5 tall bathroom storage cabinet hacks, so useful in small bathrooms

tall bathroom storage cabinet hacks

A narrow, tall bathroom storage cabinet is the perfect solution for maximizing storage in a small bathroom. With multiple shelves, it can hold all of your towels, toiletries, and cleaning supplies in an organized manner.

More than just providing storage, a cabinet with doors also keeps the clutter hidden. Combined with open shelving, this storage solution ensures easy access to your daily necessities.

Ultimately, these tall storage cabinets help keep any bathroom neatly organized. Getting ready will be a breeze when everything has a dedicated space, and you can easily see where everything is located. The following IKEA hacks will show you how to make the most of the vertical space in your bathroom.

1. Tall bathroom storage cabinet from kitchen cabinets

tall bathroom storage cabinet hack materials
IKEA VOXTORP door, IKEA kitchen high cabinet, UTRUSTA shelves | Photo Credit: IKEA.com.

For their bathroom storage solution, Adam wanted a cabinet with both enclosed and open shelving. While the kitchen cabinet from IKEA wasn’t ideally suited for a bathroom, they believed it could work with some modifications. He bought the following from IKEA:

  • IKEA METOD high cabinet 40x37x200cm (or IKEA SEKTION high cabinet 18x15x80″)
  • 4 x CAPITA leg
  • 3 x UTRUSTA shelf
  • 2 x VOXTORP dark gray door
  • UTRUSTA door hinges 2 packs

Also pick up a drill bit for tiles to anchor the cabinet to the wall.

How to assemble a tall bathroom storage cabinet

tall bathroom storage cabinet using IKEA kitchen cabinets
Tall bathroom storage cabinet made from IKEA kitchen cabinets | Photo Credit: Adam.

He assembled the IKEA kitchen high cabinet according to instructions and added legs to the bottom of the cabinet.

To accommodate their desired layout, Adam installed the top VOXTORP door upside down so its groove handle faced downward. Below, they mounted a second door in the standard orientation, leaving a gap for open shelving between the two doors.

By inverting the top door and spacing out the bottom door, the hacker cleverly hacked the IKEA high cabinet to include their wanted combination of enclosed and open storage.

Lastly, they anchored the bathroom cabinet to the wall to minimise tip-over risk.

2. Tall bathroom storage cabinet with mirror

tall bathroom storage cabinet materials
NYSJON high cabinet, IKEA LOTS mirror | Photo Credit: IKEA.com

Ruth from Dublin, Ireland, had downsized her living space and needed clever storage solutions for her small bathroom. With limited wall space between the door and tub, she wanted to find a way to maximize the utility of a vertical cabinet. In this IKEA hack, she shares how she transformed the plain cabinet into a statement piece through a simple DIY mirror project.

“This was a simple IKEA hack, but I’m thrilled with the outcome. I have a small area of blank wall in my bathroom, and the NYSJON high cabinet was the perfect fit between the bathroom door and tub. But it was a bit bland.” 

Add mirror to narrow bathroom cabinet

bathroom cabinet with mirrors

“So, I got a pack of LOTS mirrors (now called BLODLÖNN) and stuck them on the door. Like I said, simple,” she added.

She used a drill, screwdriver, level, tape measure, pen, and hammer and followed the instructions to assemble the cabinet.

Initially, they had attached the little knob to the cabinet door but then realized it would get in the way of the mirrors, so they removed it. The cabinet door could now easily be opened by pulling on the top of the door. Once assembled, they measured where they wanted the first mirror to go and ensured it would be level. Then they just stuck the mirrors on with the sticky tape included with the pack, leaving a consistent gap between each.

narrow bathroom cabinet with mirror hack

It was a very easy hack to get a mirrored bathroom cabinet with this method.

“The hardest part of this project,” Ruth explains, “was putting the cabinet together. It was a bit tricky. But hopefully, it will last for years to come.”

3. Two is better than one bathroom cabinet

2 IKEA bathroom cabinets
TYNGEN cabinet, LILLÅNGEN high cabinet with mirror front | Photo Credit: IKEA.com

Jean Rea had bought a house that had a tiny primary bathroom. They decided to expand it by taking three feet from the adjacent bedroom.

“In doing so, I needed storage space and a space to anchor my new quartz countertop to create a vanity. It had to be narrow but deep. I had about 12 inches in width to work with,” she explained.

At first, Jean looked for a storage solution, but their only option seemed to be having something custom-made, which was not within their budget. Then they went to IKEA, where they found potential options.

Maximize space with two bathroom cabinets

Narrow bathroom cabinet with tons of storage

Jean and their daughter put two IKEA units together. They positioned the TYNGEN unit facing the toilet against the wall, and the mirrored front LILLÅNGEN unit backed up against the side of the TYNGEN unit.

This configuration provided the narrow width needed, along with sufficient depth. The units were not the same height, but Jean’s contractor attached the shorter back unit to the mirrored unit. He covered the side and back with beadboard and trim, making the units look like one from the vanity side. On the back side, there were open shelves and a lower cabinet. The setup turned out to be perfect for Jean’s space.

