When it comes to toilet paper, many people prefer to keep their stock, well, out of sight. But for some unexplained reason (perhaps our sheer obsession with open storage, or just plain convenience) not one, but two (out of two) of our bathrooms feature TP in plain sight.
In our half bath we snagged an $18 vase from Target a few years back to corral three extra rolls (with a roll in my purse for measuring reasons- weird I know). And we think it looks oddly elegant next to the, er, throne. Especially considering its cargo.
And in removing the door of the linen closet in our full bath, we happily exposed a little TP pyramid, which we think looks charming and abundant (can wealth be measured by a bounty of toilet paper at the ready?):
And our open toilet paper storage options are hardly the only two out there. We loved this metal basket that we spied in Christi and Barrett’s bathroom when we house crashed them back in October:
So what do you guys think? Will your extra TP ever see the light of day? Do you have other ideas up your sleeves? I never thought I’d say this but… let’s talk about toilet paper!
I think open TP storage is a great idea. That way when the roll runs out, there are no excuses not to reload. We currently don’t have our TP out in the open, but we’re on the lookout for a wicker basket to hold it in our downstairs half bath.
Since I’m a singleton, I still keep my stash in behind the door of the built-in linen cabinet.
I do have to say, though, that I totally love the variety of topics that are covered here. No detail is too small–and I absolutely agree! :-)
I like having it out because it eliminates the covert search for more TP when you have a guest over!
i always have the TP out in plain view…i hate hate hate going to someone’s house and run out of TP and then not be able to find it…worse yet, sometimes they don’t even have extra rolls in their bathroom! aaaccck.
I second, Allie, visible toilet paper or easy to find in the bathroom is really important in a bathroom used by guests. I currently only have tp exposed in one bathroom, but the other is under the sink which is right next to the toilet. It is just practical to keep some in the bathroom.
I keep the TP visible and within reach for easy access at those times when you sit down without checking if there is any left on the roll first! Also as a courtesy to guests who may use the last of the roll – that way they don’t have to search around the bathroom, or (horror of horrors) ask for a new roll! I have a small tower of white shelves that hold toiletries in a basket on top, books and magazines in the middle and the TP on the bottom. Cute and functional. :)
I store mine in a glass cylinder also. Years ago all the toilet paper had a pattern on it and I always had the hardest time finding plain white TP and paper towels. I am very thankfully that plain white is the norm now!
My TP is always out in the open! It is one of my biggest pet peeves when I’m at someone else’s house and I’m, er, on the bowl, and the paper runs out! And then I am inevitably rumbling around their bathroom with my pants around my ankles trying to find the spare rolls.
Too much information?
I keep extra TP in a treasure chest (that’s what my kids call it) in the powder room. It is fun accessory and serves double duty as storage for wipes, TP and other things. The kids sometimes hide little toys in there too — truly making it a treasure box.
I have mine peeking out from a basket specially designed for just such a purpose. Let’s face it, having to use the bathroom in somebody else’s house can be stressful–and what would be worse than running out of TP and not being able to find any?
Love the ingenious vase idea! Unfortunately, my miniature studio apartment bathroom is too tiny (and humid) to store extra TP out in the open. If I know I’m having a guest over, I always make sure to put ONE extra roll of TP in plain view (hopefully one roll would address any need that should arise?) :)
We have two holders in our master bath and the rest is stacked on open shelving. Our guest bath usually only has one roll in it (we are terrible hosts). We need to add cute open storage so that my mom (our only guest) doesn’t have to ask for it anymore!
Our bathroom is so tiny that I can touch all four walls standing in the center with my arms outstretched.
Needless to say, there’s precious little storage. It has irked me to have to store the extra rolls on the back of the toilet.
I LOVE that glass vase idea… I’ll be off to Target and Container Store tomorrow, looking for something similar. It will make great use of the otherwise unusable space next to the toilet.
In our downstairs guest bath (small) I keep the TP under the sink, which makes sense to me even though it is hidden. Isn’t that the first place you look if it is not out in the open? Our two upstairs bathrooms have separate water closets, so in both of those I have TP in cute wicker baskets on the floor. That way no one has to go through that awkward exposed-backside waddle through the house to find TP when the roll runs out.
I have ours in open baskets almost exactly like the ones shown in the third picture. In the full bath, the basket is in an open shelving system as shown with the “pyramid” and in the half bath it is on top of the toilet like the one in the picture. Both seem to work well and look decent! I like the vase idea as well.
absolutely must have rolls out, gives that sigh of relief to guests. I keep mine in a cabinet but clearly visible behind a glass fronted door and I mean a mass of rolls, a la your pyramid.
However, I don’t like to the look of an exposed roll it feels unclean (even behind glass!) and its a jackpot when I find the scott tissue individually wrapped in a bulk package.
This is a great post! we do not have ours out but they are in baskets like yours inside our cabinets. However, i love your ideas!! this brings me to a question for you which i was just thinking about the other day…for us who do not have linen closets…where do you “hide” the unsightly things such as toilet bowl brush?? thoughts?!
i have one extra roll of tp in my bathroom…its on the bottom of open shelving next to the toilet..(who wants to reach!)…but its always there for my guest…all other tp is right outside the bathroom in the linen closet…on the lower shelf so if the roll isnt filled for some GOD AWEFUL reason..i just call my 4yr old son lol…and he can reach it! lol
Okay–you guys are the best for bringing up the TP topic. I completely agree with “displaying” one’s toilet paper. It’s so pretty, cylindrical and white–what’s not to like?
