Small bathroom wall storage ideas — 5 easy ways to keep your toiletries tidy

Finding and using clever small bathroom wall storage ideas is a quick way to tidy up your countertops and make the most of all your vertical room.

We've spoken with design experts who are pros at making the most out of small rooms to find out what they hang up in small bathrooms and why. From marvelous medicine cabinets to lovely ladder shelves, they have plenty of genius tips and tricks.

When it comes to small bathroom ideas, using vertical space is a smart move, as walls provide so much surface area to play with.

Small bathroom wall storage ideas

Removing items from surfaces and hanging them on the wall instead is a great design trick to make a small bathroom appear bigger.

Where our experts have suggested handy solutions, we've also found matching buys to help you get the look.

The prices below were correct at the time of publishing this article.

1. Add a shower caddy

Hands up if you know the pain of stepping in the shower and knocking all your bottles over. Yep, nobody has time for this.

“An oval-shaped, multi-shelf hanging shower caddy can be both stylish and practical,” says Mohammad Ahmed, interior designer and founder of The Home Guidance. 

Mohammad Ahmed

Mohammad Ahmed is an interior designer and home expert. He has worked as an interior designer in various companies, designing functional and beautiful spaces for clients, including small bathrooms with wall storage.

He continues, “It's perfect for organizing shampoo, conditioner, and even decorative items like small indoor plants.”

If you’re looking for small bathroom ideas for couples, you could always split these shelves out per person, to keep your different lotions and potions separate.

2. Hang up wall hooks

One of the easiest ways to step up your small bathroom wall storage game has to be by adding hooks to the wall.

Mohammad explains, “These are so versatile, and are perfect for towels, hairbrushes, and other small items.”

You can hang these high up or low down. For example, you can have one up top for your big towels, and then one right next to your sink for quick hand-drying.

3. Add a medicine cabinet

Make full use of the space above your sink by installing a small bathroom mirror that doubles up as a functional cabinet.

“My preferred solution for maximizing storage in a small bathroom is incorporating a medicine cabinet,” says Jessica Dorling, principal designer and owner of Dorling Design Studio.

Jessica Dorling

Northwest native and ASID-affiliated designer Jessica Dorling has a passion for expressing clients’ intentions through thoughtful home design and construction. One way she does this is with small bathroom wall storage.

To enhance functionality, Jessica suggests opting for an electrified medicine cabinet. 

She adds, “This not only provides a convenient storage space but also serves as a discreet charging station for personal grooming tools such as electric toothbrushes, ensuring they are neatly organized and kept off the vanity.”

Inside this, you could even take things one step further and add a clever organizational idea.

“Utilize magnetic strips or small magnetic containers to store metal items like bobby pins, tweezers, or nail clippers,” suggests Kanika Khurana, principal interior designer and founder of Kanika Design.

Kanika Khurana

Kanika Khurana is the principal interior designer and founder of Kanika Design, a full-service interior design firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She styles many different rooms, including small bathrooms in need of wall storage solutions.

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve lost our tweezers, so this is a game-changing idea we’re absolutely stealing.

4. Add stylish shelves

Sometimes, you’ve just got to go for a classic choice. This is a simple but oh-so-effective small bathroom storage idea. 

Kanika says, “Use shelves to display decorative items, store toiletries, or even keep small plants for a touch of greenery. I also like to use corner shelves to fully optimize the use of space, as these can be installed vertically or horizontally, depending on your preference.”

From sleek contemporary shelves to boho-style wooden shelves, there are so many options for bringing these into your bathroom.

You could even make these yourself if you have any leftover wooden planks from previous projects, for a budget and environmentally-friendly option.

5. Lean a ladder shelf

Renters, we feel you. You might not be able to attach anything to your walls — but this doesn’t mean you can’t lean anything against them.

“A ladder shelf is not only a stylish addition to your bathroom but also a clever storage solution,” says Kanika. "Utilize the vertical space by leaning a ladder shelf against the wall and store towels and baskets of toiletries on each rung.”

The open design of this will provide easy access to your essentials while adding a gorgeous aesthetic flair.

Using wall space is one of our favorite ways to add storage to small homes, as it keeps clutter off the floor, which in turn makes rooms easier to walk through and use. If you want to carry on tidying your shower or bath area, finding more tips for making more space in a small bathroom is a great next move.