When I moved into my rented condo I was faced with a dilemma common to many tenants of old apartments: a lack of bathroom storage. Thankfully, my landlord had at least renovated the bathroom, installing a gorgeous large sink, glossy white tile, and a large mirrored cabinet over the sink. But let’s face it – only a true and devoted minimalist would find one cabinet to be sufficient storage space.
The wall over the toilet would have become home to another wall cabinet, if it wasn’t for the ugly, old, broken and oh-so-permanent wall heater that lived there. And by permanent, I mean not-gonna-come-off-without-a-sledgehammer permanent. (Just for the record, I wouldn’t have installed an over-the-toilet hutch, no matter how “attractive” it was. I hate those things.)
I had only one option: utilize the narrow floor space next to the sink/across from the bathtub. Do it attractively and cheaply, of course. This is what I came up with:
Inspired by a good friend who built a massive wall of bathroom storage using only simple Ikea drawers, I picked up two sets of Fira Drawers from Ikea. They currently offer three different drawer configurations (Update: RIP Fira Drawers…)
I stained them a combo of two colors – blue and green – to tie in with the beachy accessories in the bathroom. Voila!
I sorted all my little bathroom items into the drawers. I’ve got a lot of travel-size toiletries that I collect from hotels. They’re super handy for guests to use (or for me to grab if I run out of something at home).
What I love about the small-drawer approach is that there’s a place for everything. Soaps and deodorants up top, a tooth-care drawer, a razor drawer, a nail care drawer, etc.
Next steps: I think I’ll get two more drawer units to set next to the current ones. I’d like them to look a bit more substantial. I’d also like to install wheels on them so that I can roll them out of the way when I scrub the floor. (I tell myself it will encourage me to scrub it more often!)
What about you? Any tricks up your sleeves for clever bathroom storage?
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