How To Decorate (And Organize) Over The Toilet Shelves

Have you installed over the toilet shelves and are looking for ways to organize and decorate them? 

Don’t worry, we’ve go you covered with this comprehensive guide. 

In this article, you’ll get a 101 lesson on what to put where on your toilet shelves as well as the popular décor choices you have to make things pop right!

How To Organize Over The Toilet Shelves

Before you begin any décor activity, it’s important to know the basics of organizing on a shelf, especially that of a toilet. 

The good news is, that these basics aren’t complicated, and are very easy to understand and follow. 

So what are the rules?

Here we go.

Rule 1# Prioritize Functionality First

It’s usually the case that  9 out of 10 times, we’re installing over the toilet shelves because we need spaces to hold our functional items like toilet paper, extra towels, beauty products and cleaning supplies. 

You need to arrange them based on frequency of use, so that they are within range and you can grab them without stress, otherwise the risks of dropping them increases. 

Rule 2# Group Like Items Together

Grouping items that are similar will foster the functionality of your shelves by a mile, but It’s not something you have do if you don’t want to, especially if you’re going full on with balance and symmetry decor (check below).

Items that are similar can mean different things for different people. You can choose to group products you use in the morning together, and those for night time separately. Or, cleaning supplies on a different potion of the shelf whereas beauty products on a different corner.

Do whatever suits your style, but make sure that whenever you need cleaning supplies or the beauty products, you know exactly which shelf to look at. 

Rule 3# Keep It Simple

Don’t clutter the storage space. Always keep it as simple as you can, because that would yield the most visual appeal. 

Storing too much items on the shelves can also increase the risks of items toppling, which depending on their make up, can be disastrous. 

Rule 4# Use labels Whenever You Can

If you have a lot of items to store on the shelves, a good way to keep track of what items are where and also create space and reduce clutter is to organize them into transparent containers or jars. 

Using transparent jars will enable you to be able to see what’s being stored. If all you have are containers that aren’t transparent, group them according to like items and label, that way you can still know what each container contains and your guests will thank you.  

Rule 5# Strategic Placement

Place Fragile items that are meant to be functional on the lower shelves to avoid accidentally dropping them when you try to reach for them. If you can, avoid storing them on the shelve all together, especially if you have kids at home. 

Best Ways To Make Your Over The Toilet Shelves Pop Out

Now that we have discussed the essential rules for organizing your toilet shelves. Let’s check out how to decorate them. 

Here are the key tips: 

Everything Starts With The Right Shelves

This couldn’t be more true. Everything starts with the right shelves. Get it right and your décor work would be so much easier, mess it up, and you’ll have a lot more work do, and the end result may or may not be satisfying 

Before choosing shelves, consider the bathroom’s theme. 

Choose designs that are based on this theme so that it snugly fits into the niche. If you have smaller bathroom, stay more on the minimalist side if things, where as a larger bathrooms can be forgiving if you try to be creative. Nevertheless, staggered shelves work on all shapes and forms of bathrooms when done correctly. 

If you’ve already got wooden shelves installed, you can blow the spirit of life into them by finishing them up. You can laminate or even paint them to suit the theme in the toilet. 

You can also install lightening to add some warmth to the bathroom. 

Consider Functionality

When decorating a shelve initially meant for storage, make sure to put functionality first. You don’t want to end up with frequently used stuffs at the back of the shelf and those you seldom use in front, so make sure to sort your things based on frequency of usage, and arrange the most used ones in closer and accessible areas. 

Match The Theme

In order for your décor job to stand out, you need to up the game when it comes to matching the theme in the toilet. Study the color pattern of your toilet, and try to match it items that perfectly compliment this pattern. 

When it comes to décor items, you aren’t only limited to candles or artworks, there’s a wealth of them you can choose from. Here’s a list of 21 most commonly used décor items in bathroom shelves. 

1. Decorative timepieces
2. Crystal decorative objects
3. Books
4. Succulents
5. Artistic Soap Dispensers
6. Decorative trays
7. Plants
8. Votives
9. Artwork
10. Stacked decorative towels
11. Fragrance diffusers: these are critical additions to add scent to your bathroom. 
12. Photographs
13. Jars for cotton balls
14. Sculptural Vases
15. Jars for bath salts
16. Mirrors
17. Ceramic Vases
18. Ornate Tissue Box
19. Monogrammed items
20. Beach times like sea shells and stones
21. Special toothbrush holder

These items are just a few of the many available. Make sure to select them based on the space available as well as how well it suits the theme in the bathroom.

Use Baskets To Organize

Baskets are great ways to add organization to your shelves. Wood based ones also add this rustic finish to the shelves. 

You can place mini baskets on each shelf for the sorting of larger bottles and even stacked towels.

Consider Balance And Symmetry For Visual Balance

When it comes to the actual arrangement of items on the shelves, it’s really personal. But the overall goal is to aim for an organization that creates balance and symmetry. That way, you’ll get the most visual appeal. 

What do we mean by balance and symmetry? 

It’s simple. Organize the items on the shelves in such a way that the items, their color and texture creates a visual balance or equilibrium when you look at it.

You can do this by mirroring times on the shelves on either sides using a central focal point, and this can be based on either color, shape, size or functionality etc — symmetrical balance, or choose to do the opposite, i.e no mirroring of items, but sticking with an arrangement that the visual weight seems to balance out when you look at it— asymmetrical balance. 

I must say though, that the whole balance and symmetry of a thing can sometimes be difficult to achieve especially given that different bathrooms have different storage items and trying to strike balance between symmetry and functionality can be notoriously tricky or sometimes even yield odd results (rarely though). 

So you might have to play around a bit to find the right position for each item. 

Make Sure To Avoid Clutter

While trying to maintain balance and build aesthetic appeal, it’s very easy to get distracted that you end up cluttering the whole space. 

Make sure to stick with simplicity and avoid over crowding the toilet shelves which unnecessary stuffs just because you want symmetry. 

Too much stuffs can make it difficult to retrieve item from the shelves, or for the décor to stand out. 

Consider Safety

Lastly, make sure to give a very good and through look at the items on the shelves to make sure they’re all in the right positions they’re supposed to be in.

All glass objects that are functional should be easily accessible, but placed in the middle or back of the shelves. Those that are meant for décor should go up, since you wont be reaching for them often. 

Make sure nothing is positions where the risks of dropping it is high also. 

How To Decorate An Over The Toilet Stand

For over the toilet stand, even though I don’t recommend it for décor, it follows the same rules and patterns for décor and organization as floating shelves and cabinets. 

Just follow the guide above and you’re good to go.