Towels on display in bathroom...good or bad idea?

[NoveltySlippers]

Hello all - am after more MN bathroom wisdom.

Am finishing up our new bathroom and trying to decide what to do re. storage.

I have an alcove which I could fill with open shelves for towels.

Love the look of them in magazine world, but is this going to be an added faff whereby they always look messy and unkempt, and more to the point, what happens in bathrooms that get very steamy (as mine does, even with window open)? How do exposed towels cope?

What do you do with your towels? Is it a better idea to have them hidden away behind cupboards? And are glass fronted ones the happy medium or do they steam up too / not a good idea?

My kids/dp loved the look of the pile of neatly folded ones so much they had a new towel every time, then left them in a damp heap somewhere! SO hard to train them out of the habit!

I liked the look of them but to be honest they were a pain in the bum

Yes - hadn't even thought of added temptation to use a new one every time..!

Have you got a cat?

They really like neatly folded towels on an exposed shelf.

Just sayin'

I have exposed towels in our family bathroom ,we don't have any problems with them getting damp and I do a towel wash every day or so anyway so not a problem for me .

Build in cupboards for the alcoves (not glass fronted) and store all bathroom paraphinalia there.

Piles of towels only look good when all the towels are folded neatly, stacked in the same way and the pile is full.

The realisty will be a mess. If you have the chance to hide it away, then do so, and you can then put everything in there and not have any shampoo, shower jel, toothpaste, toothbrushes etc out on display.

In my fantasy hotel style bathroom I'd like one of these
[www.bathroomsplendour.co.uk/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=277&idCategory=136

put the radiator in the alcove under the towel rack.

Thanks all for input. Shake we don't have a cat luckily

Ah, but I'm still confused!

Eastwick those do look lovely. And Piglet John - if only we hadn't installed the radiator yesterday...!

We have both, the bath towels in a chest, the smaller hand towels on shelves.
No problems, and it does look tidy if the towels are folded properly.
The teens don't mess them up and the LO can't reach.

Hmm that could be a happy medium, vanille...

Err still can't decide and got a joiner coming to have a look.

Anyone else strongly in pro or anti exposed towels camp?

incapable of making own decision clearly

Have you got enough space for a cabinet elsewhere?

If the alcove is the only place for a cabinet with doors, I'd have that fitted.
You can always add open shelves on walls for towels on display.

We have a big chest for the bath towels, a closed cabinet for all the bathroom stuff (I like to buy shampoo / shower gel etc on offer, so there is always a few bottles to store) and 3 open shelves in a corner with approx 12 towels on.

If your bathroom is really big, you could have open shelves in the alcove (how big is it?) and a separate unit to store the rest.

I feel your pain but realistically who ever sees your bathroom (apart from your immediate family). I'd go for practical and have cupboard doors fitted on the lower part of alcove (and so all straight walls??) And have an open shelf above for the fancier looking candles etc.

I have towels on shelves because I don't have any other choice. They don't tend to get smelly I don't think. Once I realised that one of the foreign students I was hosting was taking a towel for every shower, then folding and putting it back that was annoying. I can't say they look very stylish though. Maybe if they all matched?

I really don't like exposed folded towels!

Could you do shelves that aren't solid? Then the air can flow and they won't get as damp?

Hi all

Thanks for thoughts. It's a funny one. It's a small bathroom and the alcove is actually at the end of the bath.

The bath goes along the wall and then at the end there's this alcove - so it would be very tricky to put cupboards with doors on near to the floor, as the end of the bath gets in the way.

You couldn't stand in front of it either, but sort of reach over to access the shelves. I could have something built with cupboard doors on further up though (a kind of dresser thing).

The slatted shelves might be a good idea / compromise to stop towels getting too damp!

Ehric about the student putting used towels back!

Higher - yes I'm totally with you on that one - luckily the loo is on the other side of the room.