Ditch The Bulky Shelves: The Thrifted Item You Can Reuse To Store Towels In Small Bathrooms

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From corner cabinets to bulky wall shelves, furnishings that can stash towels using dead space appeal to those of us who live with a small bathroom. But many corner cabinets can be costly, while installing shelves on the wall can be a hassle. If you want an attractive-yet-compact towel storage solution that's more budget-friendly and ready to use, try looking in your local thrift store. It's not uncommon to repurpose and upcycle old goods — such as plates into clocks for unique wall decor or bookcases into coffee tables — but a vintage magazine rack can be used as-is for bathroom towels. Depending on the store and selection, the price tag can be as low as $2. And best of all, most magazine racks create the presence of a furniture piece without taking up too much space.

With more people doing away with printed media in this digital age, secondhand shops can be goldmines for abandoned yet handsome magazine racks and holders. Make sure to measure your options to see if it can accommodate enough towels for your needs, and go for one that's freestanding so that you don't have to worry about mounting it onto the wall and can move it around. Magazine racks come in a large variety of styles, from more modern and minimalist metallic-wire holders to ones with leatherette slings, to classic wood frames with cane or rattan faces.

After you've scored the right size and style magazine rack, find a spot for it such as an otherwise unused space between the vanity and tub or even behind the bathroom door. Then fold or roll up the towels and stash it either horizontally or vertically. While either of these methods are acceptable, you might find that rolling and storing them vertically is more convenient since you can see the selection of towels all at once without having to remove layers. This also allows you to pull out your towel of choice without having to re-stack the remaining items. For magazine racks that have vertical dividers, consider draping a few hand towels and wash cloths over the divider(s) in addition to the rolled or folded larger bath towels.

Unless it's made from a material that fares well against water and moisture — such as teak, cedar, or stainless steel — think about adding some water resistance to improve durability. On woods, you can apply coats of epoxy resin, polyurethane, spar varnish, or a penetrating oil such as pure tung or boiled linseed oil. (You may want to steal some how-to pointers from our guide to sealing wood countertops.) For metals, there's a large variety of paint products that are waterproof, such as a 32-fluid ounce can of Rust-Oleam Oil-Based Protective Enamel available for around $18 on Amazon. And when dealing with fabric or leather slings, you can even use natural treatments like using beeswax. In all these cases, make sure you allow enough cure time — based on the sealing product's label — before using the rack to prevent staining on the towels.