Did you know that most people spend around 30 minutes a day getting ready in the bathroom? That translates to more than 182 hours of our lives spent in that little room every year. When you spend so much time in a room, you want it to be the best room it can be. With a little organization and design, you can transform this room from a messy, cluttered washroom into a clean, luxury bathroom.
To that end, below, you will find fourteen bathroom counter organization ideas to help you achieve the beautiful, functional bathroom you will love.
1. Minimize Quantity
Before you can start organizing your bathroom counters, reducing the number of items you have in the bathroom is a good idea. Start by going through baskets, drawers, cabinets, surfaces, and anywhere you might have products or items. Then, decide what you need to keep in there and what you can either store elsewhere or get rid of.
2. Choose Quality
Once you’ve decided what you need to keep in the bathroom and what you don’t need, think about where you can improve the quality of items on your bathroom counter or their appearance. For instance, if you have liquid hand soaps, invest in a hand soap holder, sleeve, or even a reusable container with some style. These seemingly small things can make a big difference in the overall appearance of your bathroom and counters.
3. Use Every Space
We all have a few essential items we need easy access to every day in our bathrooms, but there are always items we use infrequently. This is where you will want to use every space, not just countertops. Take your less important things off the counter and keep them in drawers, cupboards, shelves, or baskets on the floor. See Ideas 5 & 6 for specific ideas on keeping items in any of those places while still having an eye out for design.
4. Keep Essentials Out
Resist the urge to put everything in a concealed drawer or cabinet – you will regret it. Instead, keep the essential items you use daily on the counter. Toothbrushes, hand soaps, hand towels, and other products should be placed on the counter for easy access.
5. Trays & Baskets = Organized
Use trays or small baskets to keep the items on your counter organized and give some visual appeal. A tray placed underneath a clock, a toothbrush holder, and a hand soap dispenser can bring everything together and make these items look like they are part of the design of the bathroom. Baskets can be used on countertops to hold taller items or to conceal them partially. They are also valuable for cabinets, on shelves, or on the floor to keep things organized and in their place.
6. Cabinet & Drawer Dividers
In addition to trays and baskets, other essential organizational elements in bathrooms are cabinet and drawer dividers. You can use clear, plastic drawer organizers to keep items in your drawer separate so that you don’t have cotton swabs and lip gloss sliding everywhere.
7. Simplicity is The Best
For bathroom counters, it is best to use the simplest storage containers, baskets, or trays that you can find. Avoid flashy fabric baskets, patterned mosaic trays, or colorful containers, as you will want the overall appearance of the bathroom and counters to flow together as a cohesive whole.
8. Glass Jars Are for Every Style
One specific storage container that works with every style is a glass jar. If you like DIY tasks, you can use old jars from pickles, jam, salsas, or anything for this purpose. Start by removing the label and using rubbing alcohol to remove any sticky residue, if necessary. Then, thoroughly clean the jar with warm water and soap. You can use glass jars on your counters for organizing toothbrushes, cotton balls and swabs, and anything else that fits.
9. Make It Match
When choosing baskets, trays, or other storage containers for your bathroom, it is crucial to ensure they match. Not all containers can be identical, but sticking to a style, such as only using wicker or woven rope, or keeping to a color scheme, such as white containers, will help keep everything cohesive.
10. Use Wall Space
One more way to free up your bathroom counters and organize them is to harness wall space. If you do not already have shelves on the wall, putting some in is a good idea. You can place smaller shelves directly above your sink and counter. Wall baskets are another helpful organizing tool, especially for holding soaps near tubs and showers.
11. Organize With Design
Since everything on your bathroom counters is visible, this is an ideal spot for combining organization with design. If you like antiques, then use antique metal cans for storing items. On the other hand, if sleek and modern is your style, a marble tray would be a designer’s item of choice for your counters.
12. Flowers
Bathroom counters, even when organized, can vary in appearance from over cluttered to unbearably stark. The solution? Flowers. Whether your bathroom’s style is rustic like a cabin or crisp like a luxury hotel, natural or artificial flowers can add a certain freshness and color to the room. Rustic bathrooms would benefit from wildflowers, while luxe bathrooms would look ideal with white lilies.
13. Stick To A Theme
Whatever you do when organizing and designing your bathroom, you must stick to a theme. Your design theme could be entirely traditional or highly unique and personal; it is up to you. Regardless of the style you choose, you will want to stick to it for every aspect of the bathroom, from the countertop containers to the hardware for your drawers.
14. Coordinate Colors
Sometimes bathroom counters, even with perfectly organized items, can look messy. Why is this? Usually, it is because of color. If a high-contrast color is used for a container, it can draw the eye to the assortment of items inside it. This is why it is important to coordinate the colors you choose. Some contrasting colors can be put together, but generally, the cleanest appearance comes from colors that are of a similar shade. For instance, a white bathroom would look beautiful with pale pink or pale yellow accents, and a dark cabin-like bathroom would benefit from warm taupes.
Bathroom Counter Organization Ideas
Organizing and designing your bathroom can lower stress levels and make your bathroom a nice, inviting place to be in. After all, you must spend time in it, so why not make it functional and beautiful?
BUT – You don’t have to design your bathroom alone! Our bathroom design services are for anyone looking for experienced professionals to help them achieve their dream bathroom.
