Keep Paper Towels Out Of Sight With A Clever Hiding Spot You've Been Overlooking

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Paper towel rolls are one of those kitchen essentials that are completely necessary and very handy, but oh so ugly. These rolls always manage to make a kitchen counter look messy and cluttered, no matter what you try to do with them. Some DIYs promise to take paper towels from kitchen eyesores to a decor statement, but that's pretty hard to do. Instead, why not hide the roll away completely? There's a clever hiding spot that's perfect for these awkward rolls, and you've likely been overlooking them: mount them inside a cabinet door.

Instead of mounting a paper towel holder out in the open, where it adds visual clutter to your kitchen, why not tuck it away? On the back of a cabinet door, it's completely out of sight, frees up that precious counter space, and is just as convenient to use. It's low to the ground, so it can be used by kids, too. It's clean, clever, and something that you can do at home as long as you have the right cabinets for it. You need a cabinet that isn't filled with shelves, because these would prevent the door from closing if you add anything behind the door. Instead, use shelf-less cabinets, like the ones typically under the sink. You'll also need to free up some kitchen cabinet space to make sure the roll has at least 6 inches of depth available behind the cabinet door.

All you need for this is a paper towel holder designed for under cabinets or walls. Use the kind that comes with self-adhesive to avoid screwing it into the cabinet door. For example, something like this self-adhesive paper towel holder from Bollove would work perfectly. 

Depending on what you find most convenient and on the amount of space you have available, you have two ways to attach the paper towel holder to the cabinet: vertically or horizontally. If the cabinet is narrow, you might not have enough space for the paper towel roll and holder horizontally. You'll also need to adjust the height at which you attach the roll of paper towel: if you want to avoid bending over every time you use it, attach it higher, but if you want kids to access it easily, try lower. This also gives you some room to adjust the placement if the cabinet is full at the bottom but has some empty space at the top (in which case, attach it higher to use wasted space without disturbing what's at the bottom). 

There are other clever ways to use paper towel holders in cabinets. You can use a horizontal paper towel holder bar to hang kitchen towels inside of cabinets and out of sight. You can also use a similar approach in the bathroom to hide extra rolls of paper towels inside a cabinet, or in the craft room to organize your rolls of tape.

Remember not to hang heavy things from the bar, since it's only held in place using adhesive and attached to a hinged door, which isn't designed to hold up extremely heavy weights. If you have a paper towel holder that doesn't come with self-adhesive but that you want to use anyway, simply swap screws for a wall adhesive, like Command Large Picture Hanging Strips, instead.