Looking to add more storage to your bathroom? Don’t forget about the space above the toilet. There are lots of great ‘over the toilet’ shelf and storage ideas to make the most out of this small space. In this article we’ll look at 15 inspiring bathroom shelves over the toilet ideas.
These ideas include:
- wall-mounted shelving units
- floor-standing toilet storage units
- and some other really unique over the toilet shelving ideas
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Note: This article has been updating to feature 15 bathroom shelves over the toilet ideas…I’m always trying to improve my articles to help you more.
Table of Contents
Bathroom Shelves over Toilet & other Over the Toilet Storage Ideas
It can be tough finding enough storage space in a bathroom – especially if you have a pedestal sink! So an area you can look to add extra storage is above the toilet.
Making use of this vertical space is a great way you can store bathroom essentials and still have them within easy reach.
And luckily there are a lot of options for you.
Not all of these over the toilet storage ideas will work for you…but is there one that’ll help you finally get your bathroom organized?
Let’s get started with the various over the toilet ideas.
1. Simple Wood Shelves above Toilet with Corner Braces
The ladies at “The Merrythought.com” did a great job on their small bathroom makeover. They utilized some simple wooden shelves to give the space a great aesthetic and punctuated all the white with green foliage.
It provides good over the toilet storage, but open shelves like these means your items will be on display… unless you get some nice baskets.
2. DIY Floating Shelves over Toilet
Floating shelves above the toilet can add a nice decorative touch while providing more storage.
The photo above is from ThriftyDecorChick.com On her blog she has instructions on how to make these cool shelves. These wooden bathroom shelves sure add some coziness to the room.
Video Tutorial
If you have some basic tools (a circular saw and drill) then you’ll be able to make your own floating shelves by checking out the video below. He does a great job of explaining the process and making it easy to understand. And the dark stained wood looks great against the white walls.
3. Other Floating Shelves
Above is a “floating” shelf made by SODUKU and is available for sale on Amazon. They screw into the wall through the metal piece at the back of the shelf.
It comes with the separate towel holder. And towel bars are great in a bathroom, but you may not want right above your toilet.
This towel bar can be mounted away from the shelves though so you can mount it to a wall near your sink or to the side of a cabinet. (In the picture above you see the towel bar screwed into the bottom of the lower shelf.)
Here is a nice “done for you” floating shelf over toilet idea. (Just screw into the wall.)
RELATED ARTICLE about Bathroom Storage:
Organize under the sink with one of these Under the Bathroom Sink Storage Ideas
4. Industrial Pipe Shelves
There are lots of DIY options for building your own industrial pipe shelves, but if you want a “ready to install” storage rack kit check out this product from GWH. You can also get it in a 2-shelf, or 3-shelf unit.
This 4-shelf unit weighs almost 27 pounds, so make sure you can screw it into wall studs.
5. Simple Wood Shelves (with Wicker Storage Baskets)
Here are some simple, yet lovely wooden shelves. This is from the blog Shelley Jacobsen Design.
She used wood boards that were 2-feet wide, by 8-inches deep and metal angle brackets. It looks good, and thanks to the large baskets she can store a lot of stuff in there (and not have it visible).
6. Floor Standing White Over the Toilet Cabinet with Shelves
This is a good over the toilet storage idea because it has some doors – so everything doesn’t have to be out in the open.
You can store some stuff in the cabinet to keep it out of view, and then store other items on the open shelf above the toilet, and also the very top shelf.
It is a great option if you don’t want to mount anything to your walls. (But for extra security you may want to put a screw through the unit into a wall stud to prevent it from tipping over.)
Will this over the toilet organizer work for your bathroom?
7. Sideways Baskets (Wicker)
Check out this cool idea from the Spruce Your Nest blog. She tipped some baskets over and screwed the bottom of the baskets to the wall.
This is a unique way to store toilet paper or hand towels.
I think this would be easy to install. The most time-consuming part would likely be trying to find baskets that you love.
8. Sideways Wooden Crates (awesome rustic shelves)
This would work well for “crate” style baskets that you see at all the home decor stores. But if you want make some DIY crates check out this article from Tracy at soulstyle. She did a great job making rustic-looking crates.
9. Ladder Style Shelves
If you are handy you could make ladder-style shelves like this pretty easily. But if you prefer a store-bought over the toilet storage solution, check out this shelving unit by UTEX.
It is available on Amazon, so you can click to see the size of this shelving unit.
But…will it work for you?
If you don’t want white ladder shelves, the same company UTEX makes a popular espresso version. Do you prefer this color better?
