Bathroom renovations are great for adding value to a home, having a better at-home experience, and adding new functionality to your home. However, smaller bathrooms tend to pose a couple of unique challenges homeowners have to overcome.
In a small space, there’s simply not a lot of room to position everything one expects in a bathroom.
One good way to make the best use of your space is to rethink how you approach storage.
Having said that, we’re here to present you with the best small bathroom storage solutions, so you can maximize your space.
Let’s get right into it.
How Can Storage Changes Help You Create a Better Small Bathroom?
Before we get into how you can change your storage solutions for a tremendous impact, we want to discuss how this works. It’s best to look at it like a budget. The space in the bathroom is your “budget” and each necessity you need to implement has a “price”.
Just like when you’re looking at a really tight budget and have to prioritize things, you have to envision the space and look at it as the budget when renovating a smaller bathroom.
The toilet, bath, and sink take up the bulk of your “budget”. Those are the three features that make a bathroom what it is. That leaves a lot less left over for storage and then decorations.
Rethinking your storage solutions allows you to give as much of that space budget to those three core features as possible while maximizing how much functionality you get from the lower priorities, as well. Essentially, it’s an attempt to get the best of both worlds with just a little clever forethought.
Three Main Concepts for Maximizing Storage Space in Small Bathrooms
There are three main design concepts you’ll want to keep in mind if you want to experience the full benefits of bathroom remodeling when you’re dealing with small spaces.
Let’s start with the easiest one:
1: Multi-Purpose Storage
In a small bathroom, the bulk of the space will be taken up by the three core features. So, to maximize your storage capabilities, you’ll want to find ways to work storage either into those features or into secondary features.
Everything you add that has both a meaningful function and storage space will help maximize your storage without taking up more room.
2: Minimalist Design Concepts
When space is a huge factor, you don’t have the luxury of putting in extravagant details like massive shelves, cabinetry, etc. You have to keep it small and to the point to maximize its functionality. This doesn’t mean it has to look bad, though.
In fact, it can look better. Fancy, luxurious, storage solutions can look out of place in smaller bathroom settings.
3: In-Feature Storage
This is a big one. If you can incorporate the bulk of your most important storage needs into the features that you’re storing supplies for, such as dental hygiene items in the sink or soaps in the bath itself, you can cut back on your need for dedicated storage solutions dramatically.
You can’t do this for everything, but it helps when you leverage it when you can.
Three Storage Solutions to Consider
Finally, we have three storage solutions for you to consider when you’re remodeling your bathroom. These are major changes. So, don’t expect small things such as hanging racks on the door for towels or screwing a toilet paper dispenser into the wall. Although, those are great things to look at to add even more functionality later.
1: In-Mirror Storage/Medicine Cabinet
This was an extremely common feature in homes decades ago, but it seems to have faded out a bit. Every bathroom needs a mirror, and there are several items you need access to when using the mirror. So, why not choose an option that incorporates storage into the mirror itself?
These mirrors typically go over your sink, and they look just like a normal bathroom mirror at first glance. However, you can open them just like a cabinet to reveal a storage space built into the wall.
This is usually enough room for your toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, grooming supplies, and even some basic medicines that you might want to keep in your bathroom.
The most difficult part of installing this type of mirror is that you will need to cut a recess into the wall itself. The cabinet portion of the mirror will be installed into that recess so the actual mirror isn’t sticking out abnormally.
Even with that in mind, this takes care of a massive portion of your bathroom storage needs, you don’t need to clutter up your sink with those items like many people do, and overall, it adds a lot to your bathroom.
2: Under-Sink Cabinetry
This small bathroom storage solution will serve as the core storage solution in smaller bathrooms. Rather than having a sink that is separated from all storage options, cabinetry is built around the sink. This takes an otherwise unused space and turns it into enough storage for your toilet paper, cleaning supplies, extra soaps, towels, or any other larger items you might need in your bathroom.
The only downside to this is that this type of cabinetry can pose a water damage risk. You can’t see the valves that run to your sink unless you look in the cabinet, and those do eventually start leaking and require replacements. Since you can’t readily see them, you might not notice it until a leak has already damaged the cabinet and whatever you have stored.
Paying attention every once in a while can negate that problem entirely.
3: Over-the-Toilet Storage
Finally, installing cabinetry above your toilet is a great idea. Even in a small bathroom, you can typically fit a fairly large cabinet system without worrying about bumping your head. The type of cabinet you get will determine how much storage you’ll get, but this can be great for storing hair care products, shaving instruments, lotions, and other things that you can’t just sit on the soap caddies in your shower.
You’re not using this space, anyway. It’s just an empty wall above your toilet. So, it’s an amazing spot to put in some simple, spacious, storage.
Get Help with Your Bathroom Renovation
Two of these small bathroom storage solutions are well beyond the skill level of the average homeowner, and even a simple cabinet installation needs to be done properly to ensure you don’t have a cabinet drop on you while you’re using the toilet.
As such, you need professional help to get maximum storage in your newly renovated small bathroom. Contact PointVertex Construction, and we can help you fix your bathroom storage problem.