For the people with no space to do so–here’s a tip so that you can: I used to have a tee-niny bathroom too, but we installed a couple of open wire (metal?) shelves above the door frame and there was enough room to stack TP 2-high on those cute little shelves. It looked really good.
I have a teeny tiny half bath between my first floor and my basement. There is a toilet and a standalone sink. There is room on the wall above the toilet for a cute little cupboard, but I can’t find one that is little enough, but that I also like. So I have a fabric-lined wicker basket on the back of the toilet with one roll of toilet paper and one box of Kleenex squeezed in there together.
We have a basket on the lid of our toilet that holds 3 neatly lined up rolls. Here is a lil shot of it from my blog:
http://19butternut.blogspot.com/2008/07/here-we-go-looby-loo.html
Great blog! Love you guys!
~Stacy
Our master bath has a separate water closet, but it had no storage. We did a bit of searching and found a brand new Pottery Barn mirrored wall cabinet with shelf from their Hotel bath collection at a consignment shop! The cabinet retails for $229. After a little negotiating, we snagged it for a mere $65! We have a few pretties on the shelf, but the bulk of the actual cabinet is filled with toilet paper. Mike was thrilled to get the TP off the floor – it’s a very small WC – and I was thrilled to have such a pretty place to store it!
I’m all for hiding the extra TP, if that option is availble. At our place, we keep a couple stacks in the vanity, but closest to the toilet… so you don’t have to go rooting around there for it. In the loft bathroom (that has a pedestal sink), I keep a an attractive basket full. (wicker baskets work, and I am also partial to those leather magazine holder bucket-style ones). The basket hides behind the door and you can only see it when you’re on the loo, so it’s allowable :)
I think TP should definitely be displayed! I hate going to a friends house and they run out of TP and I have to search for it under the sink while trying to remain on the THRONE!!
I use to have a wheeled laundry cart that fit perfectly beside my throne. On it I had the TP, wipes and in a wicker basket tampons and pads.
As a kid, I remember those TP covers that I used to see in other people’s bathrooms, the ones that were dolls with elaborately crocheted skirts to match the bathroom color. The skirts hid an extra roll.
My 8 year-old-self thought those Southern belles with their crocheted fashions were absolutely the height of cool. I thought we should have one for our bathroom.
I also remember admiring the crocheted toilet paper roll covers that looked like a poodle, with pom poms making up the head, feet and tail.
Clearly I had great taste as a girl. ;-)
Love it in the linen closet!
I love the glass vase idea – does anyone have more suggestions for how to keep spare TP visible to guests, yet protected? I have a cat that likes to tear chunks out of the fresh rolls if I leave them out in the open :(
Hey Jen,
Here’s an idea: https://www.younghouselove.com/2008/12/the-paper-trail-2/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Thanks for the suggestion, Sherry. I ended up finding a stainless steel food canister with a clear plastic window for $6.99 at HomeGoods. It fits 2 rolls *perfectly* and keeps the cat out :) It looks like this, but taller: http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Storage-Stainless-Acrylic-Canister/dp/B002Q5QZIS/ref=sr_1_85?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1257444764&sr=1-85
Love it! Thanks so much for stopping back in to let us know what you dug up!
xo,
s
I keep my first floor half bath TP in a wire basket with 3 rolls just like that. It really makes sense to have it out especially in bathrooms that have a lot of guests.
Plus it looks cute!
Hi there! Where did you buy your metal basket tp holder? I love it, and it work perectly in my master bath. Thank you so much!
Hey Kelly,
That’s actually not our metal holder (it’s from a house we “crashed” a while back) but we’ve seen extremely similar metal baskets at places like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Home Goods, and even Target. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I was taking a look at the Target vases online and I see one that is 15.7″ on sale for $10.48 is this the same one? I was going to swing by my Target on the way home from work but I don’t have a toilet paper roll with me :)
http://www.target.com/LSA-Round-Pillar-Glass-Vase/dp/B000HZBOQM/ref=sc_qi_detailbutton
Thank you!!
We keep our toilet paper out of sight because the kitties have too much fun chewing it up and unraveling it. Sigh. The life of cat owners! Our vanity has two small drawers, and they face the toilet. So we stick the toilet paper in there for easy access (for humans, not so easy for bad kitties).
I love the idea of the glass vase tp storage. I don’t know where I first saw it, but I’ve had a tall glass vase in my powder room for well over a year now. Everyone that comes in my house loves the idea, which has made for some easy gift selections!
My vase is pretty tall – it holds 5-6 rolls – and it is printed with a nice silhouette of tree branches and birds. I found it at HomeGoods (TJ Maxx, Marshalls) last year, but the manufacturer has changed the product for this year’s product line, and the tall (5-6 roll) vase with the bird graphic on it has a smaller diameter and won’t hold a roll of tp. What a disappointment. However, for those who are in the market for something like this, you will find that they carry a shorter one (holds 3 rolls) with a branch and bird graphic.