Guest feature: Create a calm and clutter-free bathroom
Award-winning professional home organiser Lucy Mansey (@organisedbylucy) has years of experience creating stress-free spaces and has transformed the homes of a whole host of household names, from Davina McCall to Scott Mills. Famed for her use of manageable systems without spoiling the atmosphere of a room, Lucy’s approach focuses on how proper organisation can turn our homes into organised havens which have a direct positive impact on our wellbeing.
Here, Lucy shares her 6 top tips for creating an organised bathroom and turning it into the calm and serene space it deserves to be.
Assess your storage space.
Think about the space at your disposal and where your storage falls short. Knowing which areas may need extra thought before starting with the organisation process will help you understand what you need to do and exactly what it is you are trying to accomplish with this exercise.
“I strongly believe that your home should be a place where you feel a sense of calm, serenity and happiness. Organising is not just about the aesthetics; it is a form of self-care.”
-Lucy Mansey
Sort it out.
Another step to consider before planning how you are going to organise your room is to sort through your bathroom items. Purging the contents of your bathroom will allow you to ascertain exactly what you need. To do this, make 3 piles: keep, recycle and donate. Once you have decided what to keep (and removed the items to recycle and donate) these can then be sub-categorised for sorting.
Contain clutter.
If you find that clutter tends to creep onto surface areas, like your vanity unit, find a designated place to contain it. Try using stylish trays to display your favourite bath and body products and using pretty baskets to keep rolled-up towels.
Make the most of drawer space.
What is more satisfying than opening a drawer to find neatly packed containers, each with its own purpose? Think make-up in one, soaps in another and spare toiletries in a third compartment. If you can name it, there’s a storage solution for it.
Maximise your cupboards.
If storage space is the issue, there are ways to get around it. Rotating trays are making a comeback and will increase storage capacity in the smallest of cupboards. They’re also handy for seeing all your products at once, rather than losing products at the back of the drawer which you end up accidentally re-buying. Another top tip is to include strategic shelving within your bathroom. These can even be mounted on the back of your door but be careful not to overfill them so they remain a pleasure to look at.
Use wasted space.
You may have an unused area, such as behind your bath, that would be perfect for a purpose-built cupboard or caddy. If either of those would be too much, why not add a stylish basket instead? Wicker baskets offer a beautiful and natural form of storage and ensure your products are out of sight but not out of reach.
For more bathroom advice from our team of specialist bathroom designers, download or request a copy of our free Style Guide.
Here, we ask Faye, Senior Designer at Ripples Bournemouth to give her advice on the key areas tech can be incorporated within bathroom design.