If you’re like me and you suffer from a terminally messy bathroom, you’re probably always looking for the perfect storage solution for all your bathroom necessities (and your not-so-necessaries as well!). One solution is some well-positioned bathroom furniture – but it’s no use buying any old cabinets; you need to think about your requirements first.
Generally speaking, you can find cabinets and drawers in all shapes and sizes. From a tiny medicine cabinet to a full set of fitted bathroom furniture incorporating cupboards, drawers and open shelving, there’s something for every bathroom.
Often available with a mirrored door or doors, the simple medicine cabinet is the perfect solution for smaller items, and perhaps those items (such as medicines) that need to be kept out of the reach of children. Fixed to the wall at around shoulder height, these useful little bathroom furniture staples can be positioned above the basin (especially helpful if they do have a mirrored front), above the toilet to make use of the otherwise wasted space there, or on any wall that’s convenient for you.
Floor standing cabinets are generally larger and more capacious: fantastic for storing bulky items or items you use less frequently. Not ideal for storing smaller items or a number of daily use items, as you could find you spend too much time rummaging around at the back of your cupboards, trying to locate that one thing you know you put in there only last week…
Corner cabinets, as the name indicates, are a piece of bathroom furniture designed specifically to maximise your storage space by bringing an unused corner back into use. These cabinets can be fitted at floor level or up on the wall.
Tall cabinets are a useful piece if you have a limited amount of floor space combined with an unlimited storage requirement. They can be as little as 35cm wide, they can be fitted on a wall, in an alcove or tucked into a corner, and their height means they have lots of internal space for all your odds and ends. They’re also useful looks-wise, for bringing your bathroom together: positioned at the end of a row, they can unite your floor level bathroom furniture with a row of wall hung cabinets above.
Generally situated at floor level, drawer units are useful for organising items. Bottles and jars can be lined up, organised and divided, and are easily accessible from above when you pull out the drawer – no more rummaging to the back of a cupboard for a fresh bottle of shampoo. Good for items that are small and easily misplaced, and also for items you need to be able to find easily; not so good for bulky items as they fill the space available so easily.
If you like your bathroom furniture to be hard working and dual purpose, there is no finer item than the vanity unit. Your wash basin sits on top of or is mounted under the counter of the unit and there’s generally plenty of space on the surface for toothbrushes, soap, and other everyday essentials. Your plumbing is hidden below the basin, and your storage space is tucked away there too. A wide vanity unit will offer you an enormous amount of storage space, in the form of drawers, cupboards, open shelving, or a combination of these, but even a small vanity unit offers an impressive amount of capacity for storing essentials.
Open shelving, beneath a washstand, for example, or on a wall between your units or above your basin, is helpful for daily use items. Glass shelving is transparent and can help a room look larger, but try not to cram it too full or you’ll lose this space enhancing effect.
Finally, to save space inside your bathroom furniture for other items you could think about installing a towel rack. Like an old fashioned luggage rack on a train, these come in traditional or modern styling and can be fitted anywhere you like, including above the bathroom door for truly out of the way storage capacity. Towels can be either rolled or folded, and piled up (not too high!) on the rack.
