Picture this: Me, standing in my bathroom one morning last week at 7.30am (cue eye rolls at breakfast at AIB parent school) staring open-mouthed as the gorgeous floating shelf I’d spent DAYS placing pridefully against my wall was slowly…peeling off. Mind you, it didn’t actually AUTUMN off, it just hovered there…simply relaxing its grip on the wall and sinking itself into the ground. Prisoner style.
It was heart-breaking. Literally watching my Pinterest-worthy bathroom dreams slip through my fingers. I’ve made every mistake in the book when it comes to bathroom furniture.
Yep, even the ladder style towel rail I fell in love with as it reminded me of something I’d have seen IF we stayed in a fancy hotel. Spoiler alert: It only fit 2-3 hand-towels before falling over.
Yes –even that insanely skinny medicine cabinet I thought was ‘so vintage’ was actually way too skinny to store anything other than the mini shampoo bottles I always seem to return from airport hotels with.
And please don’t even get me started on the oh-so-stylish teak shower stool I purchased and watched crumple within weeks under the pressure (ha GET IT) of humidity from taking showers. BUT…I finally think I have it down. Beautiful bathroom furniture doesn’t have to be “matchy-matchy” BUT it DOES need to WORK for you.
Cabinets/Vanities: Where I went VERY wrong. I always assumed MORE counter space meant better functionality, so we opted for a beautiful 48inch single sink vanity that looked AMAZING, but made getting ready each morning a literal game of bumper cars for me and my husband Liam as we brushed our teeth and knocked into each other. Long story short – my friend Sarah has a 60 inch double sink vanity in HER SMALLER bathroom (gulp) and although I thought it looked weird mixing two sinks in what I perceived as a small space…it WORKED for her because she measured her entire bathroom openings PRIOR to buying.
Not only the vanity itself –but how wide her drawer openings needed to be, which way her door opened etc. and how much space there was between her sink and toilet. DUH! Storage.
Where most bathrooms go sadface. Okay. Where the heck do you put crap??
Sorry. Where do you put ALL THE THINGS that always seem to find a home in your bathroom? Extra rolls of toilet paper?
Hair curlers? All the mostly-empty bottles of shampoo we horde? Cleaning supplies?
Band-aids? all of Amara’s bath toys that somehow multiply when I’m not looking….you get the idea. While I have learned there is PLENTY of storage in different areas of your bathroom –you just have to know WHERE to look. I’m obsessed with this skinny pull-out cabinet we were able to slide into the tiny space between our vanity and shower.
To the naked eye it’s merely a decorative panel. Pull it out and voila! You will find loads of storage.
I discovered this brand on Instagram and spent £180 on it (ouch at the time) but it has seriously been awesome for us. It matches our vanity style perfectly and people always ask where I got it from! Seating.
Everyone gets twisted. Bathroom seating…what even is appropriate? Chair or stool?
Meh. If you’RE going to USE IT, then YES! DEFINITELY.
Do you have the space? And do you NEED a place to sit down when putting on your shoes/doing makeup etc? Then yes!
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Get a chair or stool. But if you’re picking out a cute little stool because you saw one in a magazine AND you have no intention of EVER sitting on it except to brush your teeth…you’ll probably just be moving it aside to reach the drawers underneath your sink EVERY SINGLE DAY. Bonus clutter.
I rocked around with this super trendy velvet topped vanity stool for months. It LOOKED nice, and it felt nice sitting down when I was ‘doing my make up THE RIGHT WAY.’ But…the velvet was actually covered in this see-through fabric that showed every. single. water mark. Yuck.
And I ended up scooting it out of the way every morning to reach the drawers beneath our vanity anyway. I ended up replacing it with this cute ladder shelf that still gave me that ‘staged’ feel but allowed me to stash extra towels inside! Sometimes boring stuff can work better.
Ahmir wall mounted furniture has been LIFE FOR US, especially since our bathroom is on the smaller side. However – and here’s the thing – not all walls can support tons of weight and not all wall mounted furniture is constructed with the same quality standards. Case in point: my beloved floating shelf mishap above.
The shelf itself was fine. I simply didn’t take into account how much weight I was going to put on it with my BRUSHES and HANDLESCOMB plus the daily wear and tear of opening and closing those drawers. If you’re hanging things on your walls – invest in good-quality screws etc AND don’t overload the weight limit like I did.
Medicine cabinets are coming back…but only if you get a deep one! Oh joy! Medicine cabinets are making a comeback!
HIGH FIVE – as long as you get one with DEPTH. There is nothing worse than one of THOSE??? Where can you barely fit a tube of toothpaste??
Nah – spend a little extra and get a nice deep medicine cabinet with adjustable shelves. Bonus points if it comes with electrical outlets inside for lighting AND USB charging ports inside the cabinet. (Yes – mine has usb charging ports. They sounded super gimmicky to me too until I realised how INCREDIBLE they would be to charge up electric toothbrushes and Liam’s razor).
Just something that I learned the hard way when styling my bathroom: Your bathroom furniture doesn’t have to match, but it SHOULD coordinate. Okay. We have a mismatch of white painted vanity base units, wood shelves AND black metal accents in our bathroom.
See what I mean?! The reason this works is because I purchased MULTIPLE pieces twice throughout and stuck with a neutral colour scheme. So pick out FOCAL POINTS that you LOVE and buy at least 2 of everything.
That way you can mix-and-match your pieces and it WILL still look intentional. Trust me when I say – if you want to destroy your lovely furniture quicker than you can say ‘slice and bake’ -IGNORE these next few tips: Humans. With feelings.
And baths. Yes humidity/temperature changes are the worst for furniture. Don’t buy solid wood just because it looks “nice.” You need bathroom-friendly wood.
Yes – laminates get a bad rep.
But a GOOD laminate can look nearly identical to real wood grain – yet hold up to moisture SO MUCH better. And if you buy metal accents or fixtures?
Make sure your bathroom is properly ventilated or you will be getting rust spots FAST. The moral of my story? Spend more time thinking about how you USE your bathroom and build around that.
What helps make your mornings more enjoyable? Or create a space you WANT to relax in at night? Then find pieces that accomplish these things and you LIKE the look of.
Yes sometimes splurging on a piece of furniture up front will pay off in the LONG run. And yes, sometimes being crafty with cheaper versions you can repaint/refinish yourself can work too. xoxo. Stephanie
