“Oh no, there is no toilet paper!”
“Where do I put this towel after wiping myself?”
“There’s no mirror!”
“We don’t have a place to keep the magazines, so you’ll have to return them to the living room.”
Stop and think for a moment. How many times have you heard these words, either as thoughts in your mind or as complaints from other people? These are typical but avoidable mishaps. All you got to do is ensure your bathroom is well stocked up.
Whether you’re constructing or renovating your bathroom, or you’re moving to a new place and are looking to ensure you have all the important items a bathroom should have, my list should be helpful. Below, I will be reminding (or informing) you about 15 essential permanent and recurring bathroom accessories.
Now, let’s dive in.
15 Essential Bathroom Items That You Must Own |
1. Bathtub and Toilet
A bathroom should have a place to bathe and a place to relieve oneself. These are the two things that make a bathroom what it is. And that’s why I have counted them as a single thing together in terms of giving more importance. As long as you don’t have a fountain shower system, you will require a bathtub.
Lie-in the bathtub and sit-on the toilet!
And before buying these items, be sure to test them out. Sit on the toilet at the store for a few seconds and see if it feels comfortable. Also, lie in the bathtub for a few seconds and feel how your body responds to the structure of the tub. With the tub, you should be able to lay your neck securely and the handles should be easy to access with your hands.
Needless to say, there should be plenty of space. You don’t want a tub that sort of tight-packs you in there.
Read More: How to Clean Shower Glass Doors
2. A Bathroom Mirror
A bathroom might look fancy and all, but without a nice mirror that is positioned properly, it can lack life. If you want to give life to your bathroom, then you need this essential item. There are numerous shapes and sizes to choose from. Some might come with frames while others don’t.
Dimmable smart led bathroom mirrors are usually expensive. It’s because they come with lots of great smart features. For instance – they have a smart touch controlling feature that allows you to dim the brightness. That way you can adjust to safe light contrast power based on the bathroom lighting. Alongside this, they are fog preventive with built-in function and waterproof.
If you want to save money, don’t get a mirror that comes with a frame. Get one without a frame and then look around your home for little planks of timber. Then, have a carpenter make a suitable frame for you (if you cannot do it yourself).
After installing the mirror, consider also, having wall-mounted lights installed. Wall lights and a beautiful mirror make the perfect duo for adding warmth and life to a bathroom.
3. Tap, Shower Faucet & Sink
A Tap allows you to have a place where you can draw water in the bathroom. It can be somewhere in the corner, away from the toilet or, from the bathtub and shower area. And it can serve as a means to draw lots of water quickly in the bathroom. Apart from the tap, you need a sink and faucet. That provides a place to wash your face and clean your mouth.
4. Lighting
A bathroom is never complete without the right lighting. Regardless of how good the finish is, bad lighting will make the space gloomy and create a bad experience. When choosing to light, make sure it fits the finish. Also, ensure it is adequate.
There are three types of lighting to work with – general lighting mounting on the ceiling, pendant lights, and wall-mounted lights. Ideally, general lights should be recessed LEDs that provide ample white light without consuming lots of energy. But if you want something warmer, go for yellow lights.
Wall-mounted lights with a dimmer switch can be very useful for helping you relax after a long day.
5. Toothbrush and Toothpaste Holder
A toothbrush holder is a tool for keeping toothbrushes and toothpaste when not in use. There are two options – a rack or a can. Racks keep toothbrushes suspended while cans are basically containers built specially to support toothbrushes.
If you don’t want to invest in a toothbrush holder, you can just get stable containers or cups from the kitchen (that you don’t use as an alternative). And use them to hold the toothbrushes and toothpaste.
6. A Trash Can
A trash can in the bathroom is essential. It provides you a place to put toilet paper wrappings, sanitary pad wrappings, empty toothpaste tubes, and other waste items. If you have pets in the house, you want to invest in a trash can that comes with a lid. That will prevent pets from foraging through the trash.
There are numerous options for trash cans on Amazon and other online retail sites. You have countless sizes and designs to choose from.
7. Shower Curtains
Not to say that you have an ugly bathtub or shower area, but lots of people use shower curtains for this same reason – to hide the ugliness. But that’s not the reason that motivates everyone who gets shower curtains.
If you’re looking to enhance your already beautiful bathroom to look even more stunning, shower curtains can come in handy. Just look for something that goes with your decor. There’s a multitude of colors and designs to choose from.
There are also various levels of transparency, from opaque to transparent models. Another reason why you might want to get shower curtains is to prevent the water from splashing outside the bathing/showering area.
8. Bathroom Towels
This is an obvious bathroom item. Once you’re done bathing or showering, you’ll need something to wipe away the water. There are two types of towels needed for a bathroom – bath towels and hand towels.
