apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hi, Karyn -

Maybe a bead curtain? Doesn't have to be all hippy-ish. You could find a glass bead curtain, or a monochromatic one. It would be moisture-proof, allow each access to your stuff, but still visually shield the clutter. Also, could be a nice way to bring color into the space.

I have very similar shelves in one of my bathrooms, and I had to hide them while I save up for a renovation! The visual clutter of all the towels, hair dryers, etc. was killing me.

I used a tension rod to hang a heavy cotton duck curtain over the shelves --it runs from the next-to-top shelf all the way to the floor. I cut/hemmed it to fit, so it's straight across on top with no gathers. It's a very clean look, which is good in a small bathroom. I didn't want ruffles! I put a brightly-colored vase on the top shelf (which remains exposed). Using that shelf as a display area makes the whole thing look more intentional.

I also bought a bunch of these baskets from IKEA (they sell smaller sizes, but I can't find them on the site) to store my stuff on the shelves behind the curtain.

If that was my bathroom, I'd paint the shelves in a bright color and match it with the color of my towels. use canvas baskets for toilet paper, shampoo, and/or any other cleaning items; and use a small, pretty tray to put my everyday toiletries that i can take out and slide back in.

using a curtain could give the sense of hiding whatevers behind it...I say, show it off! and do it cleanly and pretty!

you could put up two curtains: one for the shelves above the sink (but leave the shelf that is on the sink level uncovered; so the curtain will stop at the top of the cubby at sink level)
and another curtain for below the sink.

that way, you'll be able to use the level at the sink, and have th rest hidden.

I would put up the curtain with hooks (little ones), and have easy tiebacks that you can use when you want to access those cubbys

i'd get boxes that fit perfectly. in all different designs.

or get a custom blind/window shade made. roman shade?

So many good ideas here. I suggest a hybrid--expose what you can make pretty or put in nice boxes/baskets, cover some of the shelves to hide what's not. The most accessible (and visible) shelf will hold your daily items, so find a great container for them or put the prettiest bottles in front.
Unless you can find the bead curtains like moira suggested, brilliant!
Please post your results

I'd find baskets or boxes that fill the spaces.

I love expeidit boxes from Ikea. They come in white or black. They are vinyl and easy to clean. They come in lots of sizes so you change things around frequently. They are light weight and easy to move around. They are collapsable without being flimsy. And they are inexpensive. I bought two sets to organize my bath products. My drawers and shelves never felt to tidy!

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90122587

PS I'll wager if you use a blind or curtain, it'll end up open most of the time. I like the idea from jenniejenjen to paint the inside the same color as your towels, and get little boxes painted or paperd a complimentary color/print.

agreed with many above - perfectly sized baskets or boxes would look most attractive and keep it the cleanest (can't promise what will go on inside the baskets, though)

Try making this, easily done in an hour!

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/images/uploads/11.15.branch_rod.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/window-coverings/how-to-make-a-tree-branch-curtain-rodslinks-n-slingks-surreptitious-web-links-to-other-good-sites-036550&h=450&w=450&sz=57&hl=en&start=29&sig2=QWf6IuJnookadH2PlrsA8A&um=1&tbnid=qhFxCOMduqSDoM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=127&ei=DJ0sSOPUJqaEpwS5oKywBA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbranch%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGLG,GGLG:2006-05,GGLG:en%26sa%3DN


(Hope the link worked)

I agree that in practical situations, the curtain would stay open, but it's a nice place to hide stuff when company comes. Can't guarantee they won't peek, but it's the idea that it would look neater that way.

I had an idea but can't find the hardware source online for such a project: plexi sheets in color or frosted, one for each shelf, put a little handle or small indent, and it would lift up and slide into the shelf from the top. I don't know if it's possible or practical for DIY, but that's what I would try to find out and do.

If that wouldn't work, I'd show off pretty towels and other things that are appropriate to show, like nice soaps or bath oils, and non-bath items just for decoration on the upper shelves, and put everything else into baskets or bins that can slide in and out.

The cute little metal locker-looking bins at the dollar store would be great!

