ATHome Contemporary Bath Space Savers

Got this because I needed to store some things in the bathroom and didn't have a place. I wanted something appropriate for high humidity, sturdy and the wife wouldn't want to throw it out because it was ugly. I decided metal was best for all of the above requirements and it would appear correctly assumed after a couple months. It happens to fit VERY snugly behind the tank which makes it very secure and impossible to tip. My kids destroyed the last one by trying unsuccessfully to climb on it but they haven't damaged this one despite trying. May not work the same for everyone but did so for me.

I have no claim to decorating prowess but it looks better than the plywood number or plastic ones we've had before and I'm not worried it will mildew like that one or rot/split at the floor level.

My one complaint is that the slots are not very close together. I have a toilet tank tray sitting on the bottom shelf and the tray is where I put all my "smaller" items and what would tip on the wire slots. Towels and most bottles and truly most things are okay on the other shelves and it works out just okay. That does mean you may need something like that but you can even find a nice looking one like brass, chrome or in my case something with a pattern (shells) that the wife likes. :-)

For the price, I certainly can't complain, but for anyone else considering buying this here's a few things to keep in mind. Assembly wasn't too complex, but there were no assembly instructions. The shelves are certainly tall enough to go over our toilet, but it's much deeper than I expected, so it sticks out over the bowl portion quite a bit. Also, if you have any sort of molded baseboard on your wall, that will make it stick out more and cause a problem securing it to the wall if you want to make it more stable (drywall screws were included). The biggest issue is that one piece didn't have the hole drilled through both sides of the metal tube. I have a power drill and a 1/4" drill bit, so it was an easy fix for me, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to finish assembling it.

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I just received my shelf...it is pretty awesome!!

I am a single, older woman and I set it up in less than 5 minutes.

And it looks good above my commode. Not cheap looking either.

The polished silver chrome is the same color as most bathroom faucets.

This shelf even leaves space on top of my commode lid to place items.

It is a good deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I scoured Amazon for above-toilet bathroom shelving units. Evidently there are no widely bought, massively reviewed, 4+ star supra-toilet shelving units out there. But this one seemed like the closest. I read the reviews diligently, noted pros and cons, compared with others, weighed against how long we are likely to stay in our apartment, etc. etc.

Yeah, this was pretty crappy overall. Party my fault, probably, but partly not my fault.

Pros: decent looking metal finish, went well with our brushed-metal bathroom fixtures (pretty standard stuff). Easy to assemble. Looks like all the critical drilled-holes lined up. The top half (with shelves part) is cleverly constructed it's one big unit, and the shelves swivel out in unison, and voila! the top half is ready to go. Plus it was cheap.

Cons:

ALL relevant dimensions should be very prominently advertized. That includes the height of the lowest shelf. It cleared the toilet tank, but barely, and then since it was 13" deep, the toilet lid wouldn't open completely. Not a problem if you always rest your elbows on your knees, but say goodbye to sitting up straight. Can't find my tape measure, or I'd report the lowest shelf heighthere.

Very wobbly because the bottom support bar couldn't be attached because of the pipes under the toilet, and the connecting parts on the legs couldn't be flipped around or otherwise jerry-rigged to allow the support bar to be attached higher or lower.

Also has adjustable feet but only on the front two legs. I can see the being helpful for encouraging the unit to lean back and rest on the wall, but ultimately useless for the main wobbly issue.

I was ready for the widely-spaced rods on the shelves, but at least one of the shelves looked bent, or at least that it wasn't sitting straight. At minimum, this unit has seen better days. God knows how many times it has been sent out from the warehouse, only to return like dog you can't get rid of. If so, that would explain the rather beat-up box. It also came in a loose sheet of clear plastic, like someone sent it to the dry cleaners. Odd, and a hassle to get back in the box the way it came.

Summary: I've looked at everything up to $150 on Amazon for bathroom-specific over-the-toilet shelves, and nothing available looked clearly superior than the one reviewed here. A couple looked likely better, but it's still a gamble. Note to entrepreneurs: If you can mass-produce some decent bathroom shelving for less than $120, you'll make a fortune, because there are tumbleweeds rolling around this niche market.

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Maybe I was sent a used item that someone else returned, or it's just a matter of poor quality production as other reviewers have noted. As I said in the above title description, I ordered the Chrome product and it looks discolored and rusted. Given this fact, I imagine that bathroom humidity will only exacerbate this problem. Also, some of the small bars on the shelves looked bent and one was actually out of the socket. I'm returning this for a refund and will order the White color instead in hopes that the paint quality will be decent.

Even compared to more expensive items, I really like and prefer the design style of this space-saver. The height and width seem perfect for my toilet and the 3 shelves are wide enough to hold towels and other large items. That's why I'm taking the time and trouble to order another version of this product.

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I'll update this review when I receive the White version, and will assemble it if it is of decent enough quality to keep.

UPDATE June 17, 2012:

The White replacement I received was in much better shape than the Chrome product I returned. The paint job was OK and no shelf rods were detached from their sockets.

Assembley was easy: simply insert the legs and depress the top metal nuts so the legs can slide in and snap into place.

I found that the unit was sturdy enough and made stable enough by simply lowering the 2 moveable pieces located near the bottom shelf and attaching each piece to the respective side leg. The unit is thus stable enough so I don't need to attach the larger stability bar as well.

The box gives the full unfolded size in inches:

68.9(H) x 23.2(W) x 13(D). This should give you an idea of how it will look and fit into your available space. Also, I measured the height of the bottom shelf to be approximately 32 inches high, so everything below this is free space. Since my toilet tank is 28 inches high, that gives approximately 4 inches of free space enableing me to put small items on top of the tank if I should ever want to. My point here is that this unit cannot be placed over something that is roughly 32 inches high or greater, so you may want to check the height of your toilet tank before ordering this space saver.

The product photo shows only large items placed on each shelf. That is because the space between each individual shelf rod is approximately 1.25 inches, so small items will fall through the gaps. Therefore you will need to use something to cover each shelf if you plan to keep small items on this unit.

The bottom line: this is a made in China product so the quality is not the greatest. If you get a lemon, you may want to try your luck and order a replacement or a different color as I did. The White product look and quality is decent enough to meet my needs for a bathroom space saver.

I hope this review and update sharing my experiences may be helpful to anyone thinking of buying this.

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