending spree for your storage and display items. One of my clients had some of the baskets we used on her shelving just sitting unused in a closet. Even if some of the things you own don't perfectly match, that's OK. When everything is too matchy matchy, the space takes on a monotonous look - and where's the fun in that?

Maegan Tintari // Flickr

Tip Upcycle your existing storage and decor items

Don't forget, if you've got some storage pieces from days gone by that aren't the right color anymore but are still in great shape, don't forget about spray paint. You can breathe new life into an old, tired piece simply by giving it a fresh coat of paint. That ugly, mauve-colored storage box suddenly becomes a show-stopper when painted a vibrant yellow or energetic turquoise!

Lea Aharonovitch // Flickr

Tip Show off your towels

Fold towels neatly to provide organized, presentable storage. When it comes to open shelving, neatness does count. Take a few extra minutes to fold all the towels in the same uniform manner. Another display or storage option for towels is to roll and store them in a basket sitting on its side. A basket of folded or rolled washcloths suddenly becomes not only storage, but eye-pleasing bathroom art.

clarkmaxwell // Flickr

Tip Don’t forget the bathtub toys

Store your kids' tub toys in an adorable, brightly-colored bin or basket and set this on a bottom shelf. This way, you’ve got organized bathroom storage that's also pleasing to the eye. Teach kids to round up their tub toys at the end of bath time to keep an organized, clean look to their shelf.

Kevin Stanchfield // Flickr

Tip Add a personal bath time picture

Besides the essentials, add a framed picture or two of bath time to your open shelves. No, I don’t mean a picture of you or your spouse - I mean a photo of your kids making funny faces in their bubble bath. That's a surefire way to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

No kids in the house? How about a picture of your pooch in a bath!

prettyinprint // Flickr

Tip Be innovative with storage pieces

Using mason jars or small juice glasses to store cotton swabs, cotton balls, or other small items is an inexpensive, yet stylish choice. If you’ve got numerous jars or stored items, set them all together on a tray and suddenly your mish mash of jars becomes bathroom art. You’ll have form and function all at the same time.

Rafael Castillo // Flickr

Tip Think outside the room

Why not enhance your morning bathroom routine with music or coffee? Adding a small iPod docking station to play music or a mini coffee maker to your open shelving suddenly gives your bathroom an upscale hotel feel. Just imagine getting up in the morning and your coffee is ready to go just steps from your bed. Or enjoy relaxing music as you settle in to a warm bubble bath!

10 tips for organizing open bathroom shelves, bathroom ideas, organizing, shelving ideas

When styling the open shelving in your bathroom, think about what makes you happy. What will make this space more personalized? Get your storage containers loaded in first and then add the personality around it. Your favorite small piece of art or that cute little jewelry box from your favorite aunt will add your own individual touch to a room that you spend a good amount of time in.

Organizing open shelving in the bathroom is not so overwhelming once you break things down into steps. I hope using these 10 easy steps for creating beautiful bathroom storage inspires you to add some beauty to your bathroom. Start your day in a happy way!

Do you have great looking storage in your bathroom? Show it off by posting a picture on my Facebook page, or tweet me the images! Also, check out more creative storage ideas for your home on my Pinterest page.

Until next time, I’m the Domestic CEO helping you love your home.

Originally posted here: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/house-home/organization/10-tips-for-organizing-open-bathroom-shelves

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1 question

Debi Smith on Nov 07, 2015
What about a bathroom so small I don't even have a vanity or shelves any where. No storage space or no room.

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3 of 5 comments

Lauren365 on Nov 07, 2015
the pic for tip #1 looks like cookie monster!! sorry, that's just what my eyes see ;)

6 Reply
- Lisa House on Nov 07, 2015
  OMG, it does! Love it
  
  2
Kathy t on Nov 07, 2015
with small bathrooms, I love floating shelves. a couple over the toilet area gives you plenty of space for extra towels and tp. a shorter shelf just to the right or left of the sink gives you plenty of space for toothbrushes, etc. they come in so many sizes and colors now. super easy to install

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