No Toilet Paper Holder? Make One From Old Lids And Wood Dowels

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If you live with a bathroom that, for whatever reason, is sans toilet paper dispenser, you know how difficult it is to find a spot for your, erm, loo cloth. On the back of the commode. Under the sink. On the counter. Wherever. These options do put TP nearby when you need it. The problem is, they don't keep your toilet paper organized and looking tidy. In some cases, these remedies won't protect the roll from splashes of water from the sink and other hazards, either. So what's the solution, then? If you have a plastic lid and some dowels of assorted sizes, you've got a TP dispenser waiting to happen. 

This craft is the brainchild of YouTube crafter, Evrim Taşer Yılmaz. She chose a hard-bodied screw-top plastic lid for the base of her MacGyvered TP dispenser. The DIY also includes some HOPELF 8" Natural Bamboo Skewers, one paperboard dowel, some thick crafting rope, and a roll of twine. Scraps of cardboard, burlap, and a roll of Picheng Crafting Leather are the final two supplies.

As far as tools go, you'll need to pull your diagonal cutting pliers out of the toolbox, along with a ruler, a soldering iron, a hot glue gun, and a hand saw. From your crafting bin, you'll pick up a felt-tip pen, a pencil, a sturdy pair of scissors, a lighter, Superglue, and a can of Mod Podge Spray Acrylic Sealer.

To start, trim the skewers. They form the "wall" around the finished toilet paper dispenser, so they need to be an inch or two longer than the TP roll is high when you stand it upright. Next, mark dots at regular intervals on the top of the lid. Leave about 1/5th of the top of the lid without dots, as this will make the opening where the toilet paper comes out. Pierce holes in the lid with the soldering iron. Then, push the skewers into the holes. Glue the skewers in place.

Weave the crafting rope in and out of the upright skewers. Glue the rope in place at the beginning and end of the weave to keep it in place. Trim wooden dowels to make their top line even with the top of the weave. Next, wrap strips of leather around the lid at the bottom and top of the basket. Cover the tops of the skewers with crafting rope, gluing it into place as you go.

Trim the paper dowel so that it fits inside the basket. Cover one end of it with scrap cardboard. Next, cover the dowel and the cardboard topper with twine. Burn the twine slightly to get rid of any stray hairs. Glue it into the middle of the basket's interior: You'll slide the roll of TP onto the dowel, so make sure that it's centered exactly to leave room for the roll. Spray the dowel with the sealer spray. Cut a piece of cardboard that's large enough to cover the lid (now the bottom), cover it with burlap, and then glue it onto the bottom of the basket. Add a roll of TP to your DIY toilet paper holder, and place it on the bathroom counter.

Decorative elements like the leather straps and the woven sides make this piece look a bit like a small piece of bathroom furniture — sort of like it's an auxiliary piece that goes with a vanity set. Leaning into this aesthetic levels up the piece, making it look even more furniture–like. Here are a few ideas to make it your own.

Start with the leather bands on the top and the bottom. Try inserting GAQWOK Antique Upholstery Tacks into the leather straps. (You'd have to press them into the space between each skewer stick.) It's not uncommon to see a couch or a sofa with these decorative tacks pushed into the upholstery at regular intervals to reinforce the fabric and to create visual interest. On a related note, try swapping out the burlap on the bottom and replacing it with an upholstery fabric like Feelyou Wild Botanical Chairs Fabric. The combination of the upholstery fabric and the decorative tacks would look especially smart.

Finally, you don't have to make big changes to make a big impression. Doing something as simple as introducing another color of rope in the weave would be enough to create a beautiful toilet paper display. All you'd need to do is weave the first rope up the dowels until it reaches the halfway mark. Trim the end of the rope, glue it down, and then introduce a second color on top of that. You'll end up with two bands of color woven into the body of the piece instead of one.