So there I was last week, standing in our bathroom at half past seven in the morning, watching the floating shelf I’d been so proud of literally peeling away from the wall. Not dramatically – just this slow, depressing sag that made my heart sink. I’d spent ages choosing that particular shelf because it looked so sleek and modern in the photos, completely ignoring the fact that it had absolutely nowhere to store anything except two pathetic little drawers that I’d crammed so full of toiletries and cleaning products that they barely shut anymore.
That moment – watching my beautiful design choice literally falling apart – made me realize something pretty obvious that I’d somehow missed: bathroom furniture that looks gorgeous but doesn’t actually work for your life isn’t gorgeous at all. It’s just expensive frustration stuck to your wall, slowly coming unstuck.
I’ve done this so many times it’s embarrassing. There was that ladder-style towel rack I bought because it looked like something from a fancy hotel, except it couldn’t hold more than a couple of hand towels without tipping over completely. The vintage medicine cabinet that was too shallow for anything except those tiny travel bottles you get on holiday. And don’t get me started on the teak shower seat that warped within about six weeks because, shockingly, bathrooms get steamy. Who could have predicted that?
Here’s what I’ve figured out though, after making pretty much every mistake possible: the best bathroom furniture doesn’t just look good in photos. It makes your morning rush less chaotic, your evening routine more relaxing, and – this is important when you’ve got a toddler who thinks bath time is a water park – your cleaning sessions much less of a nightmare. Style and function aren’t enemies, they just need to work together properly.
Take vanities, which I got completely wrong the first time. I thought bigger was automatically better, so we got this massive 48-inch single-sink vanity that looked impressive but created this ridiculous morning dance where Liam and I kept bumping into each other trying to brush our teeth. Meanwhile, my friend Sarah has a 60-inch double-sink setup in her actually smaller bathroom that works perfectly because she measured everything first – not just the vanity itself, but how much space you need to fully open drawers, where the door opens, how much room you want around the toilet. Revolutionary stuff, apparently.
The storage situation in most bathrooms is honestly depressing. I mean, where exactly are you supposed to put all the stuff that just accumulates? Spare toilet paper, hair straighteners, the collection of half-empty shampoo bottles we all seem to collect, cleaning supplies, plasters, all of Amara’s bath toys that multiply when I’m not looking… it’s endless. But I’ve learned that good bathroom furniture hides storage in places you wouldn’t expect.
My absolute favorite piece right now is this narrow pull-out cabinet that fits in the tiny gap between our vanity and shower. Looks like just a decorative panel from the front, but the whole thing slides out and holds an ridiculous amount of stuff. Found the maker through Instagram – cost me £180 which felt like loads at the time but it’s been brilliant. Matches our vanity perfectly and everyone asks where I got it.
Seating in bathrooms is where people get really confused, and I totally understand why. Do you actually need a chair or stool? Honestly, it depends on whether you’ll use it. If you’ve got space and you actually sit down to put on shoes or do your makeup or whatever, then yes, it’s great. But if you’re squeezing in some tiny stool just because you saw it in a magazine, you’re probably just creating another thing to clean around.
I tried this gorgeous upholstered vanity stool for a couple of months. Looked amazing, felt lovely when I sat down to do my makeup properly. But it was covered in this light fabric that showed every single water mark, and I kept having to move it out of the way to get into the vanity drawers. Eventually swapped it for a wooden ladder shelf that gives the same visual interest but actually holds towels. Sometimes the less obvious choice works better.
Wall-mounted storage has become my secret weapon, especially since our bathroom isn’t huge. But – and this is really important – not all walls can handle heavy furniture, and not all wall-mounted stuff is made equally well. That floating shelf disaster I mentioned? The shelf itself was fine, I just hadn’t thought about the weight of everything I’d cram into it, plus the daily wear of constantly opening and closing those drawers. If you’re going wall-mounted, invest in proper fixings and maybe don’t push the weight limits like I did.
Medicine cabinets are having a moment again, and I’m here for it, but only if you get one that’s actually useful. Those really shallow ones that barely fit a tube of toothpaste? Skip them completely. Look for ones that are at least four inches deep with adjustable shelves, and if possible, get electrical connections for internal lighting. I found one with USB charging ports inside, which seemed a bit gimmicky until I realized how brilliant it is for electric toothbrushes and Liam’s shaver.
One thing I wish someone had told me earlier: your bathroom furniture doesn’t have to match exactly, but it should look intentional. Our current setup mixes white painted vanity with natural wood shelving and black metal bits. It works because I used each element at least twice and stuck to the same basic colors. The key is having some kind of plan, not just buying individual pieces you like and hoping they’ll work together.
Here’s something else that’ll destroy beautiful furniture faster than you can blink: humidity and temperature changes. Don’t ignore the practical stuff just because you want things to look pretty. Solid wood looks gorgeous but needs proper treatment for bathrooms. Laminate gets a bad reputation but good quality versions look almost identical to real wood and handle moisture so much better. Metal fixtures need proper ventilation or they’ll get rust spots quicker than you’d think.
My advice, after getting this wrong multiple times? Start with what you actually do in your bathroom every day and work backwards. What would make your morning routine smoother or your evening wind-down nicer? Then find pieces that do those jobs while looking how you want them to look. Sometimes that means spending more upfront for quality stuff that’ll last. Sometimes it means getting creative with cheaper finds that you paint or modify yourself.
The point isn’t to create some perfect showroom bathroom – it’s to make a space that works beautifully for your actual life, mess and all.
