If you're after a vanity unit — a cabinet with a basin built in — we don't currently sell one; that's a fitted piece most bathrooms source alongside the plumbing itself, not something bought the way a shelf or a basket is. What we do sell solves a different, genuinely common problem: where to put the things you use every day without them living on every flat surface in the room.
Baskets, wall shelves and tiered caddies do a job a cabinet doesn't — they keep daily items in reach rather than shut away, which is exactly what you want for the things you actually reach for each morning rather than store and forget.
Rule one. In-reach storage and hidden storage solve different problems
A vanity cabinet is built for things you don't want to see — cleaning supplies, spare toiletries, the things a bathroom accumulates but doesn't need on display. A basket or open shelf is built for the opposite: things you use daily and want to grab without opening a door, which is most of what actually sits on a bathroom counter in practice.
This isn't a downgrade from a vanity, it's a different answer to a different part of the same overall problem — most bathrooms genuinely need both a hidden-storage answer and an in-reach one, and this range covers the second half.
Rule two. Wall-mounted storage buys back counter space a vanity would otherwise hold
A wall-hung shelf or tiered caddy stores things above the counter or beside the basin rather than on it, which matters most in a smaller bathroom where floor and counter space are the actual constraint, not storage volume itself. It's also the easier retrofit — no plumbing or fitted carpentry, just a wall fixing.
Baskets do the same job at floor or shelf level instead of the wall — towels, spare toilet roll, anything bulkier than what a small wall caddy comfortably holds.
Rule three. Material matters more here than almost anywhere else in the house
A bathroom is the one room in the house where humidity is a constant rather than an occasional problem, which rules out anything that swells, warps or grows mould with regular damp exposure. Water hyacinth and rattan, woven tightly, cope with bathroom humidity far better than untreated wood, and metal wire baskets don't absorb moisture at all — both are why they dominate this category rather than solid timber shelving.
Our bathroom storage, by piece
Every piece here is either wall-mounted or freestanding — nothing plumbed in, nothing that needs a fitter.
| Piece | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Emery Matt Black Wire Tall Basket | Wire basket | Towels, floor-standing |
| Emery Matt Black Wire Basket | Wire basket | Smaller items, counter or floor |
| Vertex Copper Plated Basket | Metal basket | Toiletries, decorative |
| Vertex Hexagonal Basket | Metal basket | Smaller items |
| Arles Water Hyacinth Wall Shelf | Wall-mounted shelf | In-reach daily items, above the counter |
| Arles 3 Tier Water Hyacinth Storage Caddy | Tiered caddy | Toiletries, tiered for volume |
| Batu Set of 2 Natural Rattan Baskets | Rattan baskets | Towels or spare toiletries |
| Natural Wooden Beer Barrel Storage Stool | Stool with storage | Seating that doubles as storage |
The short version
No vanity units in the range — that's a fitted piece most bathrooms source separately. What we sell instead is in-reach storage: baskets, wall shelves and caddies in humidity-tolerant materials, for the daily items a cabinet would otherwise hide, using wall space and floor space a vanity wouldn't free up.
Common questions
- Does Kaiku sell bathroom vanity units?
- No — a vanity unit (a cabinet with a basin built in) is a fitted piece most bathrooms source alongside the plumbing itself. What we sell is unfitted storage: baskets, wall shelves and caddies for daily items kept in reach rather than hidden behind a cabinet door.
- What bathroom storage doesn't need a fitted cabinet?
- Wall-mounted shelves and caddies, and freestanding baskets — none need plumbing or built-in carpentry, just a wall fixing or floor space. They suit daily items you want in reach rather than things you'd store behind a closed door.
- What material holds up best in a humid bathroom?
- Tightly woven water hyacinth and rattan tolerate regular humidity well, and metal wire doesn't absorb moisture at all. Untreated solid wood is the one to avoid — it swells and can develop mould with sustained damp exposure.
- How do you add bathroom storage without renovating?
- Wall-mounted shelves and tiered caddies are the easiest retrofit — no plumbing, just a wall fixing — and they buy back counter and floor space by moving daily items up onto the wall instead of leaving them on every flat surface.
- Is basket storage a good alternative to a bathroom cabinet?
- For a different purpose, yes — baskets suit things you want to see and grab quickly, like towels, rather than things you want fully hidden. For anything you specifically want out of sight, a cabinet still does that job better; the two solve different halves of the same storage problem.
