Living in Manhattan has its advantages – it’s an amazingly culturally diverse place where you can spend the day at MOMA and the evening catching a Broadway show, then go to dinner at midnight with a crowd of other night owls – all that on a Tuesday!

On the downside, we sometimes have to make do with smaller spaces, and the accompanying storage problems that come along with them.  Especially in our bathrooms. Sure, you can go to the Container Store and get some storage boxes, but will you end up with a balanced design that is beautiful AND functional?

Look at the situation from a few steps back and do some advance planning.  By building a simple, contemporary wall unit, you can perfectly accommodate those inexpensive boxes and get all the storage you need, while still allowing you the opportunity to display some of your existing household accessories in a unique way.

This client had a TON of things she wanted to keep in her bathroom, and she was also wrestling with how to display her tea-pot collection, which was nearly all but hidden in her overcrowded kitchen.

The result – a functional, beautiful space that gave her more than enough room for everything from towels to toilet paper, along with some great spaces to display pictures and other decorative items.  The secret was in creating a wall unit that made the boxes look like an integral part of the look, rather than a hastily put together afterthought.  Throw in a velvet trimmed, coordinated shower curtain, and you’ve got an beautiful, balanced, upscale look – and all without straining your budget.

She tells me that she feels sexier when she steps out of the shower now, but I’m not sure I can share the rest of what she said without betraying her confidence….

Last 5 posts by Tom Zemon

• Fancy House for Little Critter - September 12th, 2010
• Finding Invisible Space - August 16th, 2009

Author: Tom Zemon

Fresh from hosting TLC’s - BROKEN HOMES and his role as the designer on HGTV's hit series MY FIRST PLACE, Tom returns to his own Manhattan based design company where the focus is on working with clients to fully realize and achieve their own personal style. Having received his formal training at Parsons School of Design, Tom apprenticed with several well known designers before starting his own company. As for his work philosophy: "It's about understanding the client so that the environment created is a space where they can exist in their most human state - and finding a way to translate that unique, individual truth through color, texture, scale and light".

Tom Zemon has written 3 articles for us.