{"id":464,"date":"2026-09-07T17:51:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T09:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/?p=464"},"modified":"2026-09-07T17:51:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T09:51:30","slug":"how-do-i-add-open-storage-with-a-bathroom-shelving-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/how-do-i-add-open-storage-with-a-bathroom-shelving-unit.html","title":{"rendered":"How do I add open storage with a bathroom shelving unit?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Right, you&apos;re asking about open storage in the loo? Brilliant question. Honestly, most people get this dead wrong. They just bung a cheap unit from the DIY superstore next to the sink and call it a day. Disaster waiting to happen, I tell you.<\/p>\n<p>See, the bathroom&apos;s a beast of its own. The steam, the splashes, the&#8230; well, the general dampness. You can&apos;t just treat it like a bedroom shelf. I learned that the hard way. Back in my first flat in Shoreditch \u2013 tiny bathroom, mind you \u2013 I got this gorgeous reclaimed pine ladder shelf. Looked absolutely stunning for about&#8230; three weeks? Then the wood started warping near the shower. Had a permanent sad curve to it. Looked like it was trying to escape.<\/p>\n<p>So, let&apos;s talk about the **bathroom shelving unit**. That&apos;s your anchor. But the magic isn&apos;t just in the unit itself, it&apos;s in how you *use* the space *around* and *on* it. Open storage is about making things accessible, not just visible clutter.<\/p>\n<p>First thing&apos;s first: **look up**. Walls are your best friend. Floating shelves above the toilet or beside the mirror? Game changer. I fitted some simple, chunky white ones from a proper joiner in Brixton Market last year. Used proper anchors because plasterboard won&apos;t hold a thing once it gets damp. Now, that&apos;s where my nice towels live, rolled up. And a little ceramic pot for cotton buds. Looks tidy, feels airy.<\/p>\n<p>But the unit itself \u2013 say, a standalone cabinet with open cubbies \u2013 needs to breathe. Don&apos;t cram it in a damp corner. Give it some room from the shower curtain. And for the love of all things holy, **style it with intention**. It&apos;s not a dumping ground! I use woven seagrass baskets in the cubbies for the not-so-pretty stuff: extra loo rolls, cleaning sprays, my mountain of hair masks. Then on the open top, that&apos;s for the showpieces. A beautiful glass bottle for hand soap, a trailing pothos plant in a terracotta pot (they love the humidity, actually), maybe a scented candle for a bit of ambiance.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, materials! This is key. Avoid anything that&apos;ll sulk in the moisture. Solid teak, acacia, properly sealed bamboo \u2013 these are your mates. Or go for metal with a good powder coat. I saw a lovely black powder-coated steel unit in a friend&apos;s place in Chelsea. Looked industrial-chic and wiped clean in a second. Plastic can work too, but it&apos;s got to feel substantial, not like it belongs in a student halls.<\/p>\n<p>And here&apos;s a little secret I picked up from a photographer friend with a stunning Victorian terrace bath in Hackney: **use the back of the door**. A simple, slim over-the-door rack with a few shelves. It&apos;s out of the way, but holds all your daily essentials \u2013 toothpaste, floss, that fancy serum you actually remember to use because it&apos;s staring at you. It&apos;s pure genius.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, it&apos;s about layering. The **bathroom shelving unit** is your main stage, but the walls, the door, even a little trolley if you&apos;ve got the space \u2013 they&apos;re your supporting cast. It creates that lovely, collected-over-time look, where everything has a spot and you&apos;re not rummaging under the sink for a clean flannel at 7 AM.<\/p>\n<p>Just start with one piece you truly love. Build out from there. And maybe avoid reclaimed pine unless it&apos;s miles from any water source. Trust me on that one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Right, you&apos;re asking about open storage in the loo? Brilliant question. Honestly, most people get th&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bathroom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1215,"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464\/revisions\/1215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bathroomsai.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}