10 Bathroom Design Choices That Are Making Your Space Feel Cluttered

Bathrooms can get filled up fast. There are so many items to store, including toiletries, devices, gadgets, paper goods, linens, cleaning supplies, and medications. Bringing so many things into the often already-cramped room can flush order right out of the space. The simple solution is to pare down. Decluttering expired, old, or unwanted items will help make a bathroom look tidier and is a necessary chore to stay on top of the mess. But overwhelming visual clutter can also be created with design choices in the bathroom, whether it's the way the space is decorated, how some of the room is underused for storage, or the way materials are mixed for elements such as countertops and hardware. 

Fortunately, subtle, often overlooked changes can fix these problems. To help you create a bathroom space that feels less cluttered, avoid these 10 mistakes people often make when designing this space. The solutions to these poor design choices are easy and often cheap to undertake as well. Once you implement one (or a few), your bathroom will feel much more organized and functional right away.

Whether there's a lot of counter space or not, overloaded surfaces will make any bathroom look cluttered. Most of the time, a lack of storage is to blame. If space and budget allow, adding cabinetry will help, using drawer organizers and over-the-door shelves to coop up makeup, toiletries, and other go-to bathroom supplies. Those with pedestal sinks can purchase cabinets that slip over the basin to provide storage around the freestanding fixture. Medicine cabinets are another solution, especially since they now come in a wide range of sizes and depths to provide even more space than before.

To bring order to the space, there are certain rules to follow when designing your bathroom, according to interior designers and architects. First, restrict the color palette to one or two hues and the materials to one or two types. Too many varieties in the room can create visual chaos. In both cases, colors and materials can compete with one another if there aren't more subtle elements that tie them together. With a more restrained approach, special elements in the bathroom — say, a marble countertop or high-end piece of cabinetry — will produce a clean but striking design by creating focal points.

There are ways to reduce bathroom counter clutter with cool power socket solutions, all of which are affordable. Cable management boxes can conceal wires and cables for hair dryers, electric toothbrushes, smart wearables, shavers, mobile phone chargers, bluetooth speakers, and other devices commonly used every day in the bathroom. For instance, a footlong basic black box from Bates Choice sells for $12. Boxes get more expensive for stylish options in wood, bamboo, and rattan, although most are under $50. Outlet shelves are especially good for inconveniently-placed outlets without surfaces underneath, with many varieties available online for well under $20.

While open shelves may seem like a good storage solution and decor display, they can create a cluttered look in the bathroom. It's too tempting to use these space savers as a free-for-all for everything you need — toiletries for every member of the house (including the dog), paper goods, cleaning supplies, electronic devices, and linens. When one too many items are placed there (or a towel is returned not so neatly), suddenly open shelving can look cluttered. Opt for shelves with doors or an alternative solution for open cabinets that adds practical hidden storage, such as cafe curtains.

You can declutter your home with a simple rule that makes the most of vertical space, especially in the bathroom. Find the unkempt area and then add storage solutions to the walls to clear the space. This is a particularly useful hack for small bathrooms, which tend to look the most cluttered. Make use of tall cabinets, hooks, towel racks, shelving, floating vanities, and other items that will maximize the square footage in the room. And don't forget over-the-toilet storage with closed cabinets to create more potential real estate in the bathroom.

It can be the prettiest bin the world of bathroom design, but a trash can without a lid will add to the space's clutter factor, especially when it's full and untidy. Besides, who wants to see someone else's dirty tissues, cotton swabs, and hairbrush lint? Instead, go for garbage pails that come with an automatic or manual lid to rein in the appearance of bathroom clutter. An even better alternative is to make the trash can disappear altogether by hiding it inside a vanity. Using liners will make everything look more orderly as well.

The day-in-and-day-out ritual of running a child's bath may also mean that the tub ends up being a colorful repository of rubber ducks and other small plastic toys. This is another source of clutter that sound bathroom design can overcome. There are a number of practical, stylish solutions to help store bath toys and keep them clean by helping to drain water. Look for waterproof buckets, caddies, mesh bags, wall-mounted toy holders, bath hammocks, over-the-tub shelves, and other ingenious solutions. Some products are specially made for the task, while others are simply used for bathroom storage in general.

Like toys at the bottom of a tub, a shower without recessed shelves will often be strewn with shampoo and shower gel bottles in the floor's corners. Adding shelves is one task you can call in the professionals for during a renovation. But there are ways to create them on your own as well, including TikTok's recessed shelving DIY that adds more storage in tight bathrooms. If you lack the skills or the budget, consider using shower curtains with storage pockets, a shower head hanging rack, a tension pole, or adhesive shelves.

Maximalism is still going strong in the home, but be careful bringing that aesthetic to the bathroom, especially if the space is small. Too many focal points could confuse the eye. Alternatively, minimalist touches can make the room look larger. Try using the vanity as a starting point, decorating around the piece. Focus on the jewelry: light fixtures, towel racks, faucets, and other pieces, where you can make deliberate choices based on style and material. Add accessories such as decorative jars and knick-knacks sparingly, but include a plant to bring life into the space.

Choosing towels for the bathroom can also be considered a design choice, however small. Colors and patterns ought to be deliberate, and stick to one towel design or color. Pick out towels that add a finishing touch to the room while complementing the decor. Towels can also be chosen to provide a pop of color or be changed out for each season. To get that extra uncluttered look, always make sure the towels are folded or hung neatly in the bathroom and in a consistent fashion, using hooks, rods, shelves, or over-the-door racks for visual display.