By Steve Hunt, Owner & Lead Designer at Infinity Kitchens and Baths
Updated September 22, 2026 • 9 min read
Quick answer: The best bathroom storage comes from building into the walls and upward instead of out onto the floor. Start with a vanity that uses drawers instead of doors, add a recessed medicine cabinet and a recessed shower niche, then use tall, narrow cabinetry such as a linen tower or over-toilet cabinet for bulk items. Plan it all during a remodel, when walls are open. Our bathroom vanities page shows the vanity options we install.
Most bathrooms do not lack square footage so much as they waste it. A sink base with two doors and one shelf, a surface-mounted mirror, and a wire caddy in the shower are three storage decisions that each leave usable space on the table.
These are the storage ideas we recommend most in Prescott and West Valley bathroom remodels, ordered by how much they change daily use. A few, like recessed cabinets and niches, only make sense while the walls are open. That is the main reason to decide storage early in a bathroom remodel, before tile and drywall lock in the layout.
1 Vanity Drawers Instead of Doors
Best single storage upgrade
If you change one thing, make the vanity mostly drawers. Deep drawers keep everyday items visible and reachable, while a door-and-shelf base turns into a pile you dig through on your knees. Drawers also hide the clutter that makes a bathroom look old fast.
Doors still have a place. Tall bottles, a hair dryer, and cleaning supplies fit better behind a door than in a shallow drawer. A good split is drawers on the sides with a door or U-shaped drawer at the sink, where the drain trap sits. Our bathroom vanity guide walks through the configurations.
Pros
Everything visible at a glance
No kneeling to reach the back
Watch-outs
Drawer under the sink must be notched around plumbing
2 Recessed Medicine Cabinet
Best for small bathrooms
A medicine cabinet set into the wall cavity between the studs adds real storage with essentially zero footprint, and it doubles as your mirror. It is one of the few upgrades that makes a small bath feel both bigger and more organized at the same time.
Feasibility depends on the wall. Before we confirm a recessed unit, we check the wall cavity depth and look for obstructions such as plumbing vents, supply lines, and wiring. If the wall behind the vanity is a plumbing wall, a surface-mounted cabinet or a recessed unit on a side wall may be the better answer. Either way, a medicine cabinet above the vanity roughly doubles usable storage at the sink.
Pros
Storage with no floor or counter footprint
Replaces the mirror
Watch-outs
Wall must be clear of pipes and wiring
3 Linen Tower or Side Cabinet
Best for towels and bulk supplies
A tall linen tower beside the vanity handles what the vanity cannot: towels, extra toilet paper, and backup supplies. In a primary bath with a long vanity wall, a tower at one end can match the vanity cabinetry so it reads as one built-in piece.
The caution is scale. The most common small-bath mistake is trying to fit a full tub, a separate shower, a double vanity, and a linen tower into a room with space for two of them. A slim tower is worth it if the width allows; if it pinches the walkway, skip it and put that storage into the vanity and the walls instead.
Pros
Holds bulky items the vanity cannot
Can match vanity cabinetry
Watch-outs
Needs spare wall width
4 Over-Toilet Cabinet
Best use of dead wall space
The wall above the toilet is usually empty. A shallow wall cabinet there uses vertical space that would otherwise go to waste and keeps spare supplies close without cluttering the counter.
Keep it shallow and high enough that nobody hits their head standing at the toilet, and anchor it into studs or blocking. Closed doors look calmer than open shelves in a small room; open shelves are fine for rolled towels if you like the look and do not mind dusting. In a remodel we match the finish to the vanity so it looks planned rather than bought separately.
Pros
Uses space nothing else can
Inexpensive to include in a remodel
Watch-outs
Must be shallow to stay out of the way
5 Recessed Shower Niche
Best for shower storage
A tiled niche built into the shower wall holds bottles without a protruding caddy and gives you a clean spot for an accent tile. One larger niche is more useful than several small ones, and a shelf inside the opening doubles the tiers.
The niche must sit inside the shower’s waterproofing, with its bottom pitched so water drains out, which is why it has to be planned before the walls are closed. Our shower niche and bench ideas page covers sizing, placement, and how the niche fits between studs.
Pros
No caddy, no clutter
Works in any size shower
Watch-outs
Only practical during a shower remodel
6 Floating Vanity With Drawers
Best for making a small bath feel bigger
A wall-mounted vanity leaves the floor visible underneath, which makes a small room read larger and makes mopping easier. With drawers instead of doors, it can still hold a surprising amount.
The trade-off is that a floating vanity gives slightly less storage than a floor-standing one of the same width, because there is no toe kick or base below. It also needs solid wall framing; we typically add a horizontal ledger or blocking between the studs to carry the load. A floating vanity lets you choose the height instead of accepting the standard 32-inch floor-mounted height. See the styles on our bathroom vanities page.
