8 Bathroom Shelf Ideas (For Small Spaces)

When designing a bathroom with a small floor plan, you may need to get crafty with storage. To keep your bathroom clutter-free, you need to make the most of the small space and introduce creative ways to store towels, extra toilet paper, and any personal hygiene products you may have. But with such small square footage to work with, where should you get started? To kickstart your bathroom remodel, we’ve put together a list of eight bathroom shelf ideas for small spaces that will elevate the aesthetic while providing the additional storage space you need.

1. Install a Shelf Over the Door

You’ve likely heard the phrase, out of sight, out of mind. That’s probably a motto you want to have for your bathroom as well! With so many toiletries and towels to store, it can be hard to keep your bathroom counters looking their best. Instead of cramming everything in the vanity cabinet and hoping for the best, you should consider installing a shelf (or shelves if the ceiling height allows) over top of your door. This will allow you to store items like guest towels that you don’t need to access every day in a place that is easily accessible, yet out of the way.

2. Repurpose a Bar Cart

Just because a bar cart has the word “bar” in it doesn’t mean it can’t serve another purpose as well! Depending on the layout of your bathroom, you may not have good options to add shelving to a wall — and that’s ok! Instead, you can use a bar cart or on-the-floor shelf that can easily be moved around your bathroom as needed to hold toilet paper, toiletries, spare towels, and anything else you or your guests may need to access while in the bathroom. The flexibility of where they are placed around the bathroom is a major bonus, allowing you to pull it closer to the shower or sink area as needed.

3. Display a Ladder Towel Rack

Bathroom storage doesn’t need to be boring. When you’re looking for a way to display your spare towels or make them more easily accessible as you step out of the shower, you may prefer an aesthetically pleasing option like a ladder towel rack. With multiple rungs on the ladder, you can hang up a number of towels on these trendy “shelves” to save you space in your cabinets. It can fit into almost any bathroom, no matter the size, and simply lays up against the wall.

4. Don’t Overlook a Medicine Cabinet

Close your eyes and picture a medicine cabinet. If you’re like most, you probably visualized a classic rectangular cabinet with a mirrored front that would look out of place in most modern-day bathrooms. While you’re not wrong — an outdated medicine cabinet would not elevate your bathroom in the slightest — there are plenty of timeless medicine cabinets that will seamlessly fit into your small bathroom. Instead of installing a standard mirror above the bathroom vanity, consider installing a modern medicine cabinet that will make it easy to store small toiletries that you don’t want cluttering your limited counter space.

5. When In Doubt, Add Built-Ins

The more cabinets you add to a small bathroom, the smaller the space is going to feel. Instead, you may need to get crafty with ways you can create shelving in your bathroom that doesn’t eat into the existing square footage. Instead of adding cabinets or on-the-floor shelving, built-in wall shelves may be the ideal option. By creating negative space in the wall, you’ll be creating new shelving and storage space without compromising any of the already limited floor space.

6. Don’t Forget About the Shower

When it comes to bathroom shelves, we often think about places we can store our towels, washcloths, and other knick-knacks. However, you can’t forget about the toiletries in the shower! Without ample shelving in your shower, you’re going to find yourself stepping around shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles strewn about the shower floor. To combat this disorganized mess, you can install corner shelving in your shower that doesn’t take up much space but offers plenty of additional storage in a small bathroom.

7. Use the Wall Above the Toilet

In a small bathroom, you need to make the most of any available wall space. One area that is often underutilized is the wall above the toilet! Whether you install aesthetically pleasing wood shelving or an over-the-toilet storage system, you’ll create the perfect place to hold bathroom decorations, as well as makeup, spare towels, and more. If you’re looking for more enclosed storage, you can even add in a single cabinet for a bit more privacy.

8. Design a Shower Niche

Another way to reduce the amount of shampoo and body wash bottles on your shower floor is with a shower niche. A niche is essentially a built-in shelf that is carved into the shower wall and built to hold soap, shampoo, razors, and any other toiletries you may need while bathing. You can add some depth and dimension to your bathroom by tiling the shower niche in another color or pattern than the rest of your shower, adding a pop of flair that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I install a particular size medicine cabinet?

Installing a medicine cabinet isn’t a one-size-fits-all project. Choosing the wrong one can leave you with an inadequate amount of shelves to hold all of your bathroom products, while a medicine cabinet that is too large can look out of place and throw off the overall aesthetic. For small bathrooms with vanities or sinks between 18 and 24 inches wide, you should opt for a 15 x 24-inch medicine cabinet. As the size of the vanity or sink increases, the larger your medicine cabinet should be. For sinks between 30 and 36 inches, it is recommended you install a 20 x 24-in medicine cabinet, while vanities ranging from 42 to 48 inches would require a medicine cabinet that is 30 x 24-inches.

Where to install shelves in the shower?

Consider the layout of your shower before determining where the shelves will be installed. Do you want them to be visible from outside the shower or hidden so only those showering are able to see them? How big are the bottles you plan to store and are you planning enough clearance on each shelf? A popular choice for shower shelving is to install them in the corner of the shower closest to the showerhead for easy access while bathing.

How high above the toilet should a shelf be installed?

If you’re considering installing shelves or a cabinet above the toilet, you need to make sure there is ample clearance between the top of the toilet and the bottom of the shelf. The recommended distance a cabinet or shelf should be installed is about 2 feet above the toilet’s tank.

What size shower niche should I install?

When adding a recessed shelf to your shower, the ideal size will be proportional to your shower. The most common size for a shower niche is 12″w x 24″h with a 3.5″ depth, but these dimensions may need to be adjusted if your shower is above- or below-average in size. No matter the size of your shower, you need to make sure the shower niche is large enough to hold whatever toiletries you are planning to store in it.