10. Hanging Rope Wooden Shelves
I love the look of this rustic wooden shelf by RedRoanSigns on Etsy. If you want to support a “made in America” maker, you can check it out on Etsy.
A rustic over the toilet storage shelf like this one will add to the decor of your bathroom, and provide extra storage space.
Your stuff will be out in the open though unless you get some small baskets or buckets. (But being open may not matter to you all.)
And it’s a great place to display decorative items.
11. DIY Bathroom Shelves over Toilet
I was pretty excited when I came across this wooden shelf. I feel like I could make this too. (I don’t know if it’d turn out as well as this though.)
You could store extra toilet paper on it and it makes a great display for artwork.
This is another great rustic over the toilet shelf…looks so good. And you could make the shelves deeper to store more stuff…if you wanted.
12. Wall-mounted Cabinets above Toilet
This cabinet unit can be mounted on the wall over the toilet.
What’s nice about a toilet storage unit like this is that it has cabinet doors so you can have your stuff out of view.
Sometimes when you have too much stuff visible in a bathroom (like hair products, face creams, etc…) it can start to look cluttered. This toilet cabinet fixes that.
And it does have an open shelf for easy access to things like toilet paper or face clothes. And there is a towel rack to hang your hand towels. Pretty cool.
Will it fit in your bathroom?
13. Over the Toilet Metal Storage Unit
If you’re looking for inexpensive bathroom storage ideas, well you’ve found one with this toilet rack.
This metal unit features 4 open shelves to place your bathroom stuff on. It makes a great addition to a small bathroom suffering from limited space. You could store soaps, creams, rolled-up towels, toilet paper and more on these shelves.
Just make sure you measure to ensure you’ll be able to lift your toilet seat without hitting the bottom shelf. The bottom shelf is about 32-inches off the floor. If your raised toilet seat exceeds this distance from the floor it means your seat will hit the shelf.
This toilet unit doesn’t come with adjustable feet, but one Amazon reviewer pointed out they just put some little blocks under the legs to raise it so their toilet seat went under the bottom shelf.
If you can’t fit the 4-shelf unit above your toilet, the same company Honey-Can-Do makes a 3-shelf unit where the bottom shelf is 37.5-inches off the floor.
Below is a picture of the 3 shelf metal storage rack from Honey-Can-Do.
14) Bamboo Over the Toilet Storage with Adjustable Shelves
Isn’t this an attractive storage unit. This is made of bamboo by the company Songmics.
One of the great thigns about this open shelving unit is that the shelves are adjustable. So you can move them up or down to meet your needs.
Plus, the bottom supportive bar at the back of the unit – near the floor – is adjustable too. So you can raise or lower it to go around your toilet’s water supply.
Cleaning the bathroom isn’t fun…but the 4-leg design of this shelving unit means you’ll still have space around the toilet area to be able to get in there and clean.
15. Adjustable Shelves mounted on Tension Rods
This is a very cool idea…and it’s a great idea for renters. No screwing into the wall required.
You mount the tension rods on each side of your toilet between your bathroom floor and ceiling. And the shelves can be moved up or down on the tension rods. (You can move them so your toilet lid won’t hit the bottom shelf.)
The manufacturer, ALLZONE, claims each shelf will hold 22 pounds. I don’t know if I’d test that…but just having these open shelves will give you more storage “real estate”.
If you like the idea of having adjustable shelves, not needing to screw into the walls, and being able to easily take it with you when you move, check out this tension bar shelving storage unit.
I hope you have enjoyed this list of bathroom shelves over toilet ideas. Shelves above the toilet like this can really help you organize your bathroom and make it more aesthetically pleasing.
You can’t increase your bathroom space, but you can’t make better use of the space you have.
Will any of them work for you? If you could choose one of these over the toilet storage ideas, which one would you pick?
Up Next:
19 Great Under Sink Organizers for your Bathroom
If you want some other ideas to help organize your bathroom, check out this article on bathroom drawer organization ideas, or this one about small bathroom organization ideas (RV Bathrooms).
And if it’s your shower that’s giving you organization problems, check out this article on 18 awesome shower organization ideas.
11 super-handy Bathroom Cart Storage Ideas (a convenient, rolling storage option)
Make use of wasted space with these Over the Door Bathroom Storage Ideas
Get your hair scrunchies organized with one of these Scrunchie Storage Ideas
Thank you,
Tim from LearnAlongWithMe.com
Tim worked in construction for a few years before going to university. Then he worked as a community pharmacist for 10 years and now works as a full-time writer and online publisher. He has experience in several different, far-reaching lines of work.
“I sincerely hope you find the articles helpful and informative.”
Tim from LearnAlongWithMe.com
