Make the Most of the One Bathroom in the House

The bathroom: temple to hygiene and cleanliness, warehouse for myriad products that we use to fluff, buff and maintain ourselves, and a very personal room that guests sometimes need to use.

If the counter is occupied by bottles, boxes and equipment (think hair dryer, electric toothbrush, etc.), guests have to navigate through this just to wash their hands, and they really don't need to see your hairbrush en route.

So how does one provide an appropriate facility for guests, the euphemistic "powder room," yet keep a semblance of privacy and still be functional for you and attractive for guests?

That's the challenge of the one-bathroom home.

Imagine you're a guest in your own home. Walk into the bathroom. Aha. See the problem? This little room is telling everyone your hygiene and beauty secrets (and the world thought you were a natural beauty!).

Start by taking everything that's sitting on a flat surface out. Remove it from the room entirely.

But where to store everything?

Go to a retailer where baskets, boxes and other decorative items are sold. The Container Store and Pottery Barn are perfect places to gather a combination of items that will work well together. Think outside the box. Find decorative boxes to store makeup, pretty jars for cotton balls, and silver toothpick cups are perfect for Q-Tips. A set of stacking baskets can do the trick, too. Put the things you use every day in the top basket, and those you need less often in the bottom.

Add flowers and a scented candle for the finishing touch.

Now doesn’t that look better? You bet it does!