The IKEA Item That Creates Extra Under-Sink Storage Space In Small Bathrooms

Small bathrooms are difficult to navigate, especially from a storage perspective. While it would be great to have enough room to put a floor-to-ceiling cabinet in the space to house everything from towels to skincare, not many people have the square footage to accommodate that. Instead, most people have a small, postage-stamp-sized room, which requires them to get creative with carving out bathroom storage. This becomes all the trickier when you have a pedestal sink rather than a box vanity. Whether you're in an apartment and can't swap out the vanity or have a historic home and prefer the pedestal look, that style poses a unique storage challenge. However, you can magically create space underneath for your hairspray and skincare bottles with the help of IKEA's RÅGRUND sink shelf. 

This corner shelf is specially designed in a triangle shape so it can snuggly fit into a bathroom's corner. However, if you get two of them, you can place them next to each other underneath a pedestal or exposed sink, and the triangles bypass the plumbing. This creates under-the-sink storage without having to sacrifice the sink that's already there. Here is a closer look into how this shelf works.

To pull off this hack that will save major space in the bathroom, you will need to buy two RÅGRUND sink shelves. To create one cohesive unit, you put them underneath the sink with their legs touching and their hypotenuse sides facing the pedestal or plumbing. At just $40 each, the total cost of this project is an affordable $80, which is a fraction of the price of a box vanity replacement. In comparison, small IKEA vanities cost anywhere between $150 and $400. 

Each shelf is 23 5/8 inches tall, which is just tall enough to tuck under a pedestal sink without hitting its basin. They are also 13 inches wide and deep, giving you a decent amount of space for storage. In addition to being just the right size for a small bathroom, these units are also made out of bamboo. While wood and water don't typically go hand in hand, bamboo is a rare water-resistant wood, so it won't swell or warp under constant humidity.

Now that you have your shelving set up, you'll need to find ways to display your items. While you can simply put all your toiletries and hand towels loosely on the shelves, this can pose a problem for several reasons. First, since they're out in the open, accidental bumps can send the bottles and tubes tumbling, making the storage solution cumbersome. Second, if you have a lot of items you need to store, it can look messy having them out in the open rather than corralled in containers and bins. Third, they will be harder to clean since you will need to take down each item in order to wipe the shelves. And lastly, having them out can expose them to germs from the toilet. New studies, such as the one in the American Journal of Infection Control, have found that closing the toilet lid doesn't stop germs, matter, and viruses from spraying out.

Instead, round up your items in attractive bins and baskets. To protect them from spray, it's best to choose ones with lids. Since these will be out in the open, it's best to choose ones that will match the aesthetic of your bathroom. For example, if you have an all-white bathroom, choose a white container, such as the KUGGIS box from IKEA, which costs $10. You can store everything from skincare to hand towels inside. However, if you have a more transitional style, a rattan basket, such as the rattan Muji Box with Lid on Amazon, is a great pick.