Standard floor-mounted height
32 in.
Support
Ledger or blocking between studs
Pros
Open floor looks larger
Height set to suit you
Watch-outs
Slightly less storage than floor-standing
Needs blocking in the wall
7 Drawer Organizers and Pull-Outs
Best low-cost add-on
A deep drawer without dividers becomes a junk drawer. Drawer dividers, a pull-out shelf in a door base, and a tray for small items turn the same cabinet into organized storage. They cost little when ordered with the vanity and are awkward to retrofit to odd drawer sizes later.
Think about who uses which drawer. In a shared primary bath, each person getting their own stack of drawers usually ends more arguments than a larger mirror does.
Pros
Cheap when specified up front
Makes deep drawers usable
8 Double Vanity or a Long Single Vanity
Best for shared primary baths
In a primary bath, a double vanity at 60 to 72 inches or more gives each person a sink and their own storage. Keep at least a 30-inch clear path between fixtures so the room still works.
If the wall is shorter, a longer single vanity with more drawers and counter can be more useful than squeezing in two sinks, especially if only one person uses the bathroom at a time. Our master bathroom ideas guide covers the layout side, and small bathroom ideas covers the opposite problem.
Double vanity width
60–72+ in.
Clear path between fixtures
At least 30 in.
9 In-Drawer Outlet (Electrician and Permit Required)
Best for hair tools, if you plan it properly
An outlet inside a vanity drawer lets a hair dryer or trimmer stay plugged in and out of sight. It is a nice idea, but it is electrical work, not cabinetry. It needs a licensed electrician, GFCI protection, a product listed for in-drawer use, and in most cases a permit and inspection as part of the remodel.
Treat this as something to raise at design, not a gadget to add later. Running a new circuit or relocating a box is straightforward while the walls are open and difficult once they are closed. If the electrical work is not in scope, a drawer with a heat-safe liner for tools is a simpler option.
Pros
Tools stay plugged in and hidden
Watch-outs
Requires a licensed electrician and usually a permit
Must use a listed in-drawer product
Which Storage Ideas Fit Your Bathroom
Bathroom
Start with
Then add
Small hall or guest bath
Floating vanity with drawers
Recessed medicine cabinet, over-toilet cabinet
Primary bath
Double or long single vanity, drawers over doors
Linen tower, large shower niche
Shared kids’ bath
Drawer stacks for each person
Shower niche instead of caddies
Aging-in-place bath
Drawers at an easy height
Niche within reach of a shower seat
Plan Storage Before Demolition
The storage ideas that make the biggest difference live inside walls: a recessed medicine cabinet, a shower niche, blocking for a floating vanity, and wiring for an in-drawer outlet. All of them are straightforward when the walls are open and expensive or impossible once they are closed. At Infinity Kitchens and Baths we design storage alongside the layout during the free in-home consultation, then build it in during rough-in. If you are still comparing contractors, our list of top bathroom remodelers in Prescott and, for the West Valley, top bathroom remodelers in Surprise cover what to ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to add storage to a small bathroom?
Build into the walls and upward instead of onto the floor. A recessed medicine cabinet and a recessed shower niche add storage with no footprint, a floating vanity with drawers keeps everyday items organized, and a slim linen tower or over-toilet cabinet uses vertical space that would otherwise go to waste.
Are drawers or doors better in a bathroom vanity?
Drawers are better for most everyday items because everything is visible and reachable without kneeling. Doors still work for tall bottles, a hair dryer, and cleaning supplies. A common layout is drawer stacks on the sides with a door or U-shaped drawer at the sink to clear the plumbing.
Can any wall take a recessed medicine cabinet?
No. The wall cavity has to be deep enough and free of obstructions such as plumbing vents, supply lines, and wiring. We check the wall before confirming a recessed unit. If the wall behind the sink is a plumbing wall, a side wall or a surface-mounted cabinet may be the better choice.
Do floating vanities have less storage?
Slightly less than a floor-standing vanity of the same width, because there is no base below the cabinet. Choosing drawers instead of doors makes up much of the difference. A floating vanity also needs solid blocking or a ledger in the wall, which is easiest to add during a remodel.
Can I put an outlet inside a bathroom drawer?
It can be done, but it is electrical work that needs a licensed electrician, GFCI protection, a product listed for in-drawer use, and usually a permit and inspection. It is best planned during a bathroom remodel while the walls are open, not added afterward.
Owner & Lead Designer, Infinity Kitchens and Baths — AZ ROC #339999
Steve founded Infinity Kitchens and Baths in Prescott in 2011 and still personally oversees every project the company takes on. His background spans kitchen design, bathroom renovation, structural work and project management, and he has called Prescott home for more than two decades — which is why most of Infinity's work still arrives by referral.