Ditch The Towel Rack: Here's A Creative Way To Add Storage To The Bathroom With A Clever DIY

Finding places to store essential items in bathrooms can be tough, and installing extra cabinetry or storage drawers amidst bathroom fixtures can make the room feel even more cramped. Because towel racks occupy wall space instead of floor space, they're great for hanging and storing towels, but, unfortunately, not for much else. To make the most out of limited bathroom space, ditch your traditional towel holder and repurpose old chairs to DIY a clever storage solution that can function as both a towel rack and a wall shelf.

To craft this one-of-a-kind, upcycled bathroom storage solution, you'll need an obvious and necessary material: an old chair. The chair can be made from any material, but wooden chairs can be a little easier to work with. Keep in mind, in order to use your DIY piece as a towel rack, too, it's best to find one with support rungs on the legs.

You will be cutting off various parts of the chair, so make sure you have the proper tools to cut through whatever the chair is constructed from (such as a saw for wood). You'll also need sandpaper or a sander to smooth out any rough edges and surfaces, as well as materials to adhere and assemble your storage solution. Grab paint, wood stain, and painting supplies, too, for further customization of your hand-crafted bathroom fixture. Additionally, you can also pick up hanging hardware, like wall mounts and screws, to affix your finished piece to the wall.

Clean and wipe down the chair to make sure you have clean materials to work with, and sand off rough edges if necessary. For a simple wall shelf and towel rack combo, cut off the back of the chair with a saw, leaving only the seat and the legs. Determine how big you want your wall shelf to be, then mark and cut your chair seat accordingly so you're left with half a chair seat and one pair of chair legs. 

If the chair legs are a little too long, you can cut them to make them shorter. You can keep the other half of the chair intact to be used as an additional towel rack and wall shelf, or scrap it for materials. If your chosen chair did not have support rungs, you can add some using the extra pair of chair legs or other scrap materials. Secure them between the chair legs to create rungs to hang your towels from. 

You can leave your new, space-saving bathroom storage solution as is, or paint and refinish it before hanging it on your bathroom wall. To hang it up, use screws and wall anchors or attach framing studs to the unit for a sturdier and more secure mount. For lighter pieces, adding D-ring picture hangers to the back of the unit can also suffice. Once hung, place your towels on the rungs and use the seat of the chair to store extra soap, candles, or cute bathroom decor pieces and essentials.