I hate it when towels fall off the shelf. Fewer things are more frustrating to me than having a fresh clean stack of towels, still warm from the dryer, topple over. This is a struggle for us in our very tiny unfinished bathroom. We simply do not have space for a shelf that extends out into the minuscule powder room. A built-in towel shelf would be the solution.
Re-thinking the Way Towels are Stored
I began scouring the internet for a practical built-in solution. Another problem plaguing this search is the depth of our bathroom walls. For whatever reason, it was not built with standard 2×4 boards. This results in a much shallower alcove for anything built-in. This called for an extra creative solution and some compromise on long-standing towel folding lore.
Where to Place the Built-in Towel Shelf
Nothing I saw online tickled my fancy. I did see a partial solution. By rolling towels, rather than folding them, I could easily fit towels horizontally into a much shallower space. But which space? The bathroom is wall to wall toilet and tub. Once the restroom is remodeled, it will include a compact handwashing sink squeezed between the tub and toilet. The only option is across from the toilet where I designed a built-in toilet paper holder with extra roll storage.
Fireplace Parts Converted to Towel Holder
Now for the plan of attack. I needed a way to keep the rolled towels from falling out of the shallow opening. Some type of shelf would help to hold them up. Downstairs, I found the perfect yet most unlikely candidate for a narrow shelf. It is a wooden lift built to hold artificial logs in an electric fireplace. I previously removed this part from the faux fireplace mantel desiring a sleeker look at the base.
Fitting Towels Inside the Wall
With my newfound treasure in hand, I returned upstairs. I was tickled pink to find out it is the ideal depth for a rolled towel. More specifically, 2 rolled towels side by side. I’m not sure how it works in your home, but our family tends to go through more than 2 bath towels in a single day. More vertical storage was necessary to stack towels. How many rolled towels could I realistically stack without an avalanche? In a moment of exasperation, I hastily stuck a rolled towel between the studs in the wall. Keep in mind that this is an unfinished bathroom. Unfinished as in no inner wall covering as of yet. To my surprise, the towel was stuck there! Just like a fairytale, the towels fit in two adjacent alcoves above the toilet paper roller.
Attaching the Towel Shelf to the Wall
I notched out the wood between the two alcoves and screwed the shelf into the studs on each side from underneath. I then built a simple frame using 3 scrap pieces of wood to attach above the shelf. Lastly, I opted to drywall the alcoves inside. This allowed me to preserve every inch of allowable depth for the towels. The moment of truth was upon me. One by one, I rolled and stuck each towel in its nook. It works like a charm! The only caveat is we must use the towels from the top down, but we never really took a towel from the bottom of a stack in the first place. Although that would be a pretty cool trick…. maybe for another day.
Remembering we had no place to hang towels to dry, I added basic chrome hooks along the bottom of the shelf. I think they add a touch of functional class.
So here it remains, our built-in towel shelf faithfully holding our towels without fail. I never would have thought a fireplace part would be a helpful storage solution. But you never know until you try.
Be sure to bookmark this page for more ways to turn what you have into what you want. Be my guest at the Sawdust and Cornbread YouTube Channel for helpful videos. Until next time remember one little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation.
~ Lora Lea
