How to organize your home: bathroom _Storage_Strategies

Awell-planned bathroom blurs the line between utility space and living space; it is both functional and aesthetically pleasing at the same time. The secret to finding the right balance is to first determine what each bathroom really needs to serve its purpose, then to look for storage solutions that meet those needs while complementing the overall scheme.

A busy family bathroom may have very different requirements from a half bath used primarily by guests. In the former, it's OK to store toiletries and medicines out in the open and to hang wet towels on the back of the bathroom door. In the latter, only essential powder room supplies are appropriate:

soaps, hand towels, lotions, tissues, etc. Homes with a Single bathroom present a bigger challenge, but this can be met with a combination of concealed storage and practical but attractive accessories. Consider the

following options and strategies to find the best plan for your private or public retreats.

An assortment of economical bathroom storage units and accessories can be found at most neighborhood home centers. For more distinctive pieces, shop online, where you can find a full range of styles and designs from classic American to modern.

Bathroom storage options:

For sheer quantity of storage space in any bathroom, you can't beat a traditional vanity

cabinet or a built-in linen closet. They're ideal for storing everything you don't want out in the open and for keeping towels and paper products clean and dry. The tips on page 64 can help you make the most of these workhorse storage units. If you're lacking a cabinet or closet, perhaps you can find room for a freestanding storage cabinet, such as an armoire or a small chest of drawers.

The medicine cabinet is another reliable standard, ideally sized and located for storing the jumble of small bathroom items you need every day. Recessed cabinets with mirrors are a prime example of efficient bathroom storage: 

the cabinet box uses the free space between wall studs, while the mirror provides an essential bathroom feature-all with virtually no loss of room space. As an alternative, wall-mounted medicine cabinets with solid-wood doors offer space-efficient concealed storage in a furniture-quality unit. Deeper wall cabinets can hold bulkier items like towels and toilet paper rolls without taking up floor space.

Shelves can be a real boon to a bathroom storage plan because they can take almost any form and fit where other units won't. A wall-length ledge capping a tall wainscot of paneling or wallpaper provides a natural visual transition and is great for holding glass jars, perfume bottles, and display items. Small glass shelves above a sink work well in lieu of a medicine cabinet or vanity drawers. For a nice custom shelving unit, you can build a niche inside a wall-stud cavity and finish it with tile or another washable surface.

And don't forget the empty wall space above the toilet:

it can be filled with custom wall-to-wall shelves or a freestanding or wall-mounted

etagere.

Hardworking bathrooms can never have too many hooks or towel bars. Make sure you have them within arm's reach of the tub or shower, as well as next to each sink. In addition to holding wet towels, hooks are great for hanging bathrobes and c lothes, shower bags, and totes fi lled with extra bath supplies. 

Empty wall spaces can double your towel storage when bars are mounted with one above the other (you can also find double bars that hang two towels in single fi le). If you'd rather not use up wall space with standard hooks or bars, you can substitute with a floor-standing towel tree or, for a creative touch, a conve ntional coat tree.

And keep in mind that hooks and some bars can go almost anywhere-on furniture pieces, at the front or sides of vanity cabinets, on door and window trim, or on the bathroom door itself.