Greetings, friends! And welcome to Caroline Finds It: my weekly newsletter where I reply to submissions from YOU for objects and products you need recommendations for.
This time of year, I spend a lot more time than average thinking about my bathroom. Namely, because it’s the start of EUCALYPTUS SEASON!! Which means that my shower is transformed into a spa-like oasis by the simple hanging of a $10 bundle of greenery from my shower head. Also, cold weather is coming, which means that I’ll soon be craving salty, dimmed-light, incense-burning bathtime. A lot of small but important details go into making a bathroom more than a gross place that’s a pain to clean, and so today I’m addressing a few recent requests for bathroom accessories.
Jaclyn in Oakland is in search of something most of us likely haven’t given much thought to:
“I need small bathmats for the bathroom! With two small kids key features include: absorbent, not slide around much on the tile, stand up to heavy use/not stain, and easy to wash! Two of the mats would be at the sinks in our two half baths and one would be in the shower/tub spot that lies between the two half baths - so being visually related to each other (or identical) would be ideal.”
Dear Jaclyn,
Under a bathroom sink, I recently discovered what could only be described as the Bathmat Graveyard. For some reason, I’ve saved every old bathmat I’ve every had and though I do not recommend this level of hoarding, they did reminded me of exactly what I hated about them.
In addition to your criteria, I’d like to add two of my own:
NOT white. Dirty feet! Spilled mouthwash! Your home is not a hotel laundry service, so I can imagine you’re not down to rigorously bleach your linens.
NOT fluffy. Pets shed! People shed! A fluffy bathmat is only going to attract dust and hair and make your bathroom feel dirty. Plus, they tend to dry slowly.
The #1 best option I found for you comes from a Weaver Family Favorite: The Company Store. What makes the Legends Luxury Sterling Cotton Bath Mat great is that it comes in multiple sizes, including 17” x 24”, SO many colors, is fully machine-washable and woven so it’s flat and will dry quickly and look nice.
I’ve found that almost NO nice bathmats come with the grippy stuff on the backside. If you find that your bathmat is too slippery, cut a piece of this antimicrobial shelf liner to put underneath it. Unfortunately, The Company Store bathmats are the only ones I’ve found that are smaller than standard size (which is 21” x 34”-ish) that fit your specific needs, and my shopping standards. If standard size will be okay, here are a couple of other woven, washable options that are great:
From Hawkin’s New York, this type of weave makes these mats easy to roll up and wash. The upside of a woven mat like this is that if one side gets nasty, you can just flip it over!
Quiet Town makes a variety of bath rugs in cute motifs that would likely distract from any inevitable stains:
All of these are totally washable, but I recommend hang-drying them so they don’t shrink and get wavy around the edges! And if you really really just want something fluffy — go for it! Who am I to judge? Just try to find something cotton over synthetic because it’ll smell less and age better.
QUICK ANSWERS
Julia in Pasadena is looking for two things:
"a nail brush (preferably non-plastic)”
Iris Hantverk is a brand of simple, quality brushes that are made by visually impaired artisans in Sweden. The Lovisa nail brush is made from oak wood and tampico fiber and has smaller bristles on top to get under your nails more easily. New Yorkers: You can find many other Iris Hantverk products at Jane on 9th Street between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave! This is definitely the nail brush I’d be using post-gardening if I didn’t already own this wacky vintage Avon Pink Pearl Eraser nail brush.
“a kitchen sink soap tray”
This isn’t specifically for a bathroom, but the same rules apply for containing soap on any type of sink. And because I’m not totally sure if you’re talking about something like a soap dish for a bar of soap, or a tray to contain bottles of soap and cleaning accoutrement, I’ll tackle both.
Tray for bottles of soap: I firmly believe that all small household items should be contained on a tray of some sort, especially in bathrooms and kitchens. CB2 sells a bunch of clean white plates in different shapes and sizes, including this square one which perfectly fits a Muji pump bottle or any other type of soap bottle you might be using at your sink.
A few weeks ago, I visited Omoi Zakka in Philly and fell in love with these small linen coated trays by Fog Linen. They also make terrific table linens to match, in many patterns and colors. I own several of their coasters, which are considerably more chic than any other ones I’ve ever possessed.
Another option is this particular size of enamel tray from Falcon , which provides just enough space for a bottle of soap and a stack of sponges and scrubbers.
Soap dish: Having cycled through various super cute ceramic soap dishes in search of a prettier replacement for this frequently ripped off Yamazaki silicone soap dish, I have concluded that there is simply no better soap dish to keep water from pooling on your counter and to prevent your bar from getting soggy. It’s been on my to-do list to try my hand at casting something like this in a non-plastic material, but it’s the silicone that creates a seal on the surface and keeps your counter so dry. This is the one. Look no further if you (mostly) value function over form.
FAVORITE PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
The easiest way to elevate a bathroom? Super nice towels! Imabari is a city in Japan that is famous for its towel manufacturing. Why are Imabari towels so good? Is it the water? Is it the quality of the cotton? The artisans who make them? Probably all of of this. A while back I needed to replace my grubby Kassatex towels and spent hours and hours researching to find ones that will last many many years, look nice in my bathroom, and dry quickly (What’s worse than a mildew-y towel in a bathroom?! Literally nothing.). What I landed on was these waffle towels from The Citizenry, which are made from long-staple pima cotton from the US and woven in Imabari, Japan. Almost 3 years later, they still look brand new and have NEVER (not once!) smelled like anything other than clean laundry. I love that they feels squishy and look expensive on my towel rod. Wanna turn your bathroom into an instant spa? Roll your clean towels and stack them on a shelf, or put them in a basket.
Is there a product you’re looking for? Submit your request here. See you next week for fresh recommendations! xo Caroline
Thank you so much for the ideas - we ended up going with the The Company Store, since the smallest fit perfectly in our smallest bathroom, and we could get two bigger ones for the other two spots. Love the patterns at Quiet Town, though!
Thank you so much for the recommendations!