Blimey, that's a cracking question, innit? Right, picture this. It's last Tuesday night, I'm over at my mate Dave's new flat in Shoreditch – you know, the one he's been renovating for what feels like a decade – and we're having a proper natter about his tiny loo. Could barely swing a cat in there, bless him. He points at this bare wall above the toilet and goes, "What on earth do I do with *that*? It's just… there."
And that, my friend, is where the magic happens. That vertical strip, from the top of the cistern right up to the ceiling, is prime real estate. Wasted space in a bathroom? Criminal, I tell you.
Now, the classic move is, of course, the **bathroom cabinet over toilet**. But here's the rub – most people just plonk a standard mirrored box up there and call it a day. Big mistake. It ends up looking like a sad afterthought, and you're forever bonking your head when you stand up. The trick isn't just to *put* a cabinet there, it's to *integrate* it.
Take Dave's place. We didn't just buy a cabinet. We measured that wall like we were defusing a bomb. We needed something tall and slender, not wide and squat. Found this gorgeous piece from a little reclaimed timber place in Bermondsey – oak, with these lovely linen-fronted doors. It doesn't scream "BATHROOM CABINET" at you. It goes right up to the ceiling, about 18 inches clear of the toilet pan, so no head-bonking dramas. The top section? That's for the stuff you never use. The guest towels that are too posh to actually use, spare loo rolls, that fancy bath soak from three Christmases ago. The middle shelf, at eye level, is for the everyday bits: toothpaste, his fancy beard oil, mouthwash. And the bottom bit, with the shelves behind doors? All the messy stuff. The spare toilet brushes (unopened, thank god), cleaning sprays, packs of soap refills. Out of sight, but not out of reach.
But a cabinet's just one piece of the puzzle, darling. You've got to think *beyond* the box. Literally. Last summer, I helped my sister with her place in Bath. Her bathroom's got a high ceiling, proper Victorian. We installed floating shelves *above* the cabinet. Not just any shelves – chunky, stained oak ones. That's where she keeps her collection of lovely ceramic jars (filled with cotton wool and buds), a trailing pothos plant that's thriving in the steam, and a few beautiful vintage perfume bottles. It draws your eye up, makes the room feel grand, not cramped.
And lighting! Oh, you can't forget the lighting. A cabinet with a mirrored front is useless if you're standing in your own shadow. We put two simple, brass-walled sconces on either side of Dave's cabinet. Not above it – on the sides. The light washes over your shoulders when you're at the mirror, no shadows on your face. Game changer for shaving or doing your makeup. Found the perfect ones at a salvage yard in Peckham, actually. A bit of a fiddle to wire, but worth every penny.
The key, I've learned through more botched DIY projects than I care to admit, is to make it look intentional. Like it was always meant to be there. That vertical space shouldn't just be a storage dump; it's a design opportunity. A tall, slender cabinet, some open shelving above, proper lighting… it turns a functional nook into a proper feature. Otherwise, you might as well just have a naked wall and a pile of your stuff on the toilet lid. And nobody wants that, do they?
So yeah, that's my two pence. Don't just fill the space. *Curate* it. Think about what you actually need to grab daily, what you need to hide, and what you'd love to look at. Make it work for you, not against you. Right, I'm off – just remembered I need to re-caulk my own shower tray. The fun never stops!
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