15 Clever Ideas for Maximizing Your Bathroom Storage

I can’t wait to live in a home that’s big enough for me to take a bath without having to look at a toilet. If I ever go on House Hunters, the only thing on my wish list will be a luxurious, spacious bathroom with a separate commode. But until that day comes, I’ll be doing everything I can to maximize the storage space I do have in my small apartment bathroom.

If you think about it, in almost every bathroom, the toilet backs up to a blank wall. It’s the perfect canvas for creative storage solutions, and it’s a great space to fuse form and function.

Check out eight stylish ideas below:

Floating shelves are the perfect way to show off your chic bathroom accessories―candles, apothecary jars filled with cotton balls, fancy bath bombs, sparkling perfume bottles, etc. You can find simple shelves at most home stores, and they’re usually affordable and easy to install.

Something that you can lean against the wall, like a ladder-type shelf, is perfect if you’re renting or have tiled walls that are difficult to drill into. This shelving unit won’t damage the walls, and you’ll get rods to hang towels and linens, or narrow shelves to store beauty products, candles, and other toiletries.

Add some vintage charm to your WC, as well as storage space. A cabinet is great for hiding the mess and all those not-so-aesthetically-pleasing toiletries. It's especially great if your bathroom doesn’t have a vanity.

If you don’t have a linen closet, solve your towel-storage woes with a wine rack. This is a great way to show off monogrammed or custom towels, and you’ll always have a clean one within easy reach. Just roll ‘em up!

Store prescription bottles, Mason jars filled with cotton balls, lotions, and other bathroom necessities in a spice rack-inspired cubby. This reclaimed wood version will add a rustic apothecary feel to any washroom.

Get the most out of all your bathroom’s angles—install a corner shelving unit, or a couple of corner shelves like this one. Add dimension, pizazz, and practicality all in one go.

Do you have a piece of furniture someone gave you that doesn’t really fit in with your living room or bedroom? Take another look, and see if it would work as mounted storage in your bathroom. A unique, vintage piece is a great way to add charm to a simple washroom, and you’ll get extra storage space, too.

These aren't the crates of your college days! Mounting crates in that awkward over-the-toilet space is an easy DIY project, and you can use the boxes to store rolled-up hand towels, toilet paper, and other toiletries.

Sure, we’ve seen plenty of options for over-the-door towel racks (and we’ve all had one at some point, right?), but if your towels are housed elsewhere in the bathroom, the back of the door is still begging to be made useful. A storage rack holds soaps, canisters, plants, oh, and towels! Win-win.

If you’ve got a lot of stuff and not a lot of room for it, installing shelves closer to the ceiling is a great option for minimizing clutter at eye-level. Backup body wash, extra towels, and spare cotton swabs can all be stashed up high for when you need them.

If you’ve got a large enough bathroom (I’m very jealous, FYI), a glass cabinet is the perfect place to tuck all necessities away. The best part? The items inside are protected from dust and debris.

So, you don’t have a traditional cabinet-style vanity. Who better to the rescue than IKEA, of course. These little corner shelves actually butt up against each other perfectly to wrap around the sink’s plumbing and store all the things you might stash behind doors.

Okay, this one requires a bit of DIYing, but for bathrooms with odd corners and angles, it’s often best to just work with the structure as opposed to against it. Here, custom cabinets were installed over the toilet to provide extra storage and slightly conceal the bump-out below.

Of course, a slim little storage cart is the ideal option for those low on space but stocked full of bathroom essentials. Stash it between the sink and toilet for a hide-able, functional storage system.

Who said credenzas and buffets are just for entryways and dining rooms? Not us. A low and long cabinet makes the perfect home for just about anything you can think of, and it looks beautiful, too.

Do you have any one-of-a-kind bathroom storage hacks? Tell us about 'em below!

This article was updated in February 2021 to add even more bathroom storage ideas.

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