Ikea as-is section has cabinet doors. 12", 15", 18", 24". maybe one would fit.
Plexi doors attached (canal street plastics)
custom frosted glass doors online

I'd definitely do a mix of things--some shelves open with cute baskets, some shelves open for day-to-day items, and other shelves coverered with a curtain of sorts. In addition to hooks, you might want to think about using velcro tape to attach the fabric to each shelf--that might be easier, too, if you want to dress each shelf individually instead of in halves. Depending on the size of your shelves, you might be able to use placemats or napkins instead of raw fabric, which would save you some sewing time.

What about a solar panel window shade. Or one of those ikea hanging panels that runs on a ceiling track.

i have open shelves in my blue-gray bathroom. i have the alcove painted the same color as the room, the shelves painted one shade darker, and everything in the shelves white. i painted bare wood open top boxes white to store the ugly things. i store q-tips and cotton balls in clear glass, and have soap and toilet paper stacked up. a few plain white decorative items and of course white towels. i love it and get a lot of positive comments about the way it looks

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60034295
IKEA made these boxes in a variety of sizes, with and without drawers.......you may have to go to the store; they're not online. i would buy enough to fill your shelves, and paint them white(or your choice of colors..........you could label them, but they're deep enough to hide the contents, and light enough to pull in and out of the shelves.
it would give the impression of built-in drawers. several years ago i bought 3 3-drawer units, put a satin finish on them, and it holds printer size paper......plain, matte, photo, cover stock etc and ink.

I'd go with large baskets to hide the less often used items on higher shelves and smaller baskets at hand with daily items.

I've been doing something similar for years.


There are hundreds of ways to decorate the baskets/boxes

I love the idea of painting the insides of the shelves, and leaving at least one or two (if not all) exposed. If you can manage to keep your toiletries neat or hide the clutter in simple boxes, it would look great. Perhaps a lazy susan would be a little easier than a tray, in terms of easy access for everyday items?

I'd get one or two baskets that fit the shelves and put the miscalleneous item in them.

The rest of the shelves will go wonderfully with stacks of folded towels (if your towels match).

Love the ways the shelves are because of their rhythm. Painting in various colors would be a pity.

How about a pair of swing arm curtain rods, wall mounted, check them out, here's one kind:
http://www.swagsgalore.com/swingarm.html

The curtain rod mounted to the wall, could have a flat panel. You will still be able to access, just a quick pull on the fabric and the rod will move toward the sink, and you can get all your stuff in and out, and flip it back into place.

No need for gathering fabrics or pushing something aside, this will just pull open much like a hinged door would.

You could use the clip rings too, like here:
http://www.continentalwindowfashions.com/category_UMBR_Umbra-Drapery-Hardware_4.html

Access below the sink will be limited, so that I wouldn't put a jumble of things in there. Supplies, like bath tissue, that will be ready for use, but you wouldn't have to remove them all to find the new tube of toothpaste.

The above-sink shelves would most benefit from the swing arm curtain rod.

Would LOVE to see what you come up with. Lots of good suggestions here from the minds on AT to mix and match and try out.

if you do the curtain thing, maybe best to install a simple hook on one or both sides (called a holdback, i think), so you could tuck your beads or shells or fabric quickly out of the way, then release when you're done. i agree that even sliding something back and forth on a curtain rod would be too much effort and that it would end up open all the time, defeating the entire purpose.

I have shelves like that and I removed the middle shelves to create a an available flat surface. Paint the area and have a piece of glass cut to fit on top, because glass easy to keep clean (you can even do something decorative under the glass). Mirror the back and keep all your heavily used items in tidy containers and on trays. The stuff you don't use as often can be put in baskets or containers on the other shelves. Mine works great and keeps the clutter off the sink.

I'd either do baskets that fit as perfectly as possible OR... if they're a little small than the right width, alternate flush-left-within-the-space/flush-right-within-the-space the whole way down, and in the little extra space you see, have some presentable item on display.

Otherwise, I think I'd do something like get small tension rods for each one, and get a couple of inexpensive shower curtains and use just the top parts of them and have each space have it's own little tiny shower curtain on a tension rod, preferably the new little shower curtains would match your real one, or at least coordinate with it, or posisbly just be white to kind of blend with the paint.

I like the idea of a mix of shade, open shelves and baskets. Martha Stewart's site has a pretty cool idea.

http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/shelf-shade

Yeah, that's pretty genius, actually, jennag. Maybe have one or two open at the top, and then have a shade covering several others at a time.

Oh I would love to have shelves like this in my bathroom I have no storage! I would go with baskets - I think they will actually look nicer then curtains would.