Hand towels are the ones you use after washing your hands, while bath towels are the ones you use after a whole body wash. When buying towels, take into consideration how many people are in the house. You could even get a separate towel for guests.
White is the ideal color for bath towels, as it offers a reliable clue when the towel needs washing. Normally, a bath towel should be washed after two to three uses. Hand towels, on the other hand, should be cleaned once every day or every two days.
These are all considerations to make when deciding how many towels to purchase.
9. Recurring Supplies
By recurring supplies, I mean the items that get exhausted and need to be replaced from time to time. These mainly include:
- Soaps
- Toilet papers
- Toothpaste
Additionally, you will need a soap bar/dispenser and a toilet paper holder. You might screw a fixed toilet paper holder on the bathroom wall or, buy a toilet paper stand. Then place it somewhere near the toilet seat. Apart from that, you might also want to get an air freshener. An air freshener might not seem like an essential item, but trust me, it is.
10. Shower Mat and Bath Rug
No one wants to slip it the bathroom. And when done with a wash, no one wants to take water with them outside the bathroom to the rest of the house. That’s what the two items are for. A shower mat is made of rubber or similar material that provides an anti-slip surface in the shower area. It can be put in the entire showering area, leaving only a small hole where the drainage is located.
Note: a shower mat is not a must-have. If your bathroom is not very slippery, you may prefer to pass on a shower mat.
A bath rug is a little mat you place outside the shower and near the bathtub so that when you’re done showering or bathing, you can wipe your feet and rid them of moisture. Ideally, a shower mat should be made of cotton as this material absorbs the water efficiently.
11. Soap Dispensers
One thing no bathroom should lack is a bar of hand soap. When people are done using the toilet, they need the means to clean their hands. But having a bar soap right there is inconvenient for obvious reasons – like where to keep it.
A soap dispenser provides you a convenient means of keeping soap. You can place it on the sink or hang it somewhere on the wall near the sink. Apart from the soap dispenser, you might want to also get a dispenser for a disinfectant solution.
12. Ensure You Enough Space
Planning to build or renovate your bathroom? One thing you will be working with is space. No matter how limited the dimensions are, there’s always a way you can use the space optimally.
If you want to create more space, consider recessing the surrounding walls. That way, you will create a valuable room where you can build shelves/cabinets for storing bathroom products. Sometimes, people make a small cubicle for the shower and leave plenty of unutilized space even after installing a bathtub somewhere in the corner.
If there is space, why not make a longer shower area that extends from wall to wall? That will give you the freedom and good experience in the shower. Where there is limited space, you might want to install the shower overhead in the bathtub so as to save space.
13. Finish
Finish refers to installations during the construction process meant to give a touch of elegance and beauty. Some of the most elegant finish materials include marble, granite, and other beautiful stones. These are somewhat expensive beauty.
These finishing materials are durable and quite sensitive. But if handled without care, they can accumulate dirt and look unsightly. So, before you invest in these, you want to make a good plan for how they will be cleaned. Also, you will have to purchase specialty cleaning products like stain removers for them.
If there’s no one to clean these precious finishes on a regular basis, you’d rather go for the regular tiles. Regular tiles are not as elegant, but they’re more resistant to dirt and also easier to clean.
More Resources: Shower Glass Cleaner
14. Storage
Many people build a nice bathroom but forget one of the most essential factors – storage. If you don’t have a place to organize bathroom towels, toothbrushes and toothpaste, gowns, toilet paper, soaps, and other items, that creates lots of issues.
If it doesn’t force you to keep the items in a mess, then you have to keep them outside the bathroom, perhaps in the bedroom, which is not convenient. You got to have cabinets in the bathroom. Have appropriately sized cabinets built at a height that suits you in the bathroom.
A cabinet comes in handy for storing toothbrushes and toothpaste, soaps, toilet papers, and other products. Apart from that, you need a towel bar or a towel rack. That gives you a place to hang towels and similar items. When creating storage places, be sure to get a soap dish, toilet paper holders, and a miscellaneous tray for keeping various items.
15. Side table
A side table might not be something that many people see as essential, but it helps a lot. With it, you have a place to keep a whole lot of items from flower bouquets and magazines to candles and shampoos.
Final Word
For many of us, the bathroom is where our most private moments occur. That, for me, is reason enough to ensure my bathroom is a sanctuary. My list of the basic bathroom essentials may not be exhaustive, but I bet it is going to guide you.
Whether you’re building a new house, renovating your bathroom, or just looking for items that can enhance your bathroom, the items in the list above should be a good start. As I said, the list is not exhaustive, so keep researching and see what else you need in your bathroom.