Apparently, I’m still focused on our SUPER TINY en suite bathroom.

(Do they call it “en suite” because they hope the fancy French wording will make you forget that it’s barely larger than a closet? That’s probably just our house….)

Last summer, Husband and I painted the bathroom, which made a HUGE difference in my feelings toward this literal Water Closet.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I accidentally realized I could remove the amber tint of the light fixture globes, and I liked this room a little bit more.

The biggest downfall to the smallest bathroom on the planet is, of course, storage. As in, we have almost zero. We have the tiniest bathroom cabinet known to man under our sink – it holds almost nothing – and the original medicine cabinet from when the house was built in 1961. That’s it.

In the years we’ve lived here, Husband has taken to storing bathroom supplies on the window sill. Mouthwash, shaving cream, toilet paper – everything. As you can imagine, it’s lovely to look at. And the view of that window from my back yard swing is equally beautiful. :)

So, a few weeks ago, when the storage situation was starting to drive me bonkers, I thought, WWID?

Yep. That’s “What Would IKEA Do?” Because when you think tiny bathrooms on a European size scale and very creative solutions to storage problems, you think IKEA.

Are you like me? Do you wander the aisles of IKEA and find solutions for problems you never knew you had? Do boxes and bins and hanging organizers miraculously jump from the displays and land in your insanely-difficult-to-maneuver IKEA shopping cart? Every single time?

I love IKEA. I really do. I  love spending a morning perusing the aisles. I love the free coffee. I even love the Swedish names of the products. (You thought I was going to say Swedish meatballs, didn’t you?)

(Side note: did you see this video of puns on names of IKEA items? Love it. So much.)

Well, IKEA showed me that my solution was a well-placed shelf. But it turned out IKEA didn’t have the correct size/style well-placed shelf, so I took my WWID inspiration to my local hardware store.

This isn’t rocket science, friends. It’s a board and some brackets. I wanted the board to be wide enough to hold roll of toilet paper. A Costco-sized roll. So I went with the 1×6 that was 4 feet long and a couple of very simple L-brackets.

I debated whether to put the shelf over the bathroom door or over the window. In the end, I went with the window because it allowed for a bit more storage space. I think it’s What IKEA Would Do.

After I (read: Husband) sawed off about an inch to make it fit, I sanded and painted the board and the brackets the same color as the walls in hopes of making the shelf disappear, visually.

The Girl offered to help me sand in between coats. Can I tell you that she HONESTLY is a better sander than I am?? She is much more patient, and she’s more meticulous. (The Boy helped find the right screws when it came time to attach it to the wall. It was a full team effort.)

We hung the shelf last weekend. And I’m thrilled. Cutting the clutter from the window sill makes this tiny room feel more open and light.

I can still see the multiple bottles of mouthwash way up there, but they just don’t bother me when they aren’t blocking the window.

And that papier toilette de costco has a lovely new home as well.

C’est vrai! Everthing does sound better in French!