Organizing A Small Bathroom Packed With Function

How We Decorated & Organized Our Small Powder Room

Organizing a small space will give you a quick sense of accomplishment and energize you to tackle what’s next. With that in mind, when we first moved into our new home, organizing and decorating our small bathroom was one of the first items on my long to-do list.

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a commission at no cost to you if you use these links and make a purchase.

This small bathroom is located on our first floor, next door to the laundry and adjacent to the living room. This powder room also serves as a guest room and holds our utility closet in what will eventually become a shower.

As we plan to fully renovate that bathroom and make it into a “real” guest bathroom with a shower stall, I initially wanted to keep that closet empty to avoid moving things around over and over.

However, where should we place everything that we frequently use if the laundry room next door doesn’t have adequate storage for bulky items like vacuum cleaners, brooms, or tall cleaning product bottles?

I didn’t want to store these items in the basement—too far! nor in the garage—too cold! As we didn’t have the budget to renovate the laundry room/mudroom right away, this future shower was the most convenient place to store all cleaning supplies, tools, and other items I’ll show you soon.

Another important consideration is that this is the official “powder room” of the house, and I wanted to tie it in with the living areas. So, the least costly and quickest way to do it was with a can of paint and some small changes.

Powder Room Color Selection

As I shared in this post, we wanted to try something completely different from our previous home in San Diego. That house was beige with white trim from head to toe, and we were ready to try something more exciting. We decided to use Indigo Batik as the main color in some areas and as an accent color in the adjacent rooms.

Considering that this is such a tiny bathroom, only 24 square feet, I thought any choice would be low-risk and easy to change if we didn’t like it. So, we went for it!

We had the wall painted in Indigo Batik, a dark but rich, almost velvety blue. We paired it with pure white trim and the ceiling in Simple White.

Another important decision was regarding the hardware. The original hardware was all gold or brown, including the door handle, the faucet, the toilet flush handle, the towel holder, the door stopper, the hinges, and the air vent. It was also old, and in many cases, it was chipped or rusted. It was time for a change!

We decided to go with rubbed oil fixtures; the contrast between the white and the blue is gorgeous.

To carry the colors in the decor in the living areas of the first floor, I used a metal candle holder with delicate, small gold dots, a beautiful trash can, and a gray hand towel—all from Target. When we have guests, I light the candle, and it looks so delicate!

The framed art is another great find from Home Goods.

There are many rubbed oil bronze fixtures on the market these days. Research a style that matches your taste, but also consider the quality and budget. If you plan on renovating anytime soon—even if it’s two years from now—don’t invest in the most expensive ones, as you may decide to change the sink or toilet, and the fixtures may not match the new ones.

In our case, changing the sink and toilet didn’t make sense as we will renovate this bathroom down the road, so we just wanted to spruce it up.

Accessorizing The Guest Bathroom – Less is More

I tend to hang less stuff on the wall and have less decor around the house these days.

Maybe it’s a change in taste, as I enjoy having “white space” in our home, or maybe it’s wisdom -I know how much work it takes to keep everything clean. The fact is that I haven’t felt the need to add anything above the toilet tank, as you’ll usually see in other homes.

I also skipped changing the mirror because I haven’t found anything striking, and I know that down the road, we’ll renovate the space to include a vanity and a new mirror.

So, I’m keeping it simple with the abovementioned items.

Organizing The Utility Closet

The space for the future shower is small, and we hope to find more space in an enclosed area next to it. We have a small closet with wire shelving and good lighting for now.

It has 2 feet 6″ x 3 feet, so it works quite well for a utility closet.

However, because it’s located in our powder room, I wanted to make sure it’s not screaming “cleaning supplies” when guests open that door.

Again, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money here, so I invested in these gorgeous baskets by The Container Store to store cleaning supplies and bathroom items like extra hand towels, toilet paper, and a basket with convenience items I keep for our guests.

I used Elfa shelf liners to line the floor and protect it from spills or scratches.

I still have to install wall hooks to hold the broom, mop, and other items, but that’s coming soon.

Here is a list of what this small bathroom closet holds. As you can see, it has an important function in our home!

I couldn’t be happier with the transformation of our powder room. It’s a pleasure to walk by it and see the beautiful colors and details, and it’s also a pleasure to find everything we need for cleaning and maintaining our home here. I love this mighty space!

Want to organize your bathroom? Download this checklist and get started!

Do you have a bathroom that needs a little TLC? Have you recently organized your small bathroom? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!