Thursday, June 12, 2008

Can you do anything with this space?

I enjoy a unique challenge and this was certainly a tough one! This bathroom is the employee bathroom in a medical office. Their office is very busy and every inch of space is used for their patients, except for a narrow area for the only private office and this bathroom. So, it has become storage along with being their bathroom. As you walk in on either side, there are two LARGE metal units that house all their office supplies. It was so narrow I couldn't even photograph inside them. Past them as you start to see the actual bathroom area housed cleaning supplies and you can't see it in the picture but in between the right cabinet and the toilet was a small tower of the paint cans they needed for future touch ups.

The Challenge:
Organize the space, help us find space, make it look better and Nothing can leave! That's right, even the paint cans need to stay! There really was no other room in their large office for these things.
What Worked:
Decor: The wall color ties into the office and I am pleased I can unify this neglected space with the rest of their office that has been set up quite nicely.
Organization: They have done a good job of keeping things up with their space challenge. Their supplies were in order and everything they had they did need.
What Didn't Work:
Decor: Definition between storage and bathroom had been completely lost. I had to take back the bathroom area as tight as it was!
Organization: Zones were desperately needed. A few storage items were needed to maximize their storage space within the cabinets.

It's tough to see but on the sides of this picture, you can see the tan 6' tall storage cabinets that take up pretty much this entire space.

Sorting through every shelf, bin and box and determining specific zones made a huge difference. Parts for medical equipment were clearly labeled and given their own zone which had no place of its own before. They now have a system set up with a reference at each cabinet along with labels on everything so they can quickly locate anything from a paperclip to marketing for future holidays. Zoning items helped free up enough space to move everything off the floor--even all the paint!
Here is the after. I made the sink skirt from a shower curtain and the basket to the left of the sink on the wall was in the CD section at Target that was not made for hanging at all. Altering items and using them in another manner than what they were intended can save money while solving problems! I hung the cleaning supplies and the mop bucket is under the sink. Everything that had been in the plastic drawer system is now in the cabinets.





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