If your bathroom space is limited, use imaginative designing with bathroom storage cabinets to create more living space. Start by asking yourself some pointed questions about your lifestyle and needs so that you can properly identify what is really important to you and anyone with whom you share your home so that your storage space is well utilized. You don't have to be an architect or a construction engineer to improve the quality and comfort of your bathroom – you just need a good plan and a few useful tools.
Assess Your Space
- With a measuring tape in hand, take a careful survey of the bathroom, and measure and sketch the current design with fixtures and furniture in place. Don't forget to include the door and any windows, and note the location of all wall sockets, light fixtures, and switches.
- Creatively examine the unused space in the bathroom. Look at the area above the bathtub, above the toilet, behind or on the door, under the sink or under the window, or any spot that can be used to install a bathroom storage cabinet, hooks, shelves, or racks.
- Consider what items you may want concealed from guests and what can be on display (i.e. items can be stored behind doors or on open shelves).
Assess Your Needs
- Is there space enough to store large bath towels? Other linens?
- Would you like hooks for your dressing gowns? Racks to hang towels?
- Is there room for a laundry hamper or bag?
- Are there children in the house and do you need to store medicines or anything else in locked cupboards?
- Do you want a bathroom chair or need a stool for small children to reach the sink?
- Is there enough counter or shelf space to comfortably place your hair dryer and toiletries when using them? Is there a spot to store them when not in use so that your bathroom doesn't look cluttered?
- Do you hope to create storage space to hold items from other rooms in your home? (Make sure the items can withstand the humidity generated by the shower or bathtub.)
- List all the storage solutions that come to mind when planning how best to use the available space. Don't let your ideas be hampered by the need to make light switches or wall sockets accessible. You can cut holes in the back of shelving units or cupboards if necessary.
Make A Plan
- Check your toolbox and make sure you have a hammer, common and finishing nails, and a variety of screws and anchors. This is the moment you have been waiting for when considering whether or not you really need a standard or cordless power drill or screwdriver, a stud finder, or a useful tool that makes life easier for the do-it-yourselfer. Yes, you need it. Shop now and see how simple your cabinet assembly or construction can be with some of the new specialty items on the market.
- You may have vertical and horizontal spaces in the bathroom that are perfect for free-standing bathroom storage cabinets or modular stacking units. You can hang shelving units on any bare walls, use a rise-and-fall pulley system over the bathtub for drying towels, and install hooks or racks on the bathroom door.
- Sketch in the spaces on your bathroom design plan with the kinds of storage units, cabinets, and containers you would like to have. Check your measurements and list the sizes and shapes you need.
- When you have decided what you would like to install, set up a budget and start shopping. Check out sales, discounts and wholesale products, and don't forget that quality means durability and comfort.
You will be amazed at the variety of styles, sizes, and shapes of bathroom storage cabinets and wall units that are available. Whether you are looking for contemporary white and chrome, casual wicker, stainless steel, or formal finished wooden units, they're out there. Some are fully assembled and others need the do-it-yourself touch. If you can build bathroom storage cabinets yourself, let your imagination run wild. Good storage keeps your possessions safe and accessible, and helps make interior space appear larger. Turn your ideas into reality.
About the Author:
Scott Gray is currently a home improvement enthusiast and freelance writer who enjoys providing tips to consumers about do-it-yourself repairs for maintaining their homes.
