Right, so picture this: I’m standing in my bathroom last Tuesday morning, electric toothbrush buzzing away, when I catch sight of the spare loo roll balanced precariously on top of the toilet cistern. Three years I’d been doing this. Three actual years of toilet paper Jenga because I couldn’t be bothered to figure out proper storage. That’s when it hit me – I’d spent more time planning my Year 9 river erosion lessons than I had thinking about where to put my bathroom stuff.
My bathroom’s what you’d call compact if you’re being polite, cramped if you’re being honest. It’s basically a narrow rectangle carved out of our Victorian conversion, and when I moved in it came with this builder-basic vanity unit. Two shallow drawers and a cupboard that opens to reveal… well, mostly pipes and that weird gap you can never quite reach. I’d been treating it like some sort of bathroom lucky dip – shove things in wherever they’d fit and hope for the best.
The hair dryer situation was genuinely embarrassing. Because there wasn’t anywhere logical to put it, and the bathroom’s got exactly one plug socket which is usually occupied by my electric toothbrush, I’d been storing it under the kitchen sink. My girlfriend found it there when she moved in and just stared at me like I’d lost my mind. Which, to be fair, I probably had.
But you know what? That ridiculous storage arrangement taught me something important about small bathrooms. The vanity isn’t just where you put the sink – it’s basically your entire storage system. In a big bathroom you might have a separate linen cupboard or loads of wall space for shelving. In mine, I’ve got about three square metres total, so every centimetre of that vanity has to work properly.
Started looking at replacement options and got completely sucked into the world of compact bathroom storage. Floating vanities were everywhere online, and initially I thought they looked a bit too modern for our flat. We’ve kept most of the original Victorian features, so I was worried about it looking out of place. But actually, mounting the vanity on the wall instead of having it sit on the floor makes such a difference to how spacious the room feels. Plus – and this is the bit that sold me – you can actually clean underneath it properly.
Found one at a bathroom place in Clifton that was 24 inches wide, which seems to be the sweet spot for tiny bathrooms. Any narrower and you’re basically washing your hands in a soup bowl. Any wider and you can’t squeeze past to get to the loo without doing some sort of awkward sideways shuffle. Cost me £280, though I’ve seen similar ones online for about £200 if you don’t mind assembling flat-pack furniture on a Sunday afternoon.
The drawer situation was where I got properly excited about organization. You know those plastic cutlery dividers from IKEA? Turns out they’re perfect for bathroom drawers too. Top drawer now has sections for daily essentials – toothbrush, face wash, that expensive moisturizer I pretend to use religiously. Bottom drawer’s for backup supplies and all the random stuff you accumulate but don’t actually need every day.
Made one crucial mistake though. Picked a really shallow sink basin because I thought maximizing counter space was the priority. Seemed logical, didn’t it? More counter space equals more room for stuff. Wrong. Shallow sink means every time you wash your hands or brush your teeth, water goes absolutely everywhere. In a small bathroom, ‘everywhere’ includes all over your carefully organized counter items. Spent two weeks constantly mopping up splashes before admitting defeat and swapping it for a deeper basin.
Wall storage around the vanity has been brilliant. I know putting a shelf above the toilet is the most obvious small bathroom move in existence, but there’s a reason everyone does it – it actually works. Got a narrow one from B&Q for about £25, and it holds spare towels plus all the backup toiletries that used to live in random cupboards around the flat. Also installed a small wall cabinet next to the vanity for cleaning supplies. Nothing fancy, just an £85 job from one of those budget furniture places, but it freed up so much space in the vanity itself.
My friend Sarah’s got a corner vanity in her downstairs loo that’s genuinely genius. Her bathroom’s even more cramped than mine – it’s basically a converted cupboard under the stairs – and the corner unit means she got proper storage without it sticking out into the walking space. Came with a triangular medicine cabinet above it too, so she created this whole storage zone in what would otherwise just be dead corner space.
Been thinking about open shelving instead of cupboard doors too. Sounds mad when you’re trying to maximize storage, but open shelves force you to keep things tidy because everyone can see them. Plus they don’t swing out into the room, which in my narrow bathroom would be a constant source of bruised hips. Using nice baskets and containers to keep smaller items organized, and it looks much cleaner than having cupboard doors that you have to navigate around.
Replaced the basic medicine cabinet above the vanity with one that’s got interior lighting and adjustable shelves. Cost £120 but the extra light makes such a difference when you’re trying to see what you’re doing. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve attempted to put on mascara in the dim light from that overhead bulb and ended up looking like I’d been in a fight.
Saw some vanities online with built-in electrical outlets, usually inside the top drawer. Sounds fancy but they’re becoming more common, and they’d solve my hair dryer storage problem completely. No more trailing leads across the bathroom or keeping appliances in random kitchen cupboards. They start at about £400 which isn’t cheap, but when you factor in how much tidier everything looks…
The measuring bit nearly caught me out. I mean, I measured the space where the old vanity was, obviously, but I didn’t think about all the other measurements that matter. Distance between vanity and toilet, clearance for the loo door to open properly, how far the bathroom door swings – it all affects whether you can actually move around comfortably. Ended up making a paper template and taping it to the floor before ordering anything, which felt a bit excessive but saved me from making an expensive mistake.
Nearly chose a vanity with drawers that would’ve hit the waste pipe too. Sounds obvious when I say it now, but when you’re looking at nice photos online it’s easy to forget about all the plumbing lurking behind the scenes. Always worth checking what’s actually going on back there before committing to anything.
The bathroom’s still tiny – it’s never going to be a luxurious spa situation – but it actually works now. Everything has a proper place, I can find what I need without archaeological excavation, and my morning routine doesn’t involve a treasure hunt. Plus that toilet paper finally has somewhere civilized to live, and my hair dryer’s back where it belongs instead of hiding under the kitchen sink like some sort of displaced appliance refugee.