The other side of the narrow bathroom cabinet
The mirrored front cabinet reflected the bathtub on the right side of the picture. | Photo Credit: Jean Rea.
Inside the cabinet with adjustable shelves
The front mirrored cabinet shown open. The unit also provides privacy for the toilet area. | Photo Credit: Jean Rea.

4. Create open shelving on a budget

LACK side table as open shelving
Photo Credit: Copie.

When Copie realized their tiny bathroom had wasted space above the washing machine, they wanted to find a creative storage solution. Commercial bathroom shelves didn’t meet their needs in terms of size or budget. Inspired by IKEA hacks, Copie devised an ingenious DIY project using affordable LACK side tables.

Supplies for our tall bathroom shelf: 

  • 2 LACK side tables
  • 3 BYGEL rails (replace with KUNGSFORS rails)
  • 2 BYGEL S-hooks (replace with KUNGSFORS hooks)

“The problem was that the ones we found were not wide enough to our taste, or not tall enough, or too expensive, or just didn’t work for us,” he says. This led them to the idea of using IKEA LACK side tables.

They assembled the two LACK side tables. Then, they attached the tables with L-brackets, fixing the brackets to the legs of the first table and onto the top of the second table. Next, they screwed the rails onto the sides of the tables. Finally, they put the hooks onto the rails.

LACK side table as open bathroom shelving
Photo Credit: Copie.

This created a two-tier bathroom shelf they placed on their washing machine. Alternatively, stack three or four LACK side tables to make a taller, freestanding version.

“One thing to take note of — as ours is near the sink, we need to be careful to wipe off any water splashes. The LACK is made of particleboard and will not withstand much moisture. Not the most ideal IKEA furniture for the bathroom, but it works for us for now,” he adds.

There was a narrower 13 3/4″ x 13 3/4″ LACK side table option for an even slimmer bathroom shelving unit.

5. Go up for more bathroom storage

BILLY bookcase hacked to work as over the toilet cabinet
Photo Credit: Ryan McCulley

Ryan McCulley from Tucson, Arizona needed a tall, narrow cabinet above the toilet in their tiny bathroom. While a kitchen cabinet may have worked, an IKEA BILLY bookcase was on sale for just $20 and was a better size for the space.

The bookcase is constructed quite similarly to the IKEA kitchen wall cabinet so he figured it would hold up fine for the application. With a bit of hacking, of course.

Materials: 

  • IKEA BILLY bookcase
  • MORLIDEN glass door
  • Scraps of plywood and hardwood
  • Cordless drill/driver
  • Various screws

Ryan provided a strong disclaimer, noting that anyone attempting this project would do so at their own risk. As the BILLY bookcase was not engineered for wall mounting, there was inherent danger of it potentially falling. Should such an incident occur, the bookcase could cause significant damage. Due to these safety concerns, Ryan explained the subsequent tutorial was for informational purposes only. They declined responsibility should readers independently implement the hack and it resulted in the bookcase detaching from the installed wall position. Safety was the top priority in conveying this warning.

Tall IKEA bathroom storage cabinet from a bookcase

First, he assembled the bookcase according to the splendid pictograms provided with the BILLY bookcase.

After some noodling Ryan decided the bookcase would work best flipped upside down and pushed against the ceiling to make use of the height of the room.

“I secured it to the wall with hardwood cleats screwed to the studs,” he explained. “Or rather, stud, since there was only one. Fortunately it was right in the middle of where I wanted to hang the cabinet.”

He used half-inch thick, four-inch wide plywood “mounting strips” mimicking what IKEA’s mounting rail for SEKTION cabinets.

“I placed one where the top of the cabinet would go and the other at the bottom. I mounted the strips to the stud with two 2″ screws each so they wouldn’t rotate, and more importantly, so they would not separate from the wall. I had to measure carefully to keep them centered, plumb, and located where I could screw through the cleats, the back of the bookcase, and into the mounting strips,” he says.

Hung with a cleat system

BILLY bookcase hacked to work as over the toilet cabinet
Photo Credit: Ryan McCulley

He then hung the bookcase cabinet by driving multiple 1-5/8″ screws through hardwood 1×2 cleats, the fiberboard back, and into the plywood. He located the top cleat immediately below the top of the cabinet and the bottom cleat immediately above the bottom, as you might see in a typical wall cabinet installation.

He used 4 screws in each cleat, evenly spaced. Screws must be long enough to penetrate the entire plywood mounting strip, ensuring 1/2″ of penetration at each fastener. He used four screws in each because of the relatively shallow penetration and because the plywood strips were only secured to a single stud; “I did not want the weight of the cabinet to cause the plywood to bend and pull away from the wall,” he explains.

Lastly, he attached a MORLIDEN glass door to the BILLY bookcase. “Now all our toiletries, shampoos, and hygiene products are hidden and out of reach of children. We love the space, clean look, adjustable shelves and functionality of our DIY bathroom cabinet.”

READ NEXT: Even more IKEA Bathroom